UCL Preview; Chelsea travels to Croatia, and Celtic square off against holders Real Madrid as Erling Haaland hopes to continue his rich goal-scoring form for Man City
Another Champions League season is upon us. The elite clubs in Europe gun for the coveted UCL trophy. There have been some great qualification games over the past few weeks. Benfica, Celtic, Rangers and Dinamo Zagreb with blistering campaigns during the qualifiers - that drive and energy will be needed when business starts tomorrow.
On Tuesday evening, Chelsea will make their way to Croatia as they face off against Dinamo Zagreb. Though being the heaviest spenders in the just-ended transfer window, Chelsea has not hit top gear all season. They make this trip with two losses and a draw in their first six games. Dinamo Zagreb has only lost once in their last six games and has failed to keep a clean sheet in the previous ten games. That notwithstanding, Chelsea has not shown a clinical touch in the final third.
Dinamo Zagreb had a good run in the Europa League last season. They recorded wins against Sevilla and West Ham as they reached the quarter-finals. Orsic has been the best player on the Croatian team. Mendy has not been great in the post for the blues. Hopefully, their new signing Aubameyang will provide the goal-scoring threat Chelsea needs.
PSG will turn their attention to the UCL when they face off against Juventus. The manager of the Italian giants, Maximilliano Allegri, has been pessimistic about the encounter. Pogba will be absent, but Di Maria could reunite with his former teammates. Allegri has given his team no chance against the trident of Messi-Mbappe-Neymar.
The supporters of Juventus have not been pleased with his pre-game interview - the onus lies on Christophe Galtier to parade his side to claim victory tomorrow from the old ladies. Messi can also close the goal gap on Ronaldo with Ronaldo not involved in the UEFA champions league this season.
Real Madrid will start their title defence far away in Scotland when they lock horns with Celtic. Both teams have had perfect starts to the season. Undoubted, Real Madrid goes in as favourites but has always had slow starts to their UCL campaigns. They take on a Celtic side coming off a 4-0 win over arch-rivals Rangers last weekend.
Kyogo Furuhashi has picked up an injury which is a worry for coach Ange Postecoglou. He will be looking to make it out of Group F - the club only managed to do that in 2012/13.
Tchouameni has settled in well after Casemiro's departure to Manchester United. He will start at the base of the midfield with veterans Kroos and Modric on either side of him. Benzema and Vinicius obviously will lead the attack. Jota and Giakoumakis must be at their best when they come up against Courtois.
RB Salzburg will play hosts to Serie A champions AC Milan. Their derby victory will propel them to a good campaign after failing to make it out of the group stages last season. Benfica will welcome Israeli side Maccabi Haifa at the Estadio da Luz, and RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund will wait for the visits of Shakhtar Donetsk and Copenhagen respectively.
With the night lights across Europe lit together with loud voices and cheers of fans. It says only one thing 'European football is back'. Let's enjoy it.
Dinamo Zagreb vs Chelsea - 4:55 pm
Dortmund vs Copenhagen - 4:55 pm
The rest of the games kick off at 7:00 pm:
SL Benfica vs Maccabi Haifa
Sevilla vs Manchester City
RB Salzburg vs AC Milan
Celtic vs Real Madrid
RB Leipzig vs Shakhtar Donetsk
PSG vs Juventus
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