Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has detailed his plan to install a "multi-club" model with Chelsea, highlighting the success that Red Bull and Manchester City have had with the formula.

The Blues boss financed a significant spending spree in the transfer window after taking over from Roman Abramovich, then making a big call last week to axe Thomas Tuchel and bring in Graham Potter from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Boehly's rebuild is not done yet, though, with reports indicating the club are looking to bring in Luis Campos as their sporting director, which would see the highly-rated transfer guru snatched from his advisor role with French champions Paris Saint-Germain. 

In the long-term, more clubs could join the Chelsea family as Boehly has made it clear he wants to establish a network of clubs and will seek to follow the model of Red Bull and Premier League rivals City.

"We know people, we know human capital. I think we understand game plans and strategies. We're not expecting to be the football experts, to find the best talent, we're going to put those people in place," he told the SALT Conference in New York.

"It's not different from running any human capital business, it's all about getting the right resources, making them collaborate, getting them organised, thinking about how you have a global business at a local level.

"We're going to be continually adding resources. We've talked about having a multi-club model. I would love to continue to build out the footprint. There are different countries where there are advantages to having a club.

"Red Bull does a really good job. They've got Leipzig and they've got Salzburg, both of which are playing in the Champions League, so they've figured out how to make that work. You have Man City, which has a very big network of clubs."

Boehly is keen to use such a network to develop the young players in the squad, having shown a commitment to the future amongst the club's vast spending spree to bring in Carney Chukwuemeka, Gabriel Slonina and Cesare Casadei.

"The challenge that Chelsea have now, one of them, is when you have 18, 19-year-old superstars, you can loan them out to other clubs but you put their development into someone else's hands," he explained.

"Our goal is to make sure we can show pathways for our young superstars to get onto the Chelsea pitch, while getting them real game time. For me, the way to do that is with another club in a really competitive league in Europe."

Marc Marquez will make his competitive return at next weekend's Aragon Grand Prix after nearly four months out of action.

The six-time world champion has not raced competitively since the Italian GP on May 29 due to undergoing surgery on his right arm.

That was the fourth time Marquez had gone under the knife since breaking his arm in a crash at the Spanish GP in July 2020.

After completing a two-day test in Misano and intensive training at home, Repsol Honda confirmed on Tuesday the Spaniard will take part in the 15th race of the season.

Commenting on the news in a video message posted on social media, Marquez said: "As you can see, I'm smiling, which means I'll be at the Aragon GP. Racing, of course. 

"After talking to the doctors and the team, we have decided that the best for my recovery is to continue on the bike, adding up kilometres for next year.

"Doing it in the Aragon GP in front of all the fans is priceless. I'm sure your support will help me go through the whole weekend. Looking forward to Friday and being on the bike."

Marquez has won the Aragon GP a record five times in MotoGP, but he finished second to Francesco Bagnaia in last year's thrilling battle.

The return of Premier League football could be jeopardised by a shortage of TV trucks caused by the 24/7 coverage being given to Her Majesty the Queen's funeral. 

According to British media outlet Sportsmail, the Premier League's main rights holder Sky Sports are running out of the outside broadcast trucks required to deliver live coverage as many are being used by their sister channel, Sky News.

Sky Sports are due to televise eight live matches across football next weekend, beginning with Aston Villa v Southampton in the Premier League on Friday evening followed by Tottenham v Leicester the next day, and Brentford v Arsenal and Chelsea v Liverpool on Sunday.

In addition, Sky have two live Championship matches on Saturday, plus Scottish Premier League and Women's Super League fixtures the following day.

Sky News are providing unprecedented coverage of events across the country building up to the Queen's funeral next Monday, which has put a strain on their resources. 

The lack of TV trucks is understood to have emerged as an additional complicating factor during talks over football's resumption following last weekend's shutdown, which will continue this morning with a briefing from government.

The strain on police resources is the biggest obstacle to Premier League games taking place as planned next weekend, as up to 10,000 police officers will be deployed in London to manage what has been described as an unprecedented security operation in the capital ahead of the funeral. 

Officers from across the country will be redeployed to the capital so it is not just London fixtures that are at risk of being postponed.

There are major doubts over whether Leeds' trip to Manchester United will take place next Sunday as a large police presence will be required at Old Trafford, while Chelsea v Liverpool on the same day is also deemed a high-risk fixture.

There are doubts over Arsenal's Europa League clash with PSV Eindhoven taking place on Thursday night after Rangers' Champions League fixture with Napoli was put back 24 hours until Wednesday, with away fans banned. 

UEFA have also forbidden Rangers fans to attend the return match in Italy next month, for 'sporting fairness' reasons.

 

Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of one count of rape on the direction of the judge in his ongoing trial at Chester Crown Court.

Mendy, 28, was cleared of the rape of a 19-year-old woman at his home in Cheshire on July 24 last year.

Mendy's co-accused Louis Saha Matturie, 41, was cleared of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault against the same woman.

Judge Stephen Everett ordered the jury to clear the two defendants of those counts after the prosecution offered no further evidence.

Mendy and Matturie remain on trial for a number of other alleged sexual offences, which they both deny.

Mendy was suspended by City on August 26, 2021 and has not played for them since.

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho says the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel came as a "surprise", revealing the Blues' players feel partly responsible for his exit.

The German coach was axed last week in the aftermath of a surprise defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, which followed on from Premier League losses against Southampton and Leeds United during an underwhelming start to the season.

Chelsea moved quickly to appoint Graham Potter as Tuchel's successor at Stamford Bridge, with their first game under his guidance coming on Wednesday against Salzburg.

With last week's Premier League action postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Tuesday's pre-match news conference represented the first opportunity for questions on the managerial change.

Jorginho conceded it is something he has become accustomed to, with Potter the fourth Chelsea boss he has worked under, but says he was caught off guard by the latest switch.

"It's happening a lot, as everyone knows. We're adapting to the new coach, we're very excited to work with him and his staff. It's been quite good the first few days," he said.

"Of course, we had a great time with Thomas, we appreciate everything he did for us, for the club, for the fans, now we have a new challenge to look forward to and we're very excited.

"It was a surprise for everyone. What has been said between the players will stay there, sorry.

"There's always talking around what has happened, but now we have games coming and life is quick, so we don't have much time to stay and think. We need to concentrate on what we need to do."

Jorginho was then asked about Tuchel's repeated criticism of the team in the build-up to his departure, and the midfielder admitted there is work to do.

"It was his feeling, he said that to us as well. We tried to do what we could, we tried to do our best, it's what we do," he added.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't working anymore and the challenge now is to rebuild the confidence because Chelsea are a big club, we have a lot of work to do and to do that we need to work with everyone moving in the same direction.

"Of course, we feel responsible, we were a team, it's not one person who is responsible for what happened, everyone is responsible."

Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff insisted the side's host of new additions joined in order to "follow their dream" as he hit out at criticism of the Blaugrana's transfer policy.

Despite concerns regarding the club's finances, Barcelona acquired Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso during a busy transfer window.

Xavi's new-look team have impressed this season, taking 13 points from their first five matches in LaLiga, but many onlookers were surprised by their ability to outmanoeuvre their rivals in the market.

Raphinha and Kounde, for instance, were both strongly linked with Chelsea before arriving at Camp Nou. Cruyff, however, insists Barca retain a unique draw.

"Barcelona has a magnet, it is beautiful," Cruyff told Guillem Balague ahead of the Cruyff Legacy Summit.

"You can see the pride in the eyes of the players when they get a chance to sign for Barcelona and that has helped a lot, being able to compete with clubs with bigger budgets and better salaries.

"They wanted to sign for Barcelona, and we are very grateful for these players because, believe me, they had better offers than us.

"And still they chose to follow their dream to be part of history. When you see the eyes shining in these players you know you are in a special place."

LaLiga's strict salary controls meant Barca were forced to wait to register some of their new signings, with Kounde sitting out the club's opening league game as they attempted to streamline their squad.

However, Cruyff believes those who criticised the club's transfer policy lack understanding, adding: "I have noticed 99 per cent of the people don't understand Spanish financial fair play, how to fit that puzzle.

"It is something you won't understand in one hour, it is more complex and complicated. Even when you have money, you can't spend it.

"The news that has come out about us is not always accurate, and I understand people listen to that and think what Barcelona has done is maybe not elegant.

"That is a question of understanding fair play. Our job was to, inside the strict rules of Spanish football, improve the team. Now we have a squad that can compete with everything."

Cruyff also believes Barcelona's purchases were made with the future in mind, adding: "Most of the players we have brought in have a lot of years in front [of them], have a transfer value.

"We have made financially good decisions because you can see in the last week of the window how values have gone up.

"We have a squad for the future. The future is here and the present is here. We have things we need to improve, but the club had to make that decision in the summer.

"January 2022 was not a moment to buy four or five players and repair what we needed to repair. In January we looked at the short term, now we looked at short, middle and long term.

"The team has started really well, with the manager doing a really good job. He has a positive headache... he has a good squad to choose from.

"If that continues the right way, the city is alive again. Even for the smaller games, it's a sell-out and that shows the mood. You see how the people are so happy with the players that have joined. You feel it is alive again, and this club needed that."

Graham Potter admitted the chance to manage Chelsea was too good to turn down.

Potter left Brighton and Hove Albion to take over as head coach at Stamford Bridge last week after Thomas Tuchel had been sacked by the London club.

Speaking at his first press conference as Chelsea boss ahead of the Champions League group stage clash against Salzburg, Potter said he was grateful for the trust the club's new owners put in him and is looking forward to getting started.

"You have to look at the football club here, the tradition, the quality, the size, the ambition of the club, to compete in the Champions League, to compete at the top of the Premier League," he said when asked why he left Brighton for this opportunity.

"It's a completely different challenge to the ones I've had.

"I'm very thankful for the ownership here, putting their trust in me and believing in me, to work with an exciting group of players, to be competitive, and to put a team on the pitch that supporters are really proud of.

"I'm very excited, as you can imagine, and looking forward to getting going."

The 47-year-old, who has also managed Swedish side Ostersund and Swansea City, admitted it has been a quick transition from one job to another, speaking just nine days after his former Brighton team had impressed with a 5-2 thrashing of Leicester City.

"It feels like nine weeks, or nine months!" he exclaimed.

"The beauty of football is you never know what's round the corner. Things happen quickly.

"It's been a whirlwind in terms of getting to know people, leaving Brighton, learning about the players, getting to know them, but so far it's been really positive, my first impressions have been really good. I'm looking forward to starting."

Potter is widely admired in the game for his style of football. Since the start of last season, only Liverpool (11.4) and Manchester City (9.9) have averaged more high turnovers per game than Brighton (9.8) in the Premier League.

He insisted he wants a team at Chelsea that plays his desired way, but also plays to win.

"The team that I'd like to see is one that is balanced in terms of attack and defence, a humble team, a respectful team that runs hard and fights," he added. 

"We want to entertain, of course we do, but we also want to win. I'm respectful of the Premier League, I'm respectful of our opponents, there's a lot of teams that want to do the same thing.

"We want to create our own team, our own identity so it's recognisable, and supporters understand what we're trying to do, can see what we're trying to do, and we'll fight every day for it."

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes Dak Prescott could be back on field much sooner than initially expected. 

Jones said during an interview with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday that Prescott won't be placed on injured reserve because he could return from his broken thumb within four weeks. 

"We want him to be in consideration for playing within the next four games," Jones said  

Prescott was originally expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks after suffering a fracture near his right thumb in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

If placed on IR, Prescott would have to miss a minimum of four games, however, after Monday's surgery, Jones is optimistic the 29-year-old won't be out that long. 

"We feel better about it than we did Sunday night," Jones said. 

With Jones' new timeline, Prescott could be back playing in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams on October 9. 

"Dak has a real chance to be back out there throwing the ball pretty quick," Jones said. 

The Cowboys host the 0-1 Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday with Cooper Rush set to start at quarterback. 

The 28-year-old Rush made his lone career start last season in Week 8 at Minnesota with Prescott nursing a calf strain and threw a winning touchdown pass to Amari Cooper in the final minute of a 20-16 victory. 

Rush threw for 325 yards in that game and was seven of 13 passing for 64 yards Sunday after Prescott got hurt. 

Prescott struggled against Tampa Bay prior to his injury, completing 14 of 29 passes for 134 yards with one interception, compiling a 47.2 passer rating – the lowest by any QB in Week 1. 

Frances Tiafoe has replaced John Isner in the Team World line-up for next week's Laver Cup in London.

Isner has failed to recover from the wrist injury that forced him to withdraw from the US Open ahead of his second-round match against Holger Rune.

Fellow American Tiafoe knocked out Rafael Nadal en route to reaching the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows, where he was beaten by tournament winner Carlos Alcaraz.

The 24-year-old, now at a career high of 19th in the ATP rankings, will take Isner's place at the O2 Arena as Team World aim to end Team Europe's run of four triumphs in a row.

Tiafoe previously took part in the tournament in 2017 and 2018, but has missed the past two editions.

Team World captain John McEnroe said: "I am thrilled to have Frances on the team. 

"He's raised his game to a whole new level and has shown he can compete and win against the best players on Tour. He brings a positive energy that should help the entire team."

Tiafoe joins Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Diego Schwartzman, Alex de Minaur and Jack Sock on McEnroe's six-man team.

Team Europe, led by Bjorn Borg, is made up of Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

The tournament is contested on an indoor hard court and runs for three days from September 23.

Pep Guardiola is happy to lean on the knowledge of Manchester City's former Borussia Dortmund players ahead of Wednesday's Champions League meeting with the Bundesliga club.

Dortmund head to Etihad Stadium for their fifth meeting with City in the Champions League.

The clubs previously faced each other in the 2012-13 group stage and the quarter-finals in the 2020-21 campaign. City have won three of those matches, with the other one finishing as a draw.

Ilkay Gundogan, Sergio Gomez, Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji have all spent chunks of their career at Dortmund, with the latter two having signed for City from the German side earlier this year.

Akanji made his City debut in the 4-0 thrashing of Sevilla last week, a game in which Haaland scored twice, taking his tally for the season to 12 goals from seven appearances in all competitions.

Asked in a press conference if Haaland was excited about facing his former side, Guardiola said: "We spoke in general. Not [a] special [conversation]. Of course, we spoke about some of their players, what he thinks, but in the end it's the quality of the players tomorrow that make the difference."

Guardiola is more than willing to take on board the advice of his four former Dortmund players, however.

"Yes, they are intelligent, players know about football," he said. "Some specific players have doubts... they know them better than me. They were two, three years with them, they know much more than me. I could watch a thousand videos.

"Their systems, formations, are less important than the fact of like how is the manager, how they thought they played against us two years ago – they know it, they know better than me."

It has been a remarkable start to life in England for Haaland, who is the first City player to score on both his Premier League and Champions League debuts for the club.

Haaland has scored 25 goals in 20 Champions League appearances, the most by any player in their first 20 games in the competition. He netted 15 in 13 games with Dortmund and could become just the second player to score a goal in the tournament both for and against the German side, after Ciro Immobile.

Guardiola believes it is too early, however, to judge if the striker can be the difference when it comes to City ending their Champions League duck.

"I'm not able to know it," he said. "The team and he, [so far] are playing well but right now, I don't know."

Asked what Haaland can improve, Guardiola replied: "He's young, he's hungry, he will be a better player, it's going to happen.

"At 22, 23 years old he can be better, for sure. It's a connection with his team-mates, a question of time, he will become a better player."

Stefano Pioli has no worries about continuing to select Olivier Giroud to lead the Milan attack in the continued absence of Divock Origi.

Giroud has played in all seven of Milan's matches so far this season, starting five of those, due to the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ante Rebic and new signing Origi being injured.

Origi has managed just 80 minutes of action since arriving as a free agent in the transfer window and has yet to open his goalscoring account for the club.

Pioli had hoped to call on the ex-Liverpool striker before next week's international break, but he has been ruled out of Wednesday's Champions League tie with Dinamo Zagreb.

France international Giroud, who turns 36 later this month, is now expected to start at San Siro as he looks to add to his tally of three goals and an assist so far this term.

Milan head coach Pioli is not overly concerned by Origi's injury-plagued start to life at the club and is happy for Giroud to continue in the role.

"Olivier can play every game, and I have many other players who can also play in that position," Pioli said at Tuesday's press conference.

"I'm not worried about Origi's injury, but sorry. He is a player we strongly wanted and I'm now hoping to have him back after the [international] break."

 

Giroud has scored only one goal in his past 11 Champions League appearances, managing just eight shots in total across that period – only five of which were on target.

Milan could do with the former Arsenal and Chelsea striker stepping up on Wednesday as they aim to improve on last week's 1-1 draw away at Salzburg in their Group E opener.

However, Zagreb enter the contest in good form having won six games on the spin, including a 1-0 victory over Chelsea that leaves them top of the early standings.

"We have to put our full potential into every game," Pioli said. "Tomorrow's match is very important, but not yet decisive because there are many other matches remaining.

"We could be on top of the group with a win. We have a chance, but it will be difficult because Dinamo deservedly won the first game [against Chelsea].

"If we play at a high level, we have a good chance to win both in Italy and in Europe. We have to play at our best."

Massimiliano Allegri believes coaches who are shown red cards should pay fines that are then passed to charities, rather than face touchline bans.

The Juventus head coach was sent off in stoppage time of his side's dramatic 2-2 draw with Salernitana on Sunday after protesting the referee and VAR overturning what would have been a last-minute winning goal from Arkadiusz Milik, who was also dismissed for taking his shirt off during the initial celebrations.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Bianconeri hosting Benfica in the Champions League group stage, Allegri said he considers the chapter "closed", but raised his idea that coaches pay fines rather than face bans following such incidents.

"I have never expressed any judgements of the referees," he said. "It's not up to me to express my opinion on that. I closed that chapter on Sunday.

"I don't know whether I will be able to take part in Sunday's game [at Monza]. Rather than being sent off, maybe it would be better to pay a fine for coaches so we can help charities, but I would like to be on the pitch.

"This is something that should be taken into consideration that could be food for thought, in my opinion." 

Juve have had an underwhelming start to the season, drawing four of their six Serie A games so far, while they lost their opening game in Group H of the Champions League 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain last week.

Allegri expects his team to improve, but pointed to a lack of experience at the top level for several of his players, singling out new arrival Bremer, who signed from Torino in July.

"We certainly have experience, but at the same time we have other players who have not played in the Champions League very often, and have not played in Serie A very often, so they have less experience," Allegri said.

"Playing for Juventus is not easy at all, the players are always under pressure. Obviously we want to win all the time so we are pushed from the outside.

"Bremer, I believe, will only be playing his second match in the Champions League if I'm not wrong. He's an extraordinary signing for the club of course but in terms of experience... he has to deal with some psychological pressure.

"We would like to have a different situation in Serie A. We have lost some points and I am sorry for that. We have time to recover, but as for the match, it will be a difficult and complicated match and we must be focused on it."

The former Milan boss did have some good news for Juve fans, saying Angel Di Maria has returned from injury and could start at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday, while first-choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is also back in training.

"Di Maria has recovered," he said. "I don't know if he will start, but he has been training with the team. Szczesny has also been training so may be available, I will know after this press conference.

"Alex Sandro had a problem after Sunday, he might be back for the Monza game, and [Adrien] Rabiot and [Manuel] Locatelli are out."

Ilkay Gundogan does not believe Erling Haaland is nervous about facing former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Haaland will line up against the team he left for Manchester City in June when Dortmund visit the Etihad Stadium for the Group G encounter.

The Norway international has scored 25 Champions League goals in 20 appearances, the most by any player in their first 20 games in the competition.

Fifteen of those came in 13 matches in the competition for Dortmund, and Haaland could become just the second player to score a Champions League goal both for and against the German side, after Ciro Immobile.

The smart money is on him doing so, given his remarkable start to life at City.

Haaland has 10 goals in just six Premier League games, that tally comprising two hat-tricks, and netted a brace in City's Champions League win at Sevilla last week.

Gundogan spent five years at Dortmund from 2011 to 2016 before joining City, helping the club win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double under Jurgen Klopp in 2011-12.

But Gundogan expects the occasion to be more special for Haaland than for himself, though he senses no trepidation in the 22-year-old.

"No, I saw him very happy," Gundogan told a media conference when asked if Haaland was nervous. 

"He was sitting next to me and was very happy, he was asking me [how I felt]. We're both very excited to play our former team.

"For me it's more in the past, but for him it's going to be a lot more special because he'll know 95 per cent of the squad.

"I know a few players and really looking forward to the game here and in Dortmund, it's a special occasion for both of us."

Sergio Gomez and Manuel Akanji also formerly plied their trade at Dortmund, the latter joining in the most recent transfer window, and Gundogan does not believe it is possible for the quartet playing their former club to take the emotion out of the game.

"'I'm sure it’s impossible to take it out because we will have memories attached to Dortmund, I believe all four of us have mainly positive memories, so quite difficult to take emotions out completely," he added. 

"You deal with them in the best possible way, about using them in your favour, not to be over excited, keep calm and cool, which can be the most difficult thing in football."

City lost the Champions League final to Chelsea in 2021 and then fell victim to a comeback from Real Madrid in last year's semi-final.

"The most important thing is the margin of making mistakes, the little details that decide, especially in quarter-finals, semi-finals and final obviously, the margin is so tight that no mistakes are really allowed," Gundogan said of learning from those experiences. 

"The last few years the way we got knocked out was maybe a bit tragic in the way it happened, but I don't think we should regret anything, it's always an experience for us.

"It was incredible to play in the final, even if we lost it, it was an incredible experience. As a competitor you learn from it, try to get there again and do better. The target for the season is the same, reach the maximum and see what can happen."

Asked if Haaland can be the difference in this competition this season, Gundogan replied: "We hope for it. Obviously having a proper number nine, proper striker, physically strong, determined is going to help us a lot, but we will see.

"Winning the Champions League is something incredible to achieve, a very tough competition, it's never easy and little details can decide the outcome. We'll try as hard as we can to go as far as possible."

There was no shortage of thrills and spills on matchday one of the Champions League, and Wednesday's action promises more of the same as one of the world's most in-form strikers faces his former club.

Erling Haaland has made a spectacular start to his Manchester City career, hitting 12 goals in all competitions since his move from Borussia Dortmund, but how will he fare when his old team visit the Etihad Stadium? 

Elsewhere, Graham Potter will hope to have an immediate impact in his first game as Chelsea's head coach as they bid to bounce back from last week's 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.

Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, are among the favourites to be crowned European champions, and will both be hopeful of making it two wins from two outings.

Ahead of another intriguing set of European ties, Stats Perform trawls through the Opta data to highlight the most noteworthy facts for each game.

Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund

City striker Haaland netted 15 times in 13 Champions League appearances for Dortmund, and few would bet against the Norwegian haunting his former team on Wednesday.

Haaland helped himself to a brace at Sevilla last time out, bringing him to 25 Champions League goals in just 20 appearances – the highest tally managed by any player in their first 20 games in Europe's premier club competition. 

The visit of BVB will represent a landmark outing for City boss Pep Guardiola, taking him to 150 Champions League games. Only five other coaches have reached that tally, while only two have earned more victories than Guardiola's 94 – Alex Ferguson (102) and Carlo Ancelotti (99).

The omens are certainly good for the Premier League champions, who are unbeaten in their last 20 Champions League home games, winning 18 and drawing two. That represents the longest such sequence by an English side since Chelsea's run of 21 without defeat between September 2006 and December 2009.

Dortmund, meanwhile, have not won at an English side in the competition since beating Arsenal 2-1 in October 2013.

Chelsea v Salzburg

Defeat to Dinamo Zagreb spelled the end of Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea reign last week, and Potter is the man entrusted to ensure they avoid back-to-back continental defeats when Salzburg visit.

Chelsea have never previously lost their opening two games of a Champions League campaign, and last lost consecutive games in the competition in 2019-20, when they were beaten by Bayern Munich in both legs of a last-16 tie.

This will be the first meeting between Chelsea and Salzburg, with the Blues only losing one of their previous four European ties against Austrian teams (W1 D2). Salzburg, meanwhile, have never beaten an English side in European competition in six attempts (D1 L5).

But the Blues will have to be wary of Matthias Jaissle's young guns at Stamford Bridge, and may need to keep a particularly close eye on Noah Okafor. 

The 22-year-old has four goals in his last five Champions League outings for Salzburg – only Haaland (eight) has ever scored more for the club in the competition.

Real Madrid v RB Leipzig

Holders Madrid are looking to secure consecutive wins when they host RB Leipzig at the Santiago Bernabeu, and are unbeaten in their last 11 Champions League games against German opponents, scoring at least two goals in all of those matches (27 in total).

Leipzig, however, are unbeaten in their three European clashes with Spanish sides (W2 D1) and will be looking for a result comparable to their 2-1 quarter-final win over Atletico Madrid in 2019-20.

Los Blancos possess a remarkable amount of experience at the highest level; should Luka Modric feature, he will become the first 37-year-old outfield player to play a European Cup/Champions League game for Madrid since Ferenc Puskas in November 1965 against Kilmarnock.

Coach Ancelotti, meanwhile, is on the brink of his 100th win in the Champions League, and could become just the second boss to bring up such a century in the competition (after Alex Ferguson with 102).

Maccabi Haifa v Paris Saint-Germain

Kylian Mbappe scored a terrific brace to get PSG's European campaign off to a flying start against Juventus, and a trip to Maccabi Haifa gives him the opportunity to make club history.

The striker has scored 29 goals in 45 Champions League outings with PSG, scoring against 14 of the 17 opponents he's faced with the French champions. One more goal will see him level Edinson Cavani's record of 30 goals in the competition for the Ligue 1 side.

He could be aided by the in-form Neymar, who has provided eight assists for Mbappe in the Champions League, more than any player has assisted another in the competition since the start of 2017-18.

The final member of their revered forward trio, Lionel Messi, also has his eyes on making history.

Messi has scored against 38 different teams in the Champions League, the same amount as his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, and will be keen to claim the record outright when he faces Maccabi for the first time on Wednesday.

Other fixtures:

Rangers v Napoli

1 – Wednesday's rearranged match will be the first competitive meeting between Rangers and Napoli. The Serie A side have only faced a Scottish team in European competition once before, exiting to Hibernian in the Fairs Cup in November 1967.

3 – Piotr Zielinski was directly involved in three of Napoli's four goals as they thrashed Liverpool last week (two goals, one assist). This is already his best campaign for goal contributions in the competition since joining Napoli.  

Milan vs Dinamo Zagreb

6 - Milan have failed to win any of their last six home games in the Champions League (D3 L3), their longest run without a home victory in the competition.

31.8 – Dinamo Zagreb had just 31.8 per cent possession against Chelsea on matchday one, the lowest of any team who managed to avoid defeat in their opening game.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Celtic

3 – Shakhtar's Mykhailo Mudryk was one of three players to be directly involved in three goals on matchday one (one goal, two assists), along with Robert Lewandowski and Zielinski.

1/13 - Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart has only kept one clean sheet in his last 13 away Champions League games, with his last coming at Roma in December 2014 (for Manchester City).

Copenhagen v Sevilla

8 - Spanish sides are unbeaten in all eight of their Champions League games against Danish clubs (W6 D2) – only against sides from the Czech Republic (13) have Spanish teams appeared more often without defeat.

3/4 - Sevilla have lost three of their last four Champions League group-stage games (W1), as many as they lost in their previous 22 such matches (W10 D9).

Juventus v Benfica

2 - Juventus have lost their last two Champions League games. Only once in the history of the European Cup/Champions League have they lost three in a row, doing so between May 1968 and September 1972.

4 – Benfica's Alejandro Grimaldo has been involved in four goals in his last four Champions League games (one goal, three assists), more than he was in his first 27 games in the competition (two goals, one assist).

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