Champions League football is back on Tuesday night with the heavyweights of European football in action in Week 2 of the group stage of the competition.
An eventful first week had witnessed Bayern Munich score five goals against FC Rostov and Barcelona pump seven past Celtic. Premier League champions Leicester City had their first taste of European football with a 3-0 win over Club Brugge and Manchester City were in cruise control, netting four past German club Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Though these are early days in the competition, teams will want to get their tactics spot on during the second week. Arsenal hope to bag their first win in the group stage against FC Basel after they were involved in a 1-1 draw at Paris Saint-Germain. Leicester will welcome Porto as the King Power Stadium gears up to host its first ever Champions League match. With 32 teams battling it out for a place in the last 16, we take a look at some important matches.
Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid: 12:15 am IST, September 28
This match has all the ingredients to be a blockbuster with both teams playing an aggressive brand of football. Defending champions Madrid have slipped in recent weeks and will look to get their act together after notching up two consecutive draws in their previous matches. Zinedine Zidane’s men, who top the La Liga table, will look to continue their undefeated run in the Champions League that stretches way back to the quarter-finals last year. This game might also determine who will go on to top the group.
However, Madrid have an injury crisis of sorts with Casemiro and Marcelo missing the match. Pepe and Fabio Coentrao are back in the squad and it will be Zidane’s call as to whether the duo will feature in the clash. Cristiano Ronaldo will hope to make a point to Zidane after he was substituted by the Frenchman in their 2-2 draw against Las Palmas. Ronaldo was unhappy with the move and was visibly upset watching his team play out the draw.
Dortmund are in red hot form as they continue their goal scoring spree. They have netted 20 goals in four games and will look to apply the same overload tactics against Madrid. The German club will be looking for their fourth straight home win against the Spanish side.
Leicester City v Porto: 12:15 am IST, September 28
Premier League champions Leicester City are set to host their first Champions League match at the King Power Stadium. Their road to becoming champions of English football has been nothing less than a fairytale story. The current season, however, hasn’t gone according to plan for Claudio Ranieri and his men as they were demolished 4-1 by Manchester United in their last match at Old Trafford. In their last five outings, Leicester have won only two matches, which also includes their first Champions League win against Club Brugge.
They face Portugese club FC Porto for the first time in their history. Porto are a champion side and will be the first real test for Leicester in the Champions League.
Keeper Kasper Schmeichel could make his return for the Foxes as he was sidelined with injury for the past three games. In his absence, Leicester have conceded eight goals, four apiece to United and Chelsea. Midfielder Nampalys Mendy will miss the game owing to an ankle injury and Ranieri will hope that striker Islam Slimani can continue his good run against tonight's opponents as he has scored five goals in his last three encounters with Porto. Leicester fans will hope that Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez find their mojo if they are to replicate the performances of last season.
Arsenal v FC Basel: 12:15 am IST, September 28
The Gunners are in red hot form as they face Swiss side FC Basel at the Emirates Stadium. After their 3-0 win over Chelsea, Arsenal will fancy their chances against Basel, a side they are facing for the first time. Both teams enter the match with a series of victories leading up to this game. Arsenal are on an unbeaten run of seven matches, while Basel have won 11 of their last 12 matches this season.
Arsene Wenger is likely to miss the services of Francis Coquelin, who sustained a knee injury during the clash against Chelsea, and Olivier Giroud is suspended, owing to a red card he received during the 1-1 draw against PSG two weeks ago. Arsenal have the firepower to stop the Swiss team as Granit Xhaka will face the team he started his football career with. Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will look to continue their terrific run and scythe through the opposition’s defence.
Borussia Mönchengladbach v Barcelona: 12:15 am IST, September 28
German side Mönchengladbach have their task cut out for them as they face Spanish giants Barcelona in their second group stage encounter. Gladbach lost 4-0 to Manchester City in the first group stage match. Barcelona have scored 18 goals in their last four games and will look to bag the three points ahead of their clash with Pep Guardiola’s City in their next group stage encounter.
Barcelona are coming from a 5-0 win over Sporting Gijon, doing it in style without the help of a certain Lionel Messi, who is sidelined for three weeks due to a groin injury. Statistics show that Barcelona perform better without Messi during a Champions League clash, winning 22 out of the 34 matches compared to 60 wins out of 98 matches with the Argentine in the squad. The winning percentage when Messi has been missing is higher – 64.7% compared to 61.2% when he has been in the side.
In their encounter against Celtic in the first group stage match, the Catalans scored seven goals and the likes of Luis Suarez and Neymar will look to do the same on Thursday. The match will also see Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen return to his boyhood club. This is the first meeting between the sides and the Germans are on an 11-match unbeaten run at home.
Celtic v Manchester City: 12:15 am IST, September 28
Pep Guardiola is on a 10-match unbeaten streak with Manchester City as they travel to take on Scottish side Celtic, being managed by Brendan Rodgers. Celtic suffered their worst European defeat at the hands of Barcelona two weeks ago and will hope not to repeat the same performance against City. The away side are on a goal-scoring spree and will look to better Barcelona’s tally. Both teams are meeting for the first time and will look to play draw first blood.
With Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling heading the frontline, Celtic will hope to beat City on the counter-attack. Even with Kevin de Bruyne set to miss the clash because of an injury, Rodgers will have to marshal his men smartly if they are to dent City’s defence. However, getting past goalkeeper Claudio Bravo isn’t going to be an easy job.
Atletico Madrid v Bayern Munich: 12:15 am IST, September 28
The last time both these sides met, the Madrid outfit beat the German side in the semi-final stage of the competition five months ago. Last season's runners-up Atletico remain unbeaten this season and will look to continue that run against the German champions. Bayern have won all their matches under new coach Carlo Ancelotti and will look to break down the strong defence of the Spanish side. However, Bayern have been at their defensive best and Atletico have struggled in front of goal.
Both teams cannot be complacent given it is a group stage clash and will look to win bragging rights going deeper into the competition. Bayern will be wary of the fact that they need to shut down Atletico striker Antoine Griezmann, who has netted five goals in five La Liga games this seaon. Both sides have a fully fit team and the match pits the group’s best defence against group’s best offence. However, given their strong home record, which has seen Atletico win 25 of their last 30 European matches and losing just two times at the Vicente Calderon, Diego Simeone’s men will fancy their chances against Bayern.