Day: September 18, 2018

The questions we are all asking now is; Can Real Madrid win the Champions League for the fourth consecutive time without Cristiano Ronaldo?

Despite having a quiet transfer window over the summer, Los Blancos would still be looking to win this competition for the 4th consecutive time. The loss of Cristiano Ronaldo means they would enter this season’s competition without the attacker who has netted the most goals in the competition for the past six seasons.

The host play the only other strong team in the group, Roma, as they both look to top the group ahead of Viktoria Plzen and CSKA Moscow, making this game the biggest game of the group.

A domestic double is Real Madrid’s target this season, and they have dropped just two points so far to keep themselves close to rivals and defending champions Barcelona in the race for the La Liga which they last won in 2017.

AS Roma were closed to reaching the finals last season after eliminating Barcelona in the quarterfinals, however, Liverpool proved too much for them after a 5-2 first leg loss at Anfield. They would be looking to go further this year, but they haven’t started their domestic season in the best possible way.

The Italians have lost their last four away Champions League games and they come into this game after failing to win any of their last 3 Serie A games, so it doesn’t look good for them. They have also conceded 7 times in their last three league games.

This will be the 11th encounter between Real Madrid and Roma in the Champions League, with Real holding the upper hand so far (6 wins to 3, 1 draw).

Manchester City enter this season’s Champions League as favourites again after they swept aside all oppositions in the Premier League and broke all sorts of records last season.

Liverpool were the team that stopped them from getting past the quarterfinal stage last season, but after winning five of six group games the last time out, their fans would be expecting them to easily top this group again.

Pep Guardiola’s team haven’t really kicked into top gear this season. They were held by Wolves to a 1-1 draw before the international break and failed to sparkle in their 2-1 win over Newcastle, however, their 3-0 win over Fulham before this game would have boosted their morale well enough to get them a win.

Lyon come back into this competition after a two-year absence, and they would be looking to get out of this group alongside Manchester City.

The French men won two of six group games the last time out, and the way they have started their domestic campaign does not give Manchester City any reason to fear.

They drew with Caen at the weekend to make it two wins, two losses and a draw in their last five league games. Keeping Nabil Fekir beyond last season was a good piece of business, and they would be hoping he can build on his impressive performances last season.

This is the first time these teams are meeting before now.

Juventus would be looking to win the Champions League this season that is why they have spent as much as £99 million on the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo this summer.

The Old Ladies have reached the final on two occasions in the last four years, but they have fallen short each time. However, this time they have Ronaldo who have won four of the last five finals and he is as motivated as ever to continues showing how good he is.

The Portuguese legend has been the highest goal scorer in the competition for the last 6 seasons and after a long drought, he has finally opened his goalscoring account at the weekend, and he would be raring to go as he returns to Spain where he was very successful.

The Old Ladies have won all of their last four league games before this match.

Valencia return to the Champions League after having an impressive season in the La Liga the last time out. Their return to the competition has helped them to fund some impressive transfers, however, they haven’t had the best start to their La Liga campaign, and they come into this game on the back of four games without a win.

Valencia will be the eighth different Spanish opponent that Juventus have faced in the Champions League, with this the first competitive meeting between the sides.