so that a lot football
The newness of the 2024/25 Champions League is almost overwhelming, with the new iteration of UEFA’s premier club competition kicking off this week.
The group stages are no longer with a “Swiss model” taking hold. With 36 teams competing in a “league phase”, each round (except the last) will consist of 18 matches spread over three rounds.
The abundance of action will no doubt test Wi-Fi connections around the world with multiple screens sure to come out to play to ensure as much of Matchday 1 as possible is captured live.
This should be a lot of fun, and here’s how 90 minutes believes that the first week of the league phase will take place.
Tuesday, September 17
Each day there will be six matches, two starting early and four starting simultaneously in the evening.
There is a Premier League representative in one of Tuesday’s early headlines Champions League newbies Aston Villa travel to the Swiss side Young Boys looking to get his campaign off on the right foot. That of Thiago Motta Juventus are also in action as they welcome Peter Bosz’s PSV in Turin
Perennial winners Real Madrid they are involved later and have a complicated task Stuttgart arriving in the city Sebastian Hoeness’ side finished second in the Bundesliga last season, and they could not have asked for a more lucrative matchday 1 on their return to Europe’s top club competition.
Milan’s clash with Liverpool It is undoubtedly the highlight of Tuesday’s game, however, with the Rossoneri beating Venezia in Serie A on Saturday, facing a red side who were beaten for the first time under Arne Slot at the weekend.
Bayern Munich have been scoring freely under Vincent Kompany to start the 2024/25 season, and their campaign begins at home to Dinamo Zagreb. A more competitive meeting is expected to arrive in the Portuguese capital com sports CP welcome Lillewhich qualified through the play-off, in Lisbon.
|
Start Time (GMT) |
fixation |
prediction |
|---|---|---|
|
5:45 p.m |
Juventus vs PSV |
1-1 |
|
5:45 p.m |
Young Boys vs Aston Villa |
1-3 |
|
20:00 |
Real Madrid vs Stuttgart |
3-1 |
|
20:00 |
Bayern Munich vs Dinamo Zagreb |
3-0 |
|
20:00 |
Sporting CP vs Lille |
2-0 |
|
20:00 |
Milan vs Liverpool |
1-2 |
Wednesday, September 18
There’s a replay of the 2023 final to enjoy under the Etihad lights, but before Manchester City assume the Scudetto holders Inter, bologna play their first Champions League match since 1964 as they meet Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in Dall’Ara.
Two play-off winners Sparta Prague i Salzburg they also clashed on Wednesday with Pep Lijnders, Jurgen Klopp’s right-hand man at Liverpool, leading the Austrians into battle.
Clash of the city with Inter It must be a spectacle considering how well Pep Guardiola’s side have started the new season. Inter are superbly coached and are the best team in Italy by a long way, but at the weekend they were held up by Monza.
Borussia DortmundDefeated finalists last time out, they begin their league campaign on the road in Belgium as they take on the national champions Club Bruges. Paris Saint-Germain look imperious despite the departure of Kylian Mbappe and should kick off their Champions League campaign with a win over the newcomers. Girona in the French capital.
Celtic They endured miserable group stages in 2022/23 and 2023/24, but look a little more stylish in 2024/25 with Brendan Rodgers continuing to make an impact on the touchline. Rodgers’ side were excellent in pre-season and have enjoyed a flawless start to the new season. They have a great chance of a rare win in this competition when they meet Slavic Bratislava at Celtic Park.
|
Start Time (GMT) |
fixation |
prediction |
|---|---|---|
|
5:45 p.m |
Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk |
2-2 |
|
5:45 p.m |
Sparta Prague vs RB Salzburg |
1-0 |
|
20:00 |
PSG vs Girona |
3-0 |
|
20:00 |
Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund |
1-1 |
|
20:00 |
Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava |
2-0 |
|
20:00 |
Man City vs Inter |
2-1 |
Thursday, September 19
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen will be aiming to take a look at the competition after their historic 2023/24 campaign, but trips to De Kuip are not for the faint of heart. Xabi Alonso’s team will be tested by Feyenoord on Thursday, although the Dutch side have endured a rather indifferent start to the season.
Benfica they are also paving the way for 2024/25, but they won’t be able to walk away from their Matchday 1 encounter away to Red Star Belgrade. The Portuguese side are unbeaten in four after losing on the opening weekend of the Primeira Liga season.
Brest vs Storm Graztwo Pot 4 teams, is unlikely to attract much attention, although the French side are one of five clubs making their debuts in the competition this week.
arsenal may be exhausted but they will be full of confidence ahead of their trip to Bergamo to face the Europa League winners Atalanta. A header from Gabriel ensured they walked away from the north London derby with all three points on Sunday.
An intriguing matchup arrives in Madrid athletic assume RB Leipzigwhile Monaco face a purr Barcelona team looking to quickly avenge the recent triumph of the French team in the Joan Gamper Trophy. This should be fun.
|
Start Time (GMT) |
fixation |
prediction |
|---|---|---|
|
5:45 p.m |
Red Star Belgrade vs Benfica |
0-1 |
|
5:45 p.m |
Feyenoord vs Bayer Leverkusen |
0-2 |
|
20:00 |
Brest vs Sturm Graz |
2-1 |
|
20:00 |
Atalanta vs Arsenal |
0-2 |
|
20:00 |
Atletico de Madrid vs RB Leipzig |
3-2 |
|
20:00 |
Monaco vs Barcelona |
1-3 |
