Biggies in action as CL begins
Barcelona will take on Eindhoven while Inter face Tottenham
London, Sept. 17: Barcelona helps to usher in a new-look to the Champions League on Tuesday as fans adjust to new staggered kickoff times.
Most matches in the group stage will now begin simultaneously at 21:00 GMT, 15 minutes later than in previous seasons. That is to accommodate a couple of games being played in a new earlier slot of 18:55 CET to maximise television audiences.
So when the group stage begins on Tuesday it won’t be such a late finish at the Camp Nou for Barcelona’s game against PSV Eindhoven or at the San Siro where Inter Milan plays Tottenham.
Inter benefited from the fourth-place teams in England, Germany, Spain and Italy now securing a direct route into the group stage.
A look at the groups playing on Tuesday: GROUP A (AS Monaco,
Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Brugge) None of the quartet reached the knockout phase last season. Diego Simeone’s team still made the best of a bad situation, though, dropping into the Europa League and winning the secondtier competition. But Atletico has laboured at the start of its domestic campaign, winning only one of four La Liga matches. There is a greater incentive for Atletico to reach the final because it is hosting the game in June. Borussia Dortmund is unbeaten in Bundesliga with two wins from three as it prepares to travel to Belgium to face Club Brugge. GROUP B (Barcelona,
Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan) Lionel Messi’s Barcelona has had to endure seeing archrival Real Madrid win three Champions League finals in a row. Barcelona must return to Italy to play Inter Milan, which is back in the premier competition after seven-season absence. Tottenham is the only team in the group yet to win the trophy but has been consistent of late. GROUP C (PSG, Napoli, Liverpool, Red Star
Belgrade) After helping Paris SaintGermain re-establish domestic dominance last year, Neymar has little to prove with the club apart from achieving the big mission: Delivering a European title to the Qatari ownership. GROUP D (Lokomotiv Moscow, Porto, Schalke,
Galatasaray) Porto, the last team to win the Champions League from outside Europe’s top four leagues, is the favorite to progress from arguably the weakest of the eight groups.
Porto’s opponents are returning to the Champions League group stage after some time away: Galatasaray is back after three seasons, four for Schalke and 15 for Lokomotiv Moscow.
Winning the Russian title meant the Railwaymen were seeded first for the group, but they should not be considered favorites to top the group. Despite starting their domestic season poorly, the Russians have players with big-game experience — particularly recent World Cup finalist Vedran Corluka of Croatia.
Star player from Egypt Mohammed Salah’s failure to hit top form dates back to his last Champions League appearance four months ago.
In May, Salah was on the crest of a wave as his 44goal campaign had carried Liverpool to the Champions League final and ensured qualification for this season’s competition.