- Bayern face chaotic Man United on Wednesday night at the Allianz Arena
- Arsenal will make their first appearance in the competition since the 2016/17 season.
- Man City begin their title defense on Tuesday against Crvena Zvezda.
Bayern face chaotic Manchester United as European football makes its return this week with the UEFA Champions League kicking off on Tuesday night with eight mouthwatering clashes on the cards.
The opening day will see defending champions Manchester City begin their title defense with a home match against Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) from Serbia as PSG take on German giants Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Prince.
Newcastle with then mark their return the competition for the first time in 20 years with an away trip to AC Milan.
Thereafter, Wednesday will take centre stage with Bayern Munich facing a chaotic Manchester United as Arsenal make their long-awaited return to the zenith of club football after a six-year absence.
Bayern face chaotic Manchester United
German giants Bayern Munich will open their march towards the Champions League title with an opening home clash against an out of sorts Manchester United at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils have been in turmoil on and off the pitch in recent weeks and a 1-3 home defeat to Brighton over the weekend left them 13th in the Premier League table on 6 points, nine behind leaders Man City with just five games played in the season.
Erik ten Hag also got caught up in a public feud with Jadon Sancho that ended up with the winger being thrown out of the first team picture.
United, who are also missing out on the services of Anthony owing to allegations of domestic abuse, have also been hit by the fresh injury news of Aaron Wan Bissaka expected to be sidelined for several weeks due to injury.
United also face the daunting task of trying to overcome a Bayern side that have won all 12 group stage games in the past two seasons and are currently unbeaten in the German Bundesliga.
The Red Devils will also have to cope with England captain Harry Kane in his first game against a club from his home country. Kane has four goals in his first four league matches for his new side.
Amidst the poor form currently at the club, United also have to deal with the fact that they have only won one of eight Champions League games since the 1999 dramatic final between the two sides.
The game will kick off at 10pm Kenyan time.
Arsenal face PSV
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will be competing in Europe’s top club competition for the first time since the 2016/17 season when they host PSV at the Emirates Stadium.
While a new challenge awaits a lot of Arsenal’s young squad with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale set to experience the competition for the first time, it will also be Arteta’s first taste of the Champions League as a manager.
Despite being out of the club competition for six seasons, expectations are still seemingly high around the impact Arsenal should make in their quest of winning their first ever title.
The game will kick off at 10pm Kenyan time.
Matchday 1 Fixtures
Tuesday
AC Milan vs Newcastle (1945 EAT)
Young Boys vs RB Leipzig (1945 EAT)
Barcelona vs Antwerp (2200 EAT)
Feyenoord vs Celtic (2200 EAT)
Lazio vs Athletico Madrid (2200 EAT)
Manchester City vs Crvena Zvezda (2200 EAT)
PSG vs Borussia Dortmund (2200 EAT)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs FC Porto (2200 EAT)
Wednesday
Galatasaray vs FC Copenhagen (1945 EAT)
Real Madrid vs Union Berlin (1945 EAT)
Arsenal vs PSV (2200 EAT)
Bayern Munich vs Manchester United (2200 EAT)
Benfica vs Salzburg (2200 EAT)
Braga vs Napoli (2200 EAT)
Real Sociedad vs Inter (2200 EAT)
Sevilla vs Lens (2200 EAT)
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