The most decorated club competition in the world is back underway, and Wednesday's Champions League action promises some fireworks.
Winners in 2019-20, Bayern Munich will travel to the San Siro to take on Inter, while last year's runners-up Liverpool head to Napoli for a game they are favoured in.
Reigning Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt will look to keep up Germany's strong record against Portuguese teams when they host Sporting CP, and Harry Kane will be aiming to build on his superb European record as Tottenham host Marseille.
For a closer look, Stats Perform have dove into some interesting facts and nuggets about each matchup on Wednesday to give a clearer picture about how these clashes of champions may play out.
Inter v Bayern Munich
After their last Champions League run ended in a quarter-final loss to Villarreal, Bayern Munich will be desperate for a much improved result as they seek their seventh title, beginning their campaign away from home against Inter.
The sides have evenly split their seven previous European meetings, with three wins each and one draw, although it has been over a decade since their last Champions League fixture back in 2011.
While they do not have much recent history against Bayern in this competition, Inter's games against German opponents have turned into goal-fests, with 39 total goals (19 for, 20 against) in their past 10 matches.
Bayern have had much more success against Italian sides, going unbeaten in their past 10 (8W, 2D) – with their last loss coming in that 2011 battle with Inter, and the Nerazzurri were also the last side to keep a clean sheet against them in the 2010 final.
Romelu Lukaku will be a hard man to replace for the Italians as he will be absent after suffering a thigh injury. In his 16 European contests for Inter, he has 17 goal involvements (13 goals and four assists).
Napoli v Liverpool
This will be the third time in the past five seasons that Napoli and Liverpool have landed in the same Champions League group after back-to-back years in 2018-19 and 2019-20, with the Italian side winning all three of their home games.
Napoli have not featured in the last two editions of Europe's top competition, but they were a force in the group stage before their drought, with only one loss from their previous 12 matches (5W, 6D).
Mohamed Salah's seven goals in last season's group stage was the second-most ever in a group stage from a player on an English team, trailing only Ruud van Nistelrooy's eight during Manchester United's 2004-05 campaign. Salah is also one assist away from tying James Milner and Steven Gerrard for Liverpool's record number of assists in the Champions League (12).
Tottenham v Marseille
In the first ever competitive meeting between these two sides, Tottenham will likely be confident in their ability to get the job done at home against a Marseille side long removed from any Champions League success.
From their past 15 Champions League games, Marseille have only one win, against Olympiakos in 2020. English sides have given them particular trouble as well, as they have 12 losses against Premier League sides in their history in the competition – twice as many as against any other nation (six losses against Italian teams).
Harry Kane will be looking to add to his stellar European record, with 23 goal involvements (20 goals, three assists) in 24 career fixtures. Of all players with at least 20 Champions League goals, only Erling Haaland (64), Mario Gomez (102) and Lionel Messi (103.7) have a better minutes-per-goal figure than Kane's 104.4
Eintracht Frankfurt v Sporting CP
The reigning Europa League champions, Eintracht Frankfurt are making history with their first-ever Champions League berth, becoming the 14th German side to ever qualify – breaking the tie with Spain (13) for the most by any nation.
German sides have given Sporting trouble over the years, with 13 losses and one draw from 14 tries in European competition, with that emerging as a theme between the two nations.
Against all Portuguese sides, German teams are undefeated in their past 15 Champions League matches (13W, 2L) dating back to 2006.
After netting five times in last season's Europa League triumph to take his tally up to 11, Eintracht's Daichi Kamada can enter the club's record books as one of their top-three goalscorers in European competition with one more.
Other fixtures:
Ajax v Rangers
20 - Ajax scored 20 goals in their six matches in last year's Champions League group stage, winning all six. It is the most goals they have ever scored in a Champions League group stage, before being eliminated by Benfica in the first knockout round.
19 - This will be Rangers' first Champions League appearance since 2010-11, and in their history, only Anderlecht (17 per cent) have a worse winning percentage in the competition than Rangers' 19 per cent. They have lost all four of their previous European meetings against Ajax.
Atletico Madrid v Porto
13 - This will be Atletico Madrid's 13th Champions League campaign, moving them past Valencia into the third-most for a Spanish side, trailing only Barcelona and Real Madrid (both 27). This is Atletico's 10th berth in a row, all under Diego Simeone.
26 - This is Porto's 26th Champions League, trailing only Barcelona and Real Madrid. If they were to be eliminated in the group stage this season, it would be the first time they failed to make it through the group stage in back-to-back campaigns since 1998.
Club Brugge v Bayer Leverkusen
1 - There has been only one win from a Belgian side against a German team in 24 Champions League meetings (18L, 5D) – and it was Brugge just last season, defeating RB Leipzig 2-1.
9 - Leverkusen have failed to win the opening match of their Champions League run the past nine times they have qualified (8L, 1D), with their last opening win coming in 2001.
Barcelona v Viktoria Plzen
33 - Barcelona striker Robert Lewandwoski is the top overall Champions League goal-scorer from the past three seasons, with 33 goals in 26 games. Last season, he netted nine goals in five home games,
24 - In their only two previous Champions League fixtures against Barcelona, Viktoria Plzen have averaged 24 per cent of the possession, and have lost the shot-count by a combined margin of 36-4.
'If we get relegated, I will be here', says Guardiola amid Man City charges
Pep Guardiola insisted he would stay with Manchester City even if the club is relegated as punishment for their alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
Guardiola, who joined City in 2016, signed a new two-year contract extension on Friday, ending speculation over his current deal that was due to expire at the end of the season.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
During his time in charge, the Spaniard has won 18 trophies, including six Premier League titles and their maiden Champions League crown last year.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
However, a hearing into Man City's 115 charges for allegedly breaking the Premier League's rules is also under way, but Guardiola said he will stay regardless of the outcome.
"I said that six months ago. If we get relegated, I will be here and next year we're going to come up to the Premier League. I knew it then, I feel it now," Guardiola said.
He also revealed that he agreed to fresh terms at the Etihad in less than two hours.
"I felt I should stay here. Of course, because they want me. For obvious reasons, for the results and because we've known each other for a long time," he added.
"All my decisions have been like that, what I feel in the moment. I don't pre-convince, I wait. I decided to stay here and in just two hours we did it [agreed the contract]."
City welcome Tottenham to the Etihad this weekend on the back of four consecutive defeats - Guardiola's longest losing run in his entire managerial career.
The Citizens last lost more consecutively between March and April 2006 under Stuart Pearce (six – the fifth game of which was also against Tottenham).
They have also won just three of their last 10 top-flight games against Tottenham (D2 L5) and are looking to win consecutive meetings with them for the first time since April 2019.
Despite their run of form, Guardiola was quick to point out his side's recent success, most notably becoming the first team to win four consecutive Premier League titles.
"When you are here for nine years, with a long time at one club, you live all the scenarios, all the situations," Guardiola said.
"You're able to lose four games in a row, but at the same time, you're able to win four Premier Leagues in a row.
"The difference is that most of the teams are able to lose four games in a row in different competitions, but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row. So it happened.
"Did it happen in one season? No. When you've been somewhere eight or nine years, yeah, both sides of the run can happen."
Simeone grateful to hit landmark 700th game with Atletico
Diego Simeone says he is grateful to be managing his 700th game at Atletico Madrid, even as rumours swirl about his future.
The Argentine will hit the landmark on Saturday when Atletico host Alaves in LaLiga.
Simeone is nearing 13 years in charge of Atletico having taken the job in December 2011, and the 54-year-old has since transformed the side from perennial underdogs to dangerous rivals to Spain's big two - Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The club has won two league titles, one Copa del Rey and two Europa League trophies, while they also reached the Champions League final twice - losing to city rivals Madrid on both occasions.
However, they remain a force to be reckoned with and Simeone's record of 326 clean sheets is a testament to his side's defensive prowess.
"First of all, I'd like to thank all the people who worked with me on the coaching staff and who are not with us today, all the players who made it possible for me to be at the club for so long," Simeone told reporters.
"Miguel Angel (CEO) and Enrique Cerezo (president) for supporting me on the path and trying to follow it together, and our fans for the respect they have always shown me.
"I am absolutely grateful to Atletico, I am very happy to have been able to enjoy these 700 games."
However, Atletico's start to the season has led to questions being raised in the media about his future.
Atletico are third in LaLiga, seven points behind leaders Barcelona after five draws, while they are a lowly 23rd in the Champions League halfway through the new group stage.
But Simeone has a contract until June 2027 and is not bothered by speculation, saying: "I think about Alaves, I don't focus on anything else... I think about how to resolve an important match."
Atletico went into the international break with four straight wins in all competitions, and if they win on Saturday, it will be Simeone's 300th in LaLiga. He believes the next eight games will be crucial.
"Alaves is coming, we know them. They play direct, with speed... and a lot of guys we know because they have been here [at Atletico]," Simeone said.
"We need to take the game to where we think we can hurt them. It will be important to play at a high pace and that's what we'll be looking for."
Holders Spain drawn against the Netherlands in Nations League quarters
Reigning champions Spain have been drawn against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the Nations League.
Spain won five of their six games in Group A4, and will face the Dutch for the first time in a competitive match since their 5-1 defeat at the World Cup in 2014.
France, who emerged victorious in the 2020-21 edition of the Nations League, will take on Croatia in a repeat of their World Cup final meeting six years ago.
Germany will face Italy while Portugal, who were the inaugural winners of the tournament, were drawn against Denmark, with the two-legged fixtures taking place in March.
The semi-finals are single legs which will get underway in June, with the third-place play-off and final to be played three days later.
European champions Spain, Portugal and Germany topped their groups without losing a game to go into the seeded teams' pot along with France.
The winner of Spain's enticing tie with the Netherlands will play either France or Croatia, while Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to inspire Portugal to a second title.
Only Sweden's Viktor Gyokeres (nine), Norway's Erling Haaland (seven) and Romania's Razvan Marin (six) have scored more goals in this year's edition than Ronaldo (five).
Scotland, who finished third in Group A1 behind Portugal and Croatia, will face Greece in a Nations League play-off to remain in the top tier of the competition.
The other play-off games will see Turkey face Hungary, Ukraine take on Belgium, and Austria square off against Serbia in March.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
