Atletico host Juventus, as City head to Donetsk on game

Tuesday, September 17th 2019|

The second round of games from gameweek one of the Champions League takes place on Wednesday, with some of the biggest names in the competition making their first appearances of the season. Here is a look at those big games:

Atletico Madrid v Juventus (Kick-off 8 PM)

In one of the biggest games of gameweek one, Atletico Madrid and Juventus clash at the Wanda Metropolitano. Of course, these two sides have recent history in this competition, as they met last season in the last 16, with Juventus recording a narrow 3-2 aggregate victory.

Atletico Madrid made a good start to their La Liga campaign, winning their opening three games, only to suffer a shock 2-0 defeat at Real Sociedad last time out. This clash is a tough one to bounce back in.

Los Rojiblancos do have a decent recent record in Europe’s elite competition though. A 3-0 defeat in Turin last season ended a four-game unbeaten run, in which they kept four straight clean sheets.

Atletico also have a formidable recent home record in the Champions League, as they are unbeaten in six home games, having recorded five straight wins.

Juventus have kicked-off their campaign with a three-game unbeaten run. A goalless draw away at Fiorentina was a frustrating result for the Bianconeri heading into this tough clash.

The men from Turin have made winning the Champions League one of their main aims in recent years. However, they have crashed out of the competition at the quarter-finals stage in the last two seasons, famously last season against Ajax.

The visitors actually have a poor recent record in the Champions League, winning just one of their last five matches, suffering three defeats in the process. They have also lost on their last three visits to Atletico. The Italians are underdogs for victory in this clash.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Manchester City (Kick-off 8 PM)

Reigning English champions Manchester City face a potentially difficult trip to Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk looking to recover from a woeful defeat at Norwich last time out.

Shakhtar have made a very good start to their domestic campaign and sit top of the Ukrainian Premier League table. The home side needs to take that form into their Champions League campaign, as they recorded just one win in their six group games last season.

They have also failed to win in their last three home games in Europe’s elite competition. The visit of the English champions will be another home test for Shakhtar.

Manchester City head to Ukraine after that defeat against Norwich, where the absence of French centre-back Aymeric Laporte proved to be glaring. Pep Guardiola’s side will be determined to bounce back with a victory in this clash.

A big positive for City is that they have won seven of their last nine games in the Champions League, suffering just one defeat in the process. The Citizens away form in the competition is slightly inconsistent, but they have still won three of the last five matches on their travels.