The biggest club competition in European football is back, and some of the shiniest names and players will be on show on the first night of action of this season s Champions League on Tuesday.
Holders Real Madrid have a trip to Scotland as they take on Celtic at what will surely be a noisy Parkhead, while tournament favourites Manchester City head to Sevilla.
Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to get Chelsea back to the winners enclosure as he did in 2021, starting with an away game at Dinamo Zagreb, while two of Europe s heavyweights clash in France as Paris Saint-Germain entertain Juventus.
Read on for more as Stats Perform looks at the key Opta facts ahead of Tuesday s Champions League action.
Who ll go all the way this season?
— UEFA Champions …
Ange Postecoglou vowed to enjoy Celtic’s record-breaking treble for as long as he could before someone “drags” him away to focus on other issues as he continued to dodge questions over his future.
Postecoglou is odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham and refused to give any indication on whether he would be departing Celtic Park after making it five trophies in two seasons with a 3-1 Scottish Cup win over Inverness.
Many Celtic fans fear their manager is London-bound and he would not give any assurances to the contrary.
Ange Postecoglou Olé!
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC)
“I will say to them what I said to the players, let’s enjoy this,” he said. “I deserve to enjoy this, the people around me deserve to enjoy this.
…
Joselu was the hero for Real Madrid as he scored twice off the bench to send them through to the Champions League final.
The Spaniard’s late brace secured Madrid’s comeback after Alphonso Davies had given the German side the lead, securing a 2-1 victory on the night, and a 4-3 win on aggregate to set up a meeting with Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
With only 10 minutes plus stoppage time to make an impact, Joselu made his time on the pitch count.
He scored with both his shots, becoming the oldest substitute to score a brace in a knockout game in the Champions League.
The forward is Madrid’s highest scorer in the competition this season with five goals, netting three of those after coming off the bench.
It is also the second time he has score…
The chairman of Istanbul s 2020 Olympic bid has made it clear that they have no interest in hosting the European Championship.
The chairman of Istanbul s 2020 Olympic bid has made it clear that they have no interest in hosting the European Championship.
The comments were made after UEFA president Michel Platini said he wanted the semi-finals and final to be held in Turkey.
I think it s very clear we are just for the Olympic Games, Hasan Arat told reporters after the Frenchman s comments.
There is no official interest and these comments come from UEFA.
Turkey had been favourites to host Euro 2020 before the football governing body decided the tournament would be spread across 12 or 13 European cities for the first time.
The Internatio…
Fabio Capello described it as a serious blow as Juventus were knocked out of the Champions League before the knock-out phase.
The former Juventus, Roma and Milan head coach said Massimiliano Allegri s team lacked spirit and fight as they went down 4-3 at Benfica, with two late goals for the Italians serving only as pitiful consolation.
Juventus, who have just one win from five games, could yet finish bottom of Group H, as their last opponents are mighty Paris Saint-Germain who are battling with Benfica for top spot.
Should Juventus lose that one, and Maccabi Haifa take even a point from their home game with Benfica, the Turin giants will sink to fourth place and miss out on the Europa League.
Speaking on Italian channel Sky Sport, Capello said: Allegri la…
Prediction: West Ham United to win 2-1
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West Ham United and FK TSC will lock horns with each other in UEFA Europa League Group A this week. The match between the Premier League club and the Serbian SuperLiga outfit will be held at London Stadium and is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time on Thursday.
West Ham United
West Ham United almost got relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, but they did extremely well in Europe. The Hammers won the UEFA Europa Conference League and will play in the UEFA Europa League this campaign. West Ham are a big and established club in the Premier League, and things are going well for David Moyes’s side at the moment.
The Hammers have been placed in UEFA Europa League G…
Gareth Bale says he would be wasting his time playing for Wales if he did not believe Ryan Giggs side could qualify for Euro 2020.
Bale salvaged a victory for Wales on Friday, with his late goal securing a 2-1 home win over Azerbaijan.
The win lifted Wales on to six points from their four games in Group E, and though they sit in fourth, they are only three points behind joint-leaders Croatia and Hungary.
Slovakia are level with Wales as it stands, and the sides will face off in what could be a crucial qualifier on October 10.
Though Bale acknowledged the squad are still working on adapting to Giggs desired style of play, he is in no doubt Wales semi-finalists at Euro 2016 can qualify for next year s tournament.
Yeah definitely, I wouldn t be h…
In 2004, Jose Mourinho set out his stall early at Chelsea.
We have top players and, sorry if I m arrogant, we have a top manager, said the Portuguese in his first press conference at the Premier League club, not long after he had led Porto to Champions League glory.
Please don t call me arrogant, but I m European champion and I think I m a special one.
Devilishly handsome, with a wicked charm and natural bravado. Men wanted to be him. Women wanted to well you get the gist. Not only did Mourinho talk the talk, but he walked the walk, winning the EFL Cup and the Premier League in his first season.
That was Chelsea s first domestic title in 50 years, and at the time they broke the record for the most points in a Premier League season (95) and fewest goals…
Paris Saint-Germain earned important three points in the opening round of their Champions League campaign on Tuesday, by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at the Parc des Princes in Group F. Labeled as the group of death , it also features AC Milan and Newcastle, who played a goalless draw at San Siro.
It was Kylian Mbappe who opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 49th minute, and Achraf Hakimi set what ended up as the final score nine minutes later.
The Vitinha impact
PSG played a possession-based game, typical for a side under the command of Luis Enrique, who led Barcelona to the treble in 2014/15. Having the ball at their feet for 69% of the playing time, the Ligue 1 champions controlled the flow of the match pretty well and took a total of 17 shots.
T…
Best Odds: 4/5
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In what is a heavyweight friendly showdown on Friday night, Spain and Colombia will meet at Wembley this weekend.
Spain
Starting with Spain, while La Roja might have come under real scrutiny 15 months ago as they had to settle for a Round of 16 finish in Qatar, the European heavyweights have come roaring back in some style. Cruising their way to EURO 24 and making a major statement, Luis de la Fuente’s men are now tipped as a genuine contender out in Germany this summer. Last seen signing off 2023 with a routine 3-1 victory against Georgia on November 19th, Spain will be looking to keep up their purple patch here. Crowned UEFA Nations League champions for a first time last summer, the one-time Alaves boss has seen his side win all of…