City begin Champions League defence against Red Star Belgrade
Champions League holders Manchester City begin the defence of their continental crown when they welcome Red Star Belgrade to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola‘s troops defeated West Ham United 3-1 on Saturday to maintain their 100% league start to the season, while Red Star were beaten 2-1 by Cukaricki in the Serbian SuperLiga. A few months after finally attaining European supremacy against Inter Milan, City look to start their Champions League defence with a positive performance and result.
The visitors have a clean bill of health heading into their game with the European champions, giving Bakhar the full complement of his squad.
The Red Star boss has started a back four and back three this season but is expected to utilise the latter against Guardiola’s men.
It is hard to see anything other than a straightforward victory for Guardiola’s men at the Etihad as they seek to start their Champions League defence with maximum points.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Milan are slight favourites over Newcastle at the San Siro
Dining at Europe’s top table for the first time in 20 years, Newcastle United‘s 2023-24 Champions League baptism sees the Magpies meet seven-time winners AC Milan at San Siro in Tuesday’s Group F battle.
An imminent European sojourn may have been playing on the minds of Newcastle United during their miserable run of results, as the Magpies gear up for their first Champions League match since the summer of 2003.
Back in the days of two group stages in 2002-03, Newcastle did make a San Siro stopover to meet Inter, where an Alan Shearer brace was in vain as the Nerazzurri came back to draw 2-2, but Tuesday’s game will mark their first competitive meeting with Milan before Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund await later on in a mouthwatering Group F.
Blessed with much more continental nous than their English foes, Pioli’s side – who will welcome Tomori back to the first XI with open arms – ought to find their way past a Newcastle backline susceptible to defensive mishaps, although Howe’s men should still give a good account of themselves in Milan.
Milan are slight favourites to open their European campaign with a maximum and spoil Newcastle’s San Siro party.
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PSG welcome Dortmund in top of the pick game
The bright lights of the Parc des Princes will shine down on one of Tuesday’s headline Champions League openers, as Paris Saint-Germain welcome German giants Borussia Dortmund to the French capital in Group F.
The two continental behemoths were drawn against one another in this year’s group of death, where Newcastle United and seven-time winners AC Milan are also vying for the top two spots.
For the fourth time in four years, a new face will be commencing PSG’s latest bid for Champions League supremacy, which Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Christophe Galtier and all those before them failed to deliver.
Former Barcelona treble winner Luis Enrique has assumed office as he bids to repeat his Champions League success with the Blaugrana in 2015, but rather than hit the ground running in the French capital, he has led PSG to their worst points total at the start of a season since their Qatari takeover.
Aiming to knock a few more walls of the Parc des Princes fortress down is a Dortmund side.
The Parc des Princes may have lost its fear factor in 2023, but PSG have still managed at least two goals in each of their last three contests, and a fired-up Mbappe can always be relied on to terrorise opposing defences.
The anticipated returns of Ugarte and Marquinhos will also add a layer of steel to the Parisiens’ XI, but Dortmund’s in-form attackers should still have a glint in their eyes and can claim a point for their side in what promises to be a captivating clash.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Lazio host Atletico Madrid in high-profile Group E clash
Kicking off Champions League Group E with a high-profile clash in Rome, Lazio and Atletico Madrid meet at Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday evening.
While the hosts are back among Europe’s elite for the first time since 2021, Atleti are mainstays in the continent’s top club competition – but they were eliminated in the group stage last season.
Rewarded for their consistency at the end of last term, Lazio slipped past several other contenders to finish distant runners-up to Italian champions Napoli, securing a return to Champions League football after dipping their toes in both the Europa League and third-tier Conference League.
Heading into a much-anticipated Group E campaign, in which Celtic, Feyenoord and this week’s visitors Atletico Madrid will be their rivals for a top-two finish, Lazio sit on just three points from four Serie A matches and have conceded at a rate approaching two goals per game.
Both teams have suffered tough defeats following the international period, so confidence will not be sky-high in either camp. Lazio’s sluggish start to the new season has come as something of a surprise, but their defensive instability could see Atletico sneak a valuable first-day away win.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
