The UEFA Champions League is back starting Tuesday with the group stage kicking off all across Europe. Thirty-two teams remain in the competition with eight groups of four, and it’s expected to be one of the most highly anticipated editions of the competition with new faces in new places, recent champions looking for another run to the final and more.
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Young Boys Vs Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo got his second spell at Old Trafford off to the perfect start on Saturday, netting twice in Man Utd’s 4-1 win over Newcastle.
He absolutely adores the Champions League, with no player scoring more goals in the history of the competition, and will be keen to get off the mark on Tuesday.
United are on a roll at the moment and Young Boys - who have not started the domestic season too well - will need a minor miracle to avoid defeat.
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Team news
Cristiano Ronaldo is in the Manchester United squad for Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Young Boys in Switzerland.
Having scored twice on his second debut in Saturday’s 4-1 win against Newcastle, the 36-year-old was included in the 22-man squad for Tuesday’s match in Bern.
Edinson Cavani again misses out with an unspecified strain and Dean Henderson is absent as he continues his recovery from Covid-19.
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Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo could equal the all-time UEFA Champions League appearance record in this match, levelling with Iker Casillas on 177 matches. Ronaldo is already the leading scorer with 134 goals, 15 of which were scored during his first spell at Man Utd between 2003 and 2009.
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Young Boys have lost their previous two UEFA European matches against Manchester United, losing two group stage matches in the 2018-19 season.
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Manchester United have won 50 per cent of their UEFA Champions League games against Swiss opponents (W4 D2 L2), with every game coming in the group stages against either Basel (W2 D2 L2) or Young Boys (W2).
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Manchester United have lost their first match in just one of their last 21 UEFA Champions League campaigns (W13 D7), losing 2-1 to PSV in the 2015-16 season under Louis van Gaal.
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Barcelona Vs Bayern Munchen
Bayern prepare to travel to Camp Nou having won their last five games on the spin in all competitions - although they currently trail perfect Wolfsburg by two points in the Bundesliga standings - while their unbeaten away record in the Champions League is truly something to behold.
Indeed, Bayern have not suffered defeat on the road in Europe’s elite tournament since losing 3-0 at PSG in September 2017 - winning 14 and drawing four away from home since then - which represents the longest-ever unbeaten streak away from home in the Champions League.
It is hard to believe that Bayern’s infamous 8-2 drubbing of Barca was 13 months ago now, and the teams have not met in the group stages since the 1998-99 campaign, where the Bavarian giants claimed a pair of 1-0 and 2-1 victories.
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Team News
Barcelona’s attacking forces have taken quite the hit in recent weeks, with Antoine Griezmann returning to Atletico Madrid while Sergio Aguero (calf), Ousmane Dembele (knee) and Ansu Fati (knee) remain in the treatment room.
Martin Braithwaite is now set to undergo surgery on a knee problem, so Depay and Philippe Coutinho may start either side of Luuk de Jong up top.
Jordi Alba has a strong chance of overcoming a knock in time to take his place on the left, but Sergino Dest is out, so Oscar Mingueza or Sergi Roberto will hope to get the nod at right-back.
Meanwhile, Bayern are relatively well-stocked for this mouthwatering affair, with Corentin Tolisso their only confirmed injury absentee for this game after Kingsley Coman was fit enough to make the journey.
Serge Gnabry had to be withdrawn just before half time at the weekend, although Nagelsmann affirmed that the substitution was precautionary and is hopeful that the ex-Arsenal man will be passed fit here.
Marcel Sabitzer made his Bayern debut off the bench against his former employers Leipzig but has his work cut out to displace Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich or Thomas Muller, the latter of whom boasts six goals in five games against Barca.
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Chelsea vs. Zenit St Petersburg
Both boasting unbeaten records in their domestic leagues so far, Chelsea host Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday, as the Champions League group stage returns.
Three months after the defending champions triumphed in Porto, they start their Group H campaign against a side sitting top of the Russian Premier League and aiming to improve on last year’s early exit.
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Team News
Chelsea will start their Champions League defence without American winger Christian Pulisic, while there remain doubts over influential midfielder N’Golo Kante. The Frenchman was forced off midway through last month’s game at Liverpool with an ankle injury and has yet to return, while Pulisic is expected to stay sidelined for a few more days with an ankle knock of his own.
Sergei Semak’s side will travel without midfielder Magomed Ozdoyev, who injured knee ligaments eight minutes into their opening league fixture in late July and has not featured since. There are also concerns about the fitness of centre-back Dmitri Chistyakov, whose ankle injury is set to keep him out too.
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Only three players have scored in 16 consecutive seasons in the UCL:
Lionel Messi
Karim Benzema
Cristiano Ronaldo
What a front three that would be.
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Cristiano Ronaldo in his first two games for Man Utd since re-signing:
vs. Newcastle
vs. Young Boys
Marking a historic occasion with a goal.
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63 - In 68 Champions League appearances since turning 30, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 63 goals - 35 more than any other player has scored aged 30 or older in Champions League history.
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