The most prestigious club football competition, the UEFA Champions League is back, and the highlight of all is the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi battle. Here My11 takes a look at the key fixtures in each group.

Group A: The big game in this group will be the clash between Bayern Munich, who have won the title 6 times, and Atlético Madrid, who are 3-time finalists. The other teams in the group are Red Bull Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Group B: The clash between the most successful team in the competition’s history Real Madrid, with 13 titles, and Inter Milan will be the highlight of the group. Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Mönchengladbach are the other teams in the group.

Group C: In this group, only Porto and Marseille have won the title, but the clash between the Portuguese side and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side will be the peak of the bunch. The other team in the group is Olympiacos.

Group D: 2019 champions Liverpool and 4-time champions Ajax are the highlight in this group, but last season’s surprise semi-finalist Atalanta can spring up another surprise. The other team in the group is Midtjylland.

Group E: This group will see a clash between the Europa League winner of last season, Sevilla and Premier League side Chelsea, as the Blues will love to turn up against another Spanish side. They are paired with Krasnodar and French side Rennes.

Group F: Bundesliga side, Borussia Dortmund are the only former champion in this group. Their clash with high scoring Lazio and Zenit Saint Petersburg will be interesting. Naija stars David Okereke and Emmanuel Bonaventure will feature for Club Brugge.

Group G: In this group, the only fixture that will attract most football lovers is the clash between Juventus and Barcelona, not because of the two clubs, but because of arguably the greatest players of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The other teams in the group are Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencváros.

Group H: The last group is the toughest of all and it is difficult to choose a favourite between three of the four clubs in the group. Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and RB Leipzig are the top 3 teams in this group, while İstanbul Başakşehir is the 4th club in the group.

Which clubs do you think will qualify from each group?

The Champions League starts tomorrow October 20th, and you can catch all the actions on DSTV by 6:55 pm and 8 pm Naija time.

England international Raheem Sterling scored the only goal as Manchester City defeated Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Phil Foden had a great run and hit a beautiful shot that was well saved by Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno, but Sterling hit the ball on a rebound in the 26th minute to gives the Cityzens all 3 points.

Arsenal have now lost their last 7 EPL matches against Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side now have 7 points in their opening 4 games, while Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have 9 points in 5 opening matches in the Premier League.

Can Man City win the EPL this season?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic put up a brilliant performance by scoring a brace to hand AC Milan all 3 points against Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina at the San Siro Stadium on Saturday.

Ibrahimovic won a penalty early on in the game and he missed, but the Swedish striker scored from the rebound in the 13th minute. The big striker then scored the second 3 minutes later. Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku pulled one back for the home side, but it was not enough to salvage a point.

AC Milan are now top of the Serie A table with a 100% record of 4 wins in 4 matches, while Inter are 6th on the log with 7 points in their opening 4 games, and they could go down further, depending on the results of the other games.

Can Inter or AC Milan beat Juventus to the Scudetto?

Former Naija Super Eagles forward, Victor Moses has left English club, Chelsea, to join Russian side Spartak Moscow on another loan spell, after spending last season on loan at Inter Milan.

Moses fell out of favour at Chelsea, after the sack of former manager Antonio Conte, who left the club for Inter, with the Naija star failing to secure a first-team place at Stamford Bridge, he has now left Chelsea to sign for Russian Premier League club, Spartak Moscow, on a season-long loan deal with an option to sign permanently.

The 29-year-old forward joined the Blues in the summer of 2012, and this will be his 6th loan spell away from Chelsea, after previous loan spells with Liverpool, Stoke City, West Ham United, Fenerbahçe, and Inter Milan.

Victor Moses played a total of 128 matches for Chelsea, with 87 of them coming in the Premier League, scoring 18 goals in all competitions, 7 of them in the EPL. He played a vital role in the Blues winning the league under Antonio Conte in the 2016/2017 season.

Do you think Moses should leave Chelsea?

image source: goalballlive.com

This is the battle between the boss and his apprentice as Mikel Arteta will lead his Arsenal team to face his former boss Pep Guardiola and Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

In 46 Premier League meetings between these two teams, Manchester City have won 13 matches, while Arsenal have won 23 games, with 10 matches ending in a draw. The Cityzens have won their last 5 EPL clashes, scoring 3 goals in four of them.

Man City stars, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling picked up a little knock on international duty and are doubts for this clash. Sergio Agüero, Gabriel Jesus, and Oleksandr Zinchenko are expected to miss this tie as they are just recovering from injury. Arsenal, on the other hand, also have a few injury concerns. Captain Pierre Emerick Aubameyang is a doubt due to a sprained ankle. Kieran Tierney is a doubt due to a virus. Shkodran Mustafi, Gabriel Martinelli, Pablo Mari Villar, and Calum Chambers will all miss due to injury.

Arsenal have started the season well, only losing to champions Liverpool, but host Manchester City have had a bad start, having a negative goal difference for the first time in over a decade. But you will fancy Guardiola’s side to pick all 3 points in this match.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 203, SuperSport Premier League on Saturday October 17 2020, by 5:30pm Naija time.

Naija star Samuel Chukwueze and his Villarreal teammates will be welcoming Valencia to El Madrigal, as manager Unai Emery will be facing his former side for the first time with the Yellow Submarine.

In the last 34 matches between these two teams, Villarreal have won 13 matches, while Valencia have won 14 games, with the remaining 7 matches ending in a draw. This tie has produced just one away win in the last 5 meetings. The home team always win, scoring 2 goals.

Villarreal will be without Gerard Moreno, Sofian Chakla, Alberto Moreno, and Ramiro Guerra due to injury, while Francis Coquelin is a major doubt. Valencia, on the other hand, will miss the services of Gabriel Paulista and Eliaquim Mangala due to injury.

Samuel Chukwueze is expected to feature for Villarreal, as Unai Emery will be facing his former Valencia, who have a very slim squad due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Yellow Submarine are expected to edge this close encounter.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 204, SuperSport La Liga on Sunday October 18 2020, by 3:00pm Naija time.

The Derby della Madonnina is here again as Inter Milan will be facing their city rivals AC Milan at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium, popularly known as the San Siro.

In the last 34 meetings between these two teams, Inter Milan have won 18 matches, while AC Milan have won 10 games, with the other 6 matches ending in a draw. The Nerazzurri have won 4 of their last 5 encounters, drawing the last one.

Inter will be with some key players. Stefano Sensi is suspended, Radja Nainggolan, Ashley Young, Ionut Radu, Milan Skriniar, Roberto Gagliardini, Alessandro Bastoni, and Matias Vecino are all out due to one knock or the other. AC Milan will also be without some key players. Ante Rebic, Matteo Gabbia, Léo Duarte, Andrea Conti, and Mateo Musacchio are all injured.

Inter missed out on the Scudetto by one point last season and are gunning to put an end to Juventus dominance, but will have to put up a better performance to beat their neighbours, while AC Milan got the boost of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who returned from isolation due to coronavirus. The hot team should edge this one.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 208, SuperSport Variety 3 on Saturday October 17 2020, by 5pm Naija time

Most expensive footballer of all time, Neymar Junior scored a hat trick as Brazil beat Peru 4-2 away from home to remain top of the CONMEBOL table, and in doing so, he has surpassed legendary Ronaldo Lima on the list of all-time scorers for the Selecao.

Peru took the lead early in the game after 5 minutes, Neymar levelled matters in the 28th minute from the spot-kick. Renato Tapia scored the second for the home side just before the hour mark, Richarlison equalized for the Brazilians 5 minutes later. Neymar scored his second and Brazil’s 3rd goal from the penalty in the 83rd minute. The PSG star wrapped up the scoring in added time.

The 28-year-old forward is now the second all-time highest goal scorer for the brazil national team with 64 goals in 103 games, surpassing the great Ronaldo, who scored 62 goals in 98 games for the 5-time world champions.

Neymar’s next target will be to become the all-time highest goal scorer for Brazil, as he is 13 goals behind legendary Pele, who scored 77 goals in 92 matches for the Selecao.

Do you think Neymar will beat Pele’s record?

image source: bbci.co.uk

Naija Super Eagles played out a 1-1 draw against the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in their second international friendly at the Jacques Lemans Arena, Austria on Tuesday night.

The Super Eagles took the lead from a brilliant Kelechi Iheanacho goal in the 21st minute. The Leicester City man then missed a penalty 9 minutes later, after Ahmed Musa was brought down in the 18-yard. Mohamed Draeger equalized for Tunisia after Hamza Rafia dribbled past the Eagles defense.

Naija Super Eagles unbeaten run against the Carthage Eagles Tunisia continues, but Gernot Rohr’s team have now failed to win any of their first matches since the lockdown, following a 1-0 loss to Algeria on Friday.

Do you think the Super Eagles played well?

The Naija Super Eagles will take on the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in another international friendly in Austria on Tuesday, following a 1-0 loss to African champions Algeria on Friday.

In 19 meetings between these two nations, Nigeria have won 6 matches while Tunisia have also won 6 games, with 7 matches ending in a draw. Since the Super Eagles lost to the Carthage Eagles via a penalty in 2004, Naija have not lost to the North Africans.

Naija will be without Samuel Kalu, who picked a knock and will return to his club in France, but other players are fit for the clash. Tunisia, on the other hand, will be without Ferjani Sassi and Seifeddine Khaoui, who both tested positive for COVID-19.

Super Eagles lost to Algeria on Friday and many Naija football lovers were not happy with the outcome, but coach Gernot Rohr has said the team will step up in this tie. Tunisia will also want to end their winless run against Nigeria.

Do you think Naija Super Eagles will beat Tunisia?