Actions continue today in the UEFA Champions League. Six games are slated for today, featuring both clubs with high European pedigree and clubs without much of a history in the competition. Two games start early at 5.45pm (WAT), Bologna hosting Shakhtar Donetsk at the Stadio Renato Dell’Ara. The Rossoblu are having a slow start to the season following the departure of key figures from their historic team last season. Manager Thiago Motta was replaced by Vincenzo Italiano and players like Joshua Zirkzee left the club for good.
Also at 5.45pm (WAT) RB Salzburg will visit the epet Arena to face Sparta Prague. The Austrian side will be hoping for a better outing than they had last season when they finished at the bottom of Group D having lost four games. Sparta Prague are having a positive start to the season, having won six out of their first seven games in the Czech First League.
At 8pm (WAT), the big game of the night will kick-off at the Etihad Stadium as the English champions Man City face Italian champions Inter. While City have been in a perfect form since the start of the season, Inter have struggled a bit, scraping out two draws in four Serie A games. City striker Erling Haaland goes into tonight’s game, his 104th for City hoping to set a new record for the fastest 100 goals scored for any team. The record is currently held by Cristiano Ronaldo who scored 100 goals for Real Madrid in 105 games.
When PSG face Girona tonight, the team will start their first Champions League campaign without Kylian Mbappe since 2017. Mbappe scored yesterday on his Champions League debut for Madrid. Elsewhere, Club Brugge will be at home against Borussia Dortmund while Celtic hosts Slovan Bratislava.
Kayode Akinwumi