The wait for the Champions League today is over! As the new season of the league is underway, four English clubs are in play - and plenty of excitement in the way as each begins their campaign.
The first matchday is Tuesday 8th - Thursday 10th September. Manchester City host at Porto on the opening night while Aston Villa host at Club Brugge. Liverpool play away at Atlético Madrid and Arsenal in a home match against Napoli on Wednesday. Manchester United finish off at home this Thursday against Sabah.
Form and Key Statistics
It is the third season of the new league-phase Champions League format, so let's take a brief look at what has happened in the competition over the past two seasons if you're looking for Champions League today without following all the twists of the new system. The 36 clubs play a different opposition to eight, four at home, four away, instead of the previous group stage format. The last eight in the combined table enter the last 16. The teams ranked 9th to 24th go into a two-legged playoff with the eventual victor gaining a berth in the knockout phase. The bottom 12 teams are eliminated.
That is the format that is important to read Matchday 1. One result holds less importance than it did in the old group format, but a solid first result makes the remainder of the campaign that much easier.
Match Analysis
On paper, the most difficult and challenging assignment is the trip to Napoli for the Gunners, who will be faced by a tough challenge from the Italians. This is a test for the very beginning, because Napoli are coming in as reigning champions of the Italian league.
The best game for the English for neutrals is against Atlético Madrid at Liverpool's Anfield ground. It is seldom a European away game like the one Atlético have traditionally been known for, with tight games and low scoring levels.
Manchester City travel to Porto and Aston Villa travel to Club Brugge — two away trips that look winnable on paper, but sides who take them lightly always go home with a defeat in their pocket.
The most straight-forward match of the four, based on the two teams' form in the game, is Manchester United's home tie against Sabah.
Rooted Predict Verdict
We can not claim to make a 100 sure football prediction today, as Champions League openers can be so easy to knock out of the ballpark. The evidence is that the match at Napoli is the most hazardous of the four for the English side as the hosts are the champions.
On paper, the home game at United seems the easiest, with Liverpool away at Atlético being a toss-up between either a tight 1X2 or an Under 2.5 Goal. For those following our free football predictions across the competition, this is a matchday worth tracking closely.
Conclusion
Four challenges, four levels of risk. Arsenal's trip to Napoli is the toughest of the lot, while United's home tie against Sabah looks the easiest on paper. Even so, the most interesting game of the week is Liverpool vs Atlético. That mix of risk and reward is what makes Matchday 1 worth watching more closely than you might think.
