Champions League predictions: Matchday 1

So. Much. Football.

The novelty of the 2024/25 Champions League is almost overwhelming, with the all-new iteration of UEFA's premier club competition kicking off this week.

Group stages are no more with a 'Swiss model' taking hold. With 36 teams now competing in a 'league phase', each matchday (barring the last) will consist of 18 games spread over three days.

The abundance of action will undoubtedly test Wi-Fi connections across the globe with multiple screens surely coming out to play to ensure as much as possible of Matchday 1 is caught live.

This should be a whole lotta fun, and here's how 90min reckons the first week of league phase action will pan out.

Tuesday 17 September

There will be six games on each day, with two games kicking off early and four starting simultaneously in the evening.

There's a Premier League representative in one of Tuesday's early starters as Champions League novices Aston Villa travel to Swiss side Young Boys looking to get their campaign off on the right foot. Thiago Motta's Juventus are also in action as they welcome Peter Bosz's PSV to Turin.

Perennial victors Real Madrid are involved later on, and they've got a tricky assignment with Stuttgart coming to town. Sebastian Hoeness' side finished second in the Bundesliga last season, and they couldn't have asked for a more lucrative Matchday 1 encounter on their return to Europe's premier club competition.

Milan's clash with Liverpool is undoubtedly Tuesday's standout fixture, though, with the Rossoneri, who battered Venezia in Serie A on Saturday, facing a Reds outfit that were beaten for the first time under Arne Slot at the weekend.

Bayern Munich have been free-scoring under Vincent Kompany to start 2024/25, and their campaign begins at home to Dinamo Zagreb. A more competitive encounter is expected to arrive in the Portuguese capital as Sporting CP welcome Lille, who qualified via the play-offs, to Lisbon.

Wednesday 18 September

There's a repeat of the 2023 final to enjoy under the lights at the Etihad, but before Manchester City take on Scudetto holders Inter, Bologna play their first Champions League game since 1964 as they meet Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk at the Dall'Ara.

Two play-off winners in Sparta Prague and Salzburg also collide on Wednesday, with Pep Lijnders, Jurgen Klopp's right-hand man at Liverpool, leading the Austrians into battle.

City's clash with Inter is bound to be a spectacle given how well Pep Guardiola's side have started the new season. Inter are superbly drilled and the best team in Italy by a distance, but they were held by Monza at the weekend.

Borussia Dortmund, beaten finalists last time out, begin their league phase on the road in Belgium as they face domestic champions Club Brugge. Paris Saint-Germain look imperious despite Kylian Mbappe's exit and should kick off their Champions League campaign with a win over newbies Girona in the French capital.

Celtic endured miserable group stages in 2022/23 and 2023/24, but look just that little bit slicker in 2024/25 with Brendan Rodgers continuing to have an impact on the touchline. Rodgers' side were excellent in pre-season, and have enjoyed a faultless start to the new season. They've got a great chance of claiming a rare victory in this competition when they face Slovan Bratislava at Celtic Park.

Thursday 19 September

Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen will be aiming to make a splash in the competition following their historic 2023/24 campaign, but trips to De Kuip are not for the faint-hearted. Xabi Alonso's side will be put to the test by Feyenoord on Thursday, even if the Dutch side have endured a fairly indifferent start to the new season.

Benfica are also easing their way into 2024/25, but they won't be able to serenely stroll through their Matchday 1 encounter away at Red Star Belgrade. The Portuguese side are unbeaten in four after losing on the opening weekend of the Primeira Liga season.

Brest vs Sturm Graz, two Pot 4 sides, is unlikely to grab much attention, although the French side are one of five clubs to be making their competition debuts this week.

Arsenal may be depleted, but they'll be full of confidence heading into their trip to Bergamo to face Europa League winners Atalanta. A Gabriel header ensured they walked away from the north London derby with all three points on Sunday.

An intriguing match-up arrives in Madrid as Atletico take on RB Leipzig, while Monaco face a purring Barcelona side looking to quickly avenge the French side's recent triumph in the Joan Gamper Trophy. That should be a fun one.

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