Titleholders Paris Saint-Germain and English runners-up Arsenal begin their Champions League campaigns today, facing Slovakia's Slovan Bratislava and Italy's Napoli respectively in the opening round of the unified league phase.
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Titleholders Paris Saint-Germain and English runners-up Arsenal begin their Champions League campaigns today, facing Slovakia's Slovan Bratislava and Italy's Napoli respectively in the opening round of the unified league phase.
PSG Look to Move Past Sluggish Domestic Start
PSG will look to shake off a lackluster start to the domestic league when they host Slovan Bratislava, managed by former Ivorian international Yaya Touré.
Unusually, PSG, chasing a third consecutive title, began their domestic campaign with two draws and a 1-2 home loss to Monaco last Friday.
Still, they shouldn't be underestimated, having shone in the Champions League in recent seasons: they remain unbeaten in their last 11 European matches (7 wins, 4 draws), and no defending champion has lost their opening home match in the European Cup/Champions League since Scotland's Celtic in 1968.
Spanish coach Luis Enrique also boasts a 63% win rate in the Champions League, the best in the competition's history among coaches who have taken charge of at least 50 matches.
As for Touré, best known for his spells at Barcelona and Manchester City, he only took charge of Slovan in June. Even so, he has already become the first African coach to reach the Champions League's main stage, guiding his team through qualifying without a single loss.
A Tough Test for the Runners-Up
Arsenal have a perfect record across all competitions since the start of the season, but their trip to Italy to face Napoli could pose a real test to that run of positive results.
Despite conceding their first goal of the season on Sunday, Arsenal turned the tables on neighbors Chelsea, winning 2-1 to extend their winning run this season to four matches.
Mikel Arteta's side lost last season's final to PSG, but have not suffered a single defeat in regulation time throughout that campaign (11 wins, 4 draws).
The task looks tougher against Napoli, however, who finished 30th in last season's league phase and managed just two wins in their last ten matches in the competition (3 draws, 5 losses).
A "Fearsome" Barcelona
Barcelona begin their pursuit of a first Champions League title in over a decade at Camp Nou, facing Feyenoord, managed by former Barça player Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
The Catalan club go into the match in high spirits after a resounding 5-0 win away at Valencia on Sunday, keeping their perfect record in La Liga intact (4 wins).
Three of those wins featured five goals scored, underlining that Barça are in outstanding form and should enter the Champions League with plenty of confidence.
The team has scored 50 goals across the two editions of the league phase since the format was introduced in the 2024-25 season, and boasts an average of 2.88 goals per game across 26 Champions League matches under German coach Hansi Flick, the best rate in the competition since he took charge of Barcelona.
So Camp Nou's fans won't just be waiting for goals, but for a strong start too, given that Barcelona have won 18 of their last 20 home matches (1 draw, 1 loss) in the opening match of a European campaign.
Feyenoord, for their part, also head into the match off the back of a 3-1 win over NEC Nijmegen last weekend, keeping their unbeaten record in the Dutch league this season intact (3 wins, 2 draws).
The Dutch club return to the Champions League after a one-season absence, hoping to repeat their run to the knockout stages, as they did in their last participation in the 2024-25 season, the club's best-ever result in the competition.
A Fiery Test for Liverpool
Spanish coach Anddoni Iraola's first Champions League campaign puts his Liverpool side to a tough test as they host Atlético Madrid.
It's hard for Iraola to imagine a more prestigious Champions League debut than at Anfield, a stadium that has witnessed countless historic and extraordinary European nights. The pressure surrounding this fixture may have eased somewhat after a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town last weekend, which gave Iraola his first win as Liverpool's head coach.
That win serves as ideal preparation for a team defending an outstanding home record, having never lost their opening match of a campaign in the competition at Anfield (10 wins, 2 draws). Liverpool have also turned their home ground into a true European fortress, winning 17 of their last 18 home matches in the group stage or league phase of the competition (1 loss).
Atlético's Argentine coach Diego Simeone, meanwhile, is the sixth most experienced coach in Champions League history, leading the Madrid side into their 14th consecutive campaign in the competition. He also holds the edge over Iraola, having won three of their four previous meetings as coaches (1 draw).
But Atlético's result last weekend was the polar opposite of Liverpool's, as a 0-3 loss to Athletic Bilbao ended their unbeaten domestic start to the season.
Stuttgart begin their second Champions League campaign in three seasons hosting Norwegian champions Viking, who are playing in the competition's league phase for the first time. Elsewhere, two regulars in the competition meet, as Sporting host Turkish champions Galatasaray.
Resource: Al-Ghad.
