Introduction
When it comes to football, a major event which is the biggest UEFA football competition carries more excitement than others. The anthem which is a mix of the three UEFA's language: English, French and German, gives an anticipation to every football lover around the world.
The last edition of the uefa champions league for the 2022/2023 season ended 10th of June 2023 where English giant Manchester City emerge the winner after defeating Inter Milan in the final. A strike from Rodrigo was enough for city to secure the title.
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The 2023/24 edition of the uefa champions league returns today 19th of Sept 2023 with four different groups set to battle it down.
Qualification for the uefa champions league requires top 3 or 4 teams at the end of every league season, depending on the league.
But this season, five teams happened to qualify for the uefa champions league in the Spanish laliga. Seville which did not make the top four spot won the UEFA Europa League last season, which is an automatic ticket to the champions league.
Teams In The Competition
The ucl competition involves teams that had done well the previous season, and had secured a position for themselves by fighting for a spot on the table.
The following leagues have teams in this year's edition of the competition, and they are: Premier league, Spanish Laliga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, French Ligue1, Eredivisie and Scottish Premiership.
EPL: which is known as the toughest league in football has four teams in the 2023/24 edition of the uefa champions league. The teams that made the top four spot last season are: Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle United and Manchester United, which are currently in this season's fixture.
LALIGA: which is also another tough league, but had lost most of it's glory due to the departure of the world best football stars like: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. This league currently has five teams in the UEFA champions league competition.
Seville which did not make the top four spot secured a slot by winning the Europa league. The teams that made it are: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid and Seville.
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Serial A: This is also another interesting league, due to the top teams that always make it to the ucl. They currently have four teams in this competition, and they are: Napoli, Ac Milan, Inter Milan and Lazio.
Bundesliga: the Germans league have four team that secured a spot for themselves, they are: Bayern Munich, Borrusia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Union Berlin.
Ligue1: Is a french league that had being dominated by PSG for sometime now. Some teams made it to the competition, they are: Paris saint-germain, Lens.
Teams from other leagues are: Benfica, FC Salzburg, SC Braga, PSV Eindhoven, FC Copenhagen, Galatasaray, Feyenoord, Celtic, Young Boys, FK Crvena Zvezda, FC Porto, Royal Antwerp and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Today's Fixtures
Ideally, not all the teams are playing today. The games had being scheduled to hold today and tomorrow. The fixtures for today includes...
Group E
Feyenoord VS Celtic - 20:00
Lazio VS Atletico Madrid - 20:00
Group F
Ac Milan VS Newcastle United - 17:45
Paris Saint-Germain VS Borrusia Dortmund - 20:00
Group G
Young Boys VS RB Leipzig - 17:45
Manchester City VS Crvena Zvezda - 20:00
Group H
Barcelona VS Royal Antwerp - 20:00
Shakhtar Donetsk VS FC Porto - 20:00.
Talks Review
The UEFA Champions League competition is game that shouldn't be taken for granted. This is because there are no small teams in this competition and anything can happen.
The toughest games I tend to look out for are: Ac Milan/Newcastle, Psg/Dortmund, Donetsk/Porto.
Seeing how poor Newcastle United had being this season, getting 3 Points in Italy might be difficult for them, but anything can happen.
Psg/dormund is another game that will interest so many. Seeing the German side battle the french side in France sounds awesome.
As for Manchester City's match, I am not expecting much because man city happens to be the favorite side. It might even get ugly when man city demolishes their opponent, but this is football where anything can happen.
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What To Expect
Well, my expectations for this season's games are much. Some big embarrassment might happen to some teams , especially those that will be in action tomorrow.
I guess Arsenal fans would be expecting much from their manager Mikel Arteta, after qualifying for this year's competition due to their absence for many years. Champions League anthem will definitely sound at the Emirate Stadium tomorrow night.
Manchester United happens to be placed in same group with Bayern Munich. Though they've being poor this very season, but let's hope they will make it to round of 16.
As for Barça, we hope the best from them this season because they've always been knocked out for the past 2-3 years now. With some new signings and loans like Gundogan, Cancelo, Felix, etc, we hope to see them go far in this competition.
When it comes to ucl, then real madrid should be mentioned. This club is literally an expert when it comes to playing champions league football. Their experience and new signings might take them far this season.
In Conclusion
It's less than five hours to the kick off of the first game. The stadium is set and the teams are ready. Let's enjoy the beautiful game of the Uefa champions league by supporting our various teams.
Incase your team isn't in this competition, do well to support any of their league brothers, i.e for those who support Chelsea FC, you can decide to support any other team in EPL.
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