Excitement is building as these elite clubs fight for European glory once again.
The return of continental cup football in Europe is upon us.
The UEFA Champions League commences this Tuesday, followed by the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Due to the fixture between Lille and Olimpia Ljubljana, the Conference League begins its action on Wednesday, with the remaining fixtures taking place on Thursday.
Manchester City will initiate their Champions League title defense at home on the opening day as they face Red Star Belgrade.
Europa League champions Sevilla will commence their quest for another Champions League campaign on Wednesday against Lens.
Conference League victors West Ham United will kick off their pursuit of a Europa League title at home against TSC.
The standout fixtures of the opening round include Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United and Paris St. Germain vs. Borussia Dortmund.
Sept. 19
FEYENOORD vs. CELTIC / Champions League / GROUP - E
LAZIO vs. ATLÉTICO MADRID / Champions League / GROUP - E
AC MILAN vs. NEWCASTLE UNITED / Champions League / GROUP - F
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN vs. BORUSSIA DORTMUND / Champions League / GROUP - F
YOUNG BOYS vs. RB LEIPZIG / Champions League / GROUP - G
MANCHESTER CITY vs. RED STAR BELGRADE / Champions League / GROUP - G
BARCELONA vs. ANTWERP / Champions League / GROUP - H
SHAKHTAR DONETSK vs. PORTO / Champions League / GROUP - H
FEYENOORD vs. CELTIC / Champions League / GROUP – E
Feyenoord and Celtic are both former European champions, but they are not as strong as they used to be. It will be an accomplishment to advance from the group into the knockout stage.
Feyenoord had to beat Celtic to win their only title in this competition in 1970. Celtic won the competition 3 years prior, against Inter Milan.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN vs. BORUSSIA DORTMUND / Champions League / GROUP – F
They are consistent participants who are expected to give the favorites a good run. PSG and Dortmund would be a disappointment if they did not provide a strong title challenge.
MANCHESTER CITY vs. RED STAR BELGRADE / Champions League / GROUP – G
Manchester City is clear favorite in this game and in this tournament.
BARCELONA vs. ANTWERP / Champions League / GROUP – H
Barcelona is expected to end a two-season streak of failing to advance from the group stage.
Sept. 20
GALATASARAY vs. COPENHAGEN / Champions League / GROUP - A
BAYERN MUNICH vs. MANCHESTER UNITED / Champions League / GROUP - A
SEVILLA vs. LENS / Champions League / GROUP - B
ARSENAL vs. PSV EINDHOVEN / Champions League / GROUP - B
REAL MADRID vs. UNION BERLIN / Champions League / GROUP - C
BRAGA vs. NAPOLI / Champions League / GROUP - C
REAL SOCIEDAD vs. INTER MILAN / Champions League / GROUP - D
BENFICA vs. RED BULL SALZBURG / Champions League / GROUP - D
LILLE vs. OLIMPIJA LJUBLJANA / Europa League Conference / GROUP - A
BAYERN MUNICH vs. MANCHESTER UNITED / Champions League / GROUP – A
Most meetings have ended in victories for Bayern Munich, but Manchester United has dealt the biggest blow.
In the 1998/99 season, Bayern Munich won the group and remained unbeaten against Manchester United until they met in the final, where Bayern Munich dominated the match but fell short in the dying minutes by conceding two late goals, allowing Manchester United to win the Champions League final and complete a ‘treble’ winning season.
They met again in the quarterfinals of the 2000/01 season, with Bayern Munich advancing on aggregate with a ‘3-1’ win.
They were in a group in the 2001/02 season, which Manchester United won on away goals following a ‘1-1’ draw in Munich.
They met in the 2009/10 season’s quarterfinals, with Manchester United advancing with a ‘3-2’ win at home after a ‘1-1’ draw in Munich.
In 2014, it was once again a quarterfinal. Bayern Munich advanced once more after a ‘3-1’ home win, following a ‘1-1’ draw at Old Trafford.
The two clubs are once again in the same group.
We will have to wait and see how this plays out.
Bayern Munich is a more recent winner of the competition, and is in better form.
SEVILLA vs. LENS / Champions League / GROUP – B
Except for a surprise underdog success story, not much is expected from Lens after coming back to the competition after being absent for over two decades.
Sevilla is known for putting up a good fight in the Champions League, with the Europa League serving as insurance for silverware.
ARSENAL vs. PSV EINDHOVEN / Champions League / GROUP – B
They have not done anything spectacular in recent years, but PSV Eindhoven has been quite a regular feature in the Champions League over the last decade. Arsenal last competed in the Champions League in 2016/17, when they were eliminated in the Round of 16. They are back and looking good.
REAL MADRID vs. UNION BERLIN / Champions League / GROUP – C
Real Madrid is only club with double digit titles won in this tournament. They are chasing title number 15. We’ve seen them limp to a title in the past, so regardless of how their form looks in any other competition, it is difficult to estimate what Real Madrid will do. They kick off their Champions League campaign against Union Berlin, a Champions League debutant.
Sept. 21
WEST HAM UNITED vs. TSC / Europa League / GROUP - A OLYMPIACOS vs. FREIBURG / Europa League / GROUP - A AJAX vs. MARSEILLE / Europa League / GROUP - B BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION vs. AEK ATHENS / Europa League / GROUP - B SPARTA PRAGUE vs. ARIS LIMASSOL / Europa League / GROUP - C RANGERS vs. REAL BETIS / Europa League / GROUP - C ATALANTA vs. RAKÓW CZĘSTOCHOWA / Europa League / GROUP - D STURM GRAZ vs. SPORTING CP / Europa League / GROUP - D UNION SAINT-GILLOISE vs. TOULOUSE / Europa League / GROUP - E LASK vs. LIVERPOOL / Europa League / GROUP - E RENNES vs. MACCABI HAIFA / Europa League / GROUP - F PANATHINAIKOS vs. VILLARREAL / Europa League / GROUP - F SERVETTE vs. SLAVIA PRAGUE / Europa League / GROUP - G SHERIFF TIRASPOL vs. ROMA / Europa League / GROUP - G BAYER LEVERKUSEN vs. BK HÄCKEN / Europa League / GROUP - H QARABAĞ vs. MOLDE / Europa League / GROUP - H SLOVAN BRATISLAVA vs. KÍ / Europa League Conference / GROUP - A MACCABI TEL AVIV vs. BREIÐABLIK / Europa League Conference / GROUP - B ZORYA LUHANSK vs. GENT / Europa League Conference / GROUP - B VIKTORIA PLZEŇ vs. BALLKANI / Europa League Conference / GROUP - C DINAMO ZAGREB vs. ASTANA / Europa League Conference / GROUP - C CLUB BRUGGE vs. BEŞIKTAŞ / Europa League Conference / GROUP - D LUGANO vs. BODØ/GLIMT / Europa League Conference / GROUP - D LEGIA WARSAW vs. ASTON VILLA / Europa League Conference / GROUP - E ZRINJSKI MOSTAR vs. AZ ALKMAAR / Europa League Conference / GROUP - E GENK vs. FIORENTINA / Europa League Conference / GROUP - F FERENCVÁROS vs. ČUKARIČKI / Europa League Conference / GROUP - F EINTRACHT FRANKFURT vs. ABERDEEN / Europa League Conference / GROUP - G HJK vs. PAOK / Europa League Conference / GROUP - G LUDOGORETS RAZGRAD vs. SPARTAK TRNAVA / Europa League Conference / GROUP - H FENERBAHÇE vs. NORDSJÆLLAND / Europa League Conference / GROUP - H
WEST HAM UNITED vs. TSC / Europa League / GROUP – A
West Ham played in the Europa League two seasons ago, and went out at the semfinal stage. They came back to the Europa League after winning the Conference League last season. Can they finally win the Europa League title?
AJAX vs. MARSEILLE / Europa League / GROUP – B
Ajax fell into the Europa League after a group stage Champions League exit. They start there this season after finishing third in the Eredivisie last season.
The Europa League has been hometor Marseille when it comes to continental cup football. Marsielle made a return to the Champions League in the 2020/21 season after a 7 year absence. It was a short stay as they were eliminated in the group stage. They were back in the Champions League last season and repeated the same act.
