The Champions League Starts Here: All You Need to Know About Matchday 1

32 teams begin their Champions League journey this week, all with ambitions of reaching the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday, May 30, 2020.

Of course some ambitions are more realistic than others, with champions Liverpool (13-2) aiming to defend their crown and the likes of Man City (10-3), Barcelona (5-1), Real Madrid (8-1) and PSG (9-1) listed among the favourites.

Here at MrFixitsTips we’ve got the whole tournament covered from here on in. We’ll have Match Previews of all 127 matches in the competition starting with tonight’s eight fixtures.

Champions League 2019-20 Group Stage Draw

• Group A: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray
• Group B: Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Olympiakos, Red Star Belgrade
• Group C: Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Atalanta
• Group D: Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lokomotiv Moscow
• Group E: Liverpool, Napoli, Salzburg, Genk
• Group F: Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Slavia Prague
• Group G: Zenit St. Petersburg, Benfica, Lyon, Leipzig
• Group H: Chelsea, Ajax, Valencia, Lille

Where can I watch the Champions League?

In the UK the Champions League will be broadcast exclusively on BT Sport. Gary Lineker will anchor the channel’s coverage and all matches will be available on BT Sports channels including the ever-popular Champions League Goals Show on BT Sport 1, where you can see every goal as they hit the net.

What time are the Champions League match kick-offs?

For TV purposes each group stage matchday will feature two games that kick-off at 5.55pm. the other six matches will kick-off at 8.00pm

Who qualifies to the next round?

The top two teams in each group go through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League. The team which finishes third in each group drops down into the round of 32 of the Europa League.

Matchday 1 Fixtures (Tuesday)

Here are some key stats from UEFA.com for each of Tuesday’s matches;

Inter Milan v Slavia Prague (5.55pm)

• Last season was the first time in nine UEFA Champions League campaigns Inter had failed to progress from their group.
• Slavia entered this season’s UEFA Champions League in the play-offs, where they beat Romania’s CFR Cluj 1-0 both home and away. Before that tie, they had won only one of their last 15 matches in the UEFA Champions League (D7 L7).
• Read our full Inter Milan v Slavia Prague Match Preview

Lyon v Zenit St Petersburg (5.55pm)

• Zenit won both games against Lyon when the teams were drawn together in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League group stage.
• All three of Lyon’s home group games last season finished 2-2, against Shakhtar, Hoffenheim and Manchester City.
• Zenit are without a win in nine European away matches (D2 L7) since a 3-1 victory at Real Sociedad on matchday six of the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League.
• Read our full Lyon v Zenit St Petersburg Match Preview – Coming soon

Ajax v Lille (8.00pm)

• Ajax are undefeated in all competitions so far this season (W7 D3). Their last loss came at home to Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on 8 May.
• Lille finished second in Ligue 1 to qualify for the Champions League. They are without a European away win in five matches (D2 L3).
• Read our full Ajax v Lille Match Preview

Benfica v RB Leipzig (8.00pm)

• Benfica have scored 39 goals in their last 11 league matches.
• The Eagles have lost only one of their last eight European home matches (W4 D3)
• Leipzig have won only three of their 12 European away matches (D4 L5).
• Read our full Benfica v RB Leipzig Match Preview

Borussia Dortmund v Barcelona (8.00pm)

• Amazingly, this is the first meeting between these two sides in the competition.
• Despite two victories in their own stadium in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League, Dortmund have now won only three of their last ten European home matches (D2 L5).
• Barça have won only four of their last 13 away matches in European competition (D5 L4).
• Read our full Borussia Dortmund v Barcelona Match Preview

Chelsea v Valencia (8.00pm)

• Only once, as holders in 2012/13, have Chelsea failed to reach the knockout stages.
• The London club have scored three goals or more in five of their last eight European matches. Their tally of 36 goals in last season’s UEFA Europa League was one short of the competition record set by Porto in 2010/11.
• Valencia have scored only once in their last five away UEFA Champions League matches.
• The Spanish side have won only three of their 19 away games against clubs representing England (D10 L6)
• Read our full Chelsea v Valencia Match Preview

FC Salzburg v Genk (8.00pm)

• Salzburg have won their opening 7 matches in the Austrian Bundeslga, scoring a staggering 34 goals.
• Salzburg are undefeated in 18 European home games, winning 14 including eight of the last nine.
• Genk have scored at least once in 29 of their last 30 European matches. They’ve have won six of their last 11 European games on the road, losing only twice.
• Read our full FC Salzburg v Genk Match Preview

Napoli v Liverpool (8.00pm)

• Both teams met in last season’s competition with each match resulting in a 1-0 win for the home side.
• Napoli have won only four of their last 12 UEFA Champions League matches (D3 L5) – all those victories coming at the Stadio San Paolo.
• Liverpool lost all three away games in last season’s group stage and have lost six of their last ten UEFA competition matches outside England.
• Read our full Napoli v Liverpool Match Preview

Don’t Miss!

For more tips don’t miss Greg Browning and Selectabet’s special Champions League Podcast this week where they focus on matches in Italy and Austria.

And make sure you get your entry in for this season’s Last Man Standing Competition where there’s £250 of prizes to be won including a replica shirt of your choice from one of this season’s competitors.

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