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The Champions League will start in less than 3 weeks' time and it promises to be yet another exciting season. All the 8 groups have been confirmed and now it is time for the action on the field to take over. Like every season, there are a few groups that could provide fans with loads of entertainment.
Group F consists of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and Slavia Prague. The group could turn out to be the "Group of Death", and it is highly possible that Barcelona won't make it to the knockouts.
Chelsea, Ajax, Lille and Valencia form Group H, and with 4 evenly matched teams, it will be a highly competitive group. Group G is another group to keep an eye on as Benfica, Lyon, RB Leipzig and Zenit Saint Petersburg are quite equal in strength.
Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Napoli, Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur, and Atletico Madrid and Juventus are some of the other exciting pairings in the UCL group stage.
The world's most prestigious club competition will see some players take on their former teams in the group phase and some of those reunions could turn out to be quite emotional. In this article, we shall have a look at 5 players who will face their former clubs this season.
#5 Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid vs Juventus)
Alvaro Morata is just 26 years old and has already had the privilege of representing 4 of the world's top football clubs. He started out at Real Madrid and moved to Juventus in 2014. After a couple of years, he returned to Real Madrid before moving to Chelsea the next year. After a mediocre stint with the Blues, he moved to Atletico Madrid in January 2019 on a loan deal that will be made permanent in 2020.
He played 93 games for Juventus and scored on 27 occasions. He also assisted 18 goals and was a crucial player for them. In Juventus' run to the UCL final in 2015, he played a massive role as he was directly involved in 7 of their 10 goals in the knockout stages. He won the Serie A and Coppa Italia twice during his stint with the Italian giants.
The Spanish star played against Juventus in the Round of 16 last season and was on the wrong end of the result. In Antoine Griezmann's absence, there will be a lot of pressure on Morata to deliver the goods for his present club.
#4 Sadio Mane (Liverpool vs Red Bull Salzburg)
Sadio Mane took his first steps in senior football with Red Bull Salzburg and it was his time in Austria that attracted plenty of interest across Europe. He was a fan favourite at the club for the better part of his time and scored 45 goals and assisted 32 in 87 appearances. Mane won the Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup twice.
He secured a move to Southampton in 2014 and 2 years later, moved to Liverpool. Along with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, he is a part of one of the most dangerous forward trios in the world.
He has scored 62 goals and assisted 23 in 127 games for the Premier League club. His visit to Salzburg will most certainly be an emotional one for the Senegalese. His Liverpool teammate, Naby Keita has also represented Salzburg previously and local supporters wouldn't want to miss this game.
#3 Alexis Sanchez (Inter Milan vs Barcelona)
Alexis Sanchez established himself as one of the best in the business at Barcelona and had a memorable time with them. The winger made the step up from Udinese in 2011 and showed the world that he had the ability to deliver on the big stage. He scored 47 goals and bagged 35 assists in 141 games for the Spanish giants.
He won the La Liga, Copa del Rey, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup during his time with Barcelona.
The former Arsenal star delivered many remarkable performances for the club and terrorised opposition defenders alongside Neymar, Pedro and Lionel Messi. He later moved to Arsenal, where he became an even better player. He moved to Manchester United in 2018 and his career took a nosedive.
Recently, he sealed a loan move to Inter Milan and will be key to the Italian side's hopes of defeating Barcelona in the Champions League group stage.
#2 Angel Di Maria (PSG vs Real Madrid)
Angel Di Maria is arguably one of the best play-makers in the world and he earned that tag during his time with Real Madrid. He played with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema and was highly successful with them.
He scored 36 goals and assisted 85 in 190 games for Real Madrid. He won the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League with the Spanish club.
He had a poor time at Manchester United before rediscovering his form at PSG. He has scored 72 times and assisted 70 goals in 185 games. He has won the Ligue 1 and French Cup thrice. Along with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, he has been phenomenal in France's domestic competitions, but they have faltered in the Champions League every single year.
This season, they will look to go all the way in the Champions League and Di Maria will be crucial to their chances.
#1 Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund)
Ousmane Dembele needed just a solitary season at Borussia Dortmund to turn heads in his direction. In the 2016/17 season, he pocketed 10 goals and 21 assists as a teenager. That bumper season was enough to help him seal a €125 million move to Barcelona. His first season was marred by injuries but he showed glimpses of his talent in his second season.
The World Cup winner won the DFB Pokal with Dortmund and in his 2 seasons with the Blaugrana, he has won the La Liga twice. His present club, Barcelona has been drawn in the same group as the Bundesliga side and it could be a tight contest between two world-class clubs.
However, the 22-year old faces a race against time to be fit for Barcelona's game at Dortmund. He would have loved to play in Germany again and will be disappointed if he fails to be fit for that game. While he may or may not feature in that game, he would still have a chance to play against them at the Camp Nou.
Honorable mentions: Paco Alcacer (Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona), Mario Mandzukic (Juventus vs Atletico Madrid), Fernandinho (Manchester City vs Shakhtar Donetsk), Keylor Navas (PSG vs Real Madrid)
