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After another exhilarating weekend of domestic football across Europe where some genuine shocks were recorded such as United and Bayern's losses to West Ham and Hertha Berlin respectively, as well as Barcelona's home draw with Athletic Bilbao, all attention would once again turn to the continental competitions.
32 of the biggest clubs across Europe would resume their quest for European glory in the Champions League.
For some clubs such as United and Bayern, it represents a chance to build back confidence after their domestic malaise, while for others like Real Madrid and Barcelona, it offers the prospect of consolidating on their opening day convincing victories.
Midweek football involving continental action throws up so many exciting match-ups, as the competition features the best of the very best footballers, playing for the biggest clubs in the world, and we can be sure that this set of fixtures would not be any different. Here are the four most intriguing matches to look forward to this week.
#4 Manchester United vs Valencia
These are very trying times at Old Trafford, as a club so accustomed to winning and holding sway for many years as the best club in England has lost its swagger and is falling behind clubs who previously aspired to be them.
At the center of it all is Jose Mourinho, the self proclaimed 'Special One'. The 55-year-old has created a history of winning everywhere he has gone, and it is for this reason that the Portuguese was appointed in 2016 to return The Red Devils back to the pinnacle of English football.
His first season went fairly OK, as he ended up with two major trophies won and a 6th place finish in the league, and many believed it was going to be the foundation for future greatness.
Their hopes were largely dashed last season, as despite amassing 81 points, United still finished a whopping 18 points behind the behemoth that was Pep's Man City. To further compound situations, the season ended trophyless for Jose Mourinho.
Things have however gone much worse, as public falling outs with his players as well as disagreements with the board over player transfers have contributed to Manchester United making their worst league start to a season since 1990.
Jose Mourinho has infamously had a 'third season syndrome' at each of his last two jobs, and there are predictions it would happen again.
The Mancunians sit top of Group H on three points, after a routine 3-0 victory over Young Boys in Switzerland, but they would host a determined Valencia who would seek to bounce back from their opening day 2-0 loss to 10-man Juve, and would fancy their chances, having recorded their first La Liga victory of the season on Saturday coupled with United's patchy form.
There are loud calls for Mourinho's sacking, and if the Portuguese is to keep his job, then he has to start racking up results, and Tuesday's clash with Los Che represents the perfect opportunity, and this is a match no one would want to miss.
#3 Hoffenheim vs Manchester City
In one of the biggest shocks of the season, Lyon put up a stunning display to defeat heavyweights Manchester City 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium. That loss made the Cityzens become the first ever English club to lose four consecutive matches in the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola's men were utterly dominant in the league last season, and won the Premier League in record-breaking fashion, and this rightly saw them as one of the biggest favorites to win the UCL, so they wouldn't have been happy to kick off their campaign with a loss.
They would be eager to rack up the points, and in their path lies Bundesliga side Hoffenheim. The match would make for an interesting watch, as both sides play entertaining attractive football, while the eagerness for points would add a competitive streak to it.
Pep Guardiola would serve the second of his three-match ban, and he would love to see their opponents put to the Sword before heading into the double clash with Shakhtar Donetsk.
It would, however, be an arduous task, as 'The Villagers' are one of European football's most inspirational stories in recent years, growing from non-league football as recently as 2000 to play professional football for the first time ever in 2008, and cementing themselves as regular European participants since then.
They have earned a reputation for playing attractive football particularly under progressive coach Julen Nagelsmann who became the youngest manager in Bundesliga history when he took the reins of the club aged just 29 in 2016.
Hoffenheim posted an impressive 2-2 draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk, which is a very impressive result as 'The Miners' are notoriously difficult to defeat in Ukraine, and were the first side to beat Manchester City last season, so Guardiola would be wary of the threat posed by the German side.
With the threat of being on zero points and bottom of the group after two matches a stark reality, Mikel Arteta would go all out for victory against Hoffenheim, and this would make for an exciting matchup.
#2 Tottenham vs Barcelona
Another match which is guaranteed to provide thrills would take place at Wembley as Tottenham Hotspur hosts FC Barcelona.
The Lily Whites suffered a capitulating 2-1 loss to Inter Milan on matchday one having led for most of the match, and would seek to avoid a similar occurrence against one of the tournament favorites.
Their domestic form has picked up of late, having experienced a bit of a struggle last month where they lost three consecutive matches for the first time under Mauricio Pochetino, and Spurs currently find themselves 4th on the Premier League table.
Barcelona on the other hand are experiencing their own rough patch as despite topping the La Liga table, The Blaugrana are winless in three matches, and followed up a shock 2-1 loss to bottom-placed Leganes last week with a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou against Athletic Bilbao where they were in danger of losing the match until a late El Haddadi equalizer spared their blushes.
Barca have been dominant in the league in recent seasons, and it is in Europe where their priorities lie, as the Catalans have failed to progress past the quarter-final stage in each of the last three seasons, hence, their fans would be counting on Messi and co to deliver the ‘Big Ears’ come May next year.
They began their Champions League assault with a 4-0 victory away to PSV with skipper Lionel Messi bagging a hat-trick, but they would come up against much better opposition in Tottenham who after being on the sidelines for many years would be desperate to break into the European elite.
Barcelona’s first major test of the new season comes up when they travel to London to face Tottenham, while Spurs would relish the chance to prove their mettle against one of the genuine heavyweights, and how each performs in the match would go a long way in determining their Champions League credential.
#1 Napoli vs Liverpool
If you’re looking for all-out, throwing the kitchen sink, no holds barred, action-packed entertainment, then this is undoubtedly the match to watch in Europe.
The fixture throws up a clash of similar styles, as both clubs know only one way to play, which is attacking to outscore the opponent without much care about their defending.
Liverpool and Napoli both won admirers last season for their aesthetic play, as they each scored goals aplenty and provided all round excitement ensuring there was almost never a dull moment when either side played. However, for all their brilliance, each came up empty handed at the end of the season, as Napoli failed in her quest to conquer Serie A for the first time in 28 years, while Liverpool came up short in the Champions League final.
Both teams will once seek to build on the gains made last season, and some changes have been made in a bid to aid their quest, with Napoli capturing multiple title-winning Carlo Ancelotti as replacement for Maurizio Sarri, while Liverpool made a host of notable signings in the summer, particularly the arrival of Brazilian Alisson Becker from AS Roma for a world record fee, which has since been surpassed by Chelsea’s Kepa.
Liverpool would come into the clash full of confidence, as The Reds remain unbeaten in the league following Daniel Sturridge’s last-gasp stunning equalizer at Stamford Bridge over the weekend, and sit joint-top of the table with Manchester City. Liverpool also posted a convincing 3-2 victory over French moneybags PSG on matchday one, and find themselves atop the ‘group of death’.
Napoli, on the other hand, saw their Serie A dreams dealt a heavy blow over the weekend, as they fell 3-1 to Juventus at the Allianz Stadium, and they could only muster a tame 0-0 draw away to group minnows Crvena Zvezda.
The Pertenopei would seek to bounce back from that disappointment with a victory over Liverpool at the Estadio San Paulo, and the match carries extra significance, as Napoli would want to avoid the scenario of being on one point after two matches when heading into their doubleheader clash with PSG.
