⛅️ Champions League Forecast: Ronaldo's return and a Real rumble | OneFootball

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Alex Mott·23 October 2018

⛅️ Champions League Forecast: Ronaldo's return and a Real rumble

Article image:⛅️ Champions League Forecast: Ronaldo's return and a Real rumble

Ol’ Big Ears is back. We all pretended to like the Nations League for a while but now we’re back on the good stuff.

Champions League matchday three is upon us with a fixture list so sweet it’s giving Paul Hollywood indigestion.


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Let’s take a look at what’s in store for us over the next two nights.

Game of the week

Manchester United vs Juventus

Article image:⛅️ Champions League Forecast: Ronaldo's return and a Real rumble

When the draw was made for this season’s group stage back in August all eyes immediately turned to Group H.

Two of the competition’s most storied clubs doing battle on the biggest stage, with fans of a certain vintage reminiscing on the glory days of ’99 and Roy Keane’s greatest ever display in a red shirt.

Manchester United vs Juventus is one of European football’s classic fixtures, but with Cristiano Ronaldo swapping Madrid for Turin this summer, suddenly a fixture between two Grand Old Dames had an added sub-plot.

That reunion almost wasn’t to be after his red card on the opening day against Valencia – but after Uefa quickly scaled back the punishment – CR7 is going back to where he became a great.

The Old Trafford crowd will no doubt give the Ballon d’Or winner a rapturous reception on Tuesday, but José Mourinho will do well to remember it’s not The Ronaldo Show at Juve this season.

Massimiliano Allegri’s men have had 11 different goal scorers in all competition, and although they will be without Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandžukić, the Bianconeri really do have danger lurking round every corner.

United, meanwhile, may have put a stop to their losing run over the past couple of weeks, but a last-gasp win over lowly Newcastle and a point away at Chelsea has done little to banish the doubters who insist that Mourinho can no longer get a tune out of this team.

Whatever happens on Tuesday it’s bound to be Narrative Central.

Potential upset

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Manchester City

Article image:⛅️ Champions League Forecast: Ronaldo's return and a Real rumble

For a team that have looked virtually invincible domestically over the past 12 months, it’s baffling as to why Manchester City have struggled to truly take that form on to the European stage. Defeat at home to Lyon on matchday one was followed by a wholly unconvincing win away at Hoffenheim, and now an even tougher test awaits in Kharkiv.

Pep Guardiola’s men make the long trip east on Tuesday knowing that a defeat would blow Group F wide open at the halfway stage and heap more pressure on a side many consider this favourite’s for this season’s title.

It’s a repeat of their group stage fixture a year ago and on that occasion it was Shakhrat who came out on top; 2-1 the score with only a last minute Sergio Agüero penalty putting any sort of gloss on the result.

Taison looks set to miss the match for Paulo Fonseca’s side, and although that is a blow, with Alan Patrick and Taras Stepanenko leading the line, goals look easy to come by for the Ukrainians.

And a tough test for City looks even tougher when you look at the stats – there have been over 2.7 goals in Shakhtar’s last eight Champions League matches. Expect goals.

Easiest three points

Real Madrid vs Viktoria Plzen

Article image:⛅️ Champions League Forecast: Ronaldo's return and a Real rumble

The end is nigh. By the time you read this Julen Lopetegui may have been sacked by Real Madrid, but for now, the much-maligned tactician is holding on by the very edge of his fingernails.

Los Blancos have now gone five games without a win with their 2-1 defeat at home to Levante last weekend a real nadir for this once great side.

On Tuesday though, the reigning champions face Viktoria Plzen in a game that’s almost been hand-picked for them to end their sorry run.

The Czech champions have conceded at least two goals in their last six Champions League games and have failed to win in their last nine.

Madrid meanwhile have only lost twice in their last 42 European matches at Santiago Bernabéu and should welcome back Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema to the starting XI.

Keep an eye out for

Carlo Ancelotti’s return to Paris

Article image:⛅️ Champions League Forecast: Ronaldo's return and a Real rumble

One of Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli aren’t making it through Group C and Wednesday’s match in the French capital will go a long way to deciding which of these sides will be heading into the Europa League come December.

A win for the Partenopei at Parc des Princes would really derail the PSG ‘project’ and there’s not a coach in Europe more determined, surely, than Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian tactician raised eyebrows (not his own) when he took the job at the San Paolo over the summer, but he’s taken the work done by Maurizio Sarri over the past three seasons and added a steely pragmatism to the thrilling forward work.

Of course, Ancelotti left PSG back in the Zlatan days, and if we’re honest, they’ve never really replaced him.