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Messi and Aguero to team up?The upcoming Champions League games this week represent a mouth-watering platter of matches for football fans. With big teams like Manchester City, Barcelona, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen, all involved in this game-week expect some fireworks on the field.On Wednesday, reigning English champions Manchester City host the mighty Barcelona while the Italian champions Juventus welcome an entertaining Borussia Dortmund side, reinvigorated by the return of one Marco Reus.Thursday will see Arsenal welcome French side Monaco to the Emirates and La Liga champions Atletico Madrid travel to Germany to take on Bayer Leverkusen. Big teams mean big players. With the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Andrea Pirlo, Neymar involved there won’t be a lack of star names gracing this week’s matches.Here at Sportskeeda, we try the impossible task of sorting out the stars on show and combine them into one epic starting XI for this week’s matches.
#1 Goalkeeper
Danijel Subasic (Monaco)
With the likes of Joe Hart and Gianluigi Buffon on show this week, the selection of Monaco’s 30-year-old Croation as the goalkeeper for the star-studded side might come across as a surprise. Monaco have been far from an entertaining and free scoring machine but what the Ligue 1 side have been, is efficient.
The French side have conceded just three goals in their last 17 matches and Subasic has been largely responsible for the record. Subasic was brilliant in the group stages of the Champions League too, pulling off 16 saves.
Subasic barely beats Hart and Buffon to take the number 1 jersey based on form.
#2 Defence
Owing to the attacking talents we were spoilt for, we decided to go for a three-man defence to encourage a more attacking play.
Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
Godin has arguably been one of the best defenders in the world in the past couple of years. The Uruguayan is an old-school no-nonsense defender and has no qualms over putting his body on the line if needed for the team. The defender can also be a handful in the opposition penalty box, regularly scoring crucial goals for his team. Godin has 5 headed attempts during this year’s group stages, the most by any defender.
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
The 30-year-old is the centrepiece of the defence for the Italian champions and the Italian national team. Chiellini is an uncompromising individual when on the field and has a brilliant positional awareness leading to a large number of interceptions. The Italian is also well-assured with the ball, rarely giving possession away. Chiellini has had 88.3% passing success rate this season.
Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)
There is no one we trust more than Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany to lead the defence. The Belgian has probably been one of the most complete defenders in the world in the past few years, and you would need a ball-playing defender like him in your side when you are fielding a three-man defensive line.
The 28-year-old has had a mixed season so far with niggling injuries preventing him from gathering momentum but now that he has completely recovered, there was no question of leaving him out. Kompany’s ability to drive forward with the ball is a tactical necessity while playing three at the back.
#3 Midfield
We chose a four-man-midfield with high work rate. Pace out wide complemented by solid physicality in the middle, with enough creativity to go around.
Left Winger: Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
Borussia Dortmund’s dismal showing this season can largely be attributed to the absence of their talisman Marco Reus. But now the German is back and fit. Reus has scored in each of his last three league starts after coming back. He also scored in each of his two Champions League outings prior to the injury. The German’s pace and stamina means he will have little issues tracking back, if necessary.
Left Central Midfielder: Paul Pogba (Juventus)
The 21-year-old has been a revelation since bursting onto the scene, and he continues to prove his potential to grow as a midfield dynamo. Considered as one of the best midfield talents in the world at the moment, the Frenchman has the ability to walk into the first team of any side in Europe. Pogba’s defensive qualities combined with his ability to drive forward and score goals makes him a safe choice in the middle of the park.
Right Central Midfielder: Yaya Toure (Manchester City)
Again, a similar player to Pogba but with more experience. The ex-Barcelona star is big, strong, and technically good. Toure is a force to be reckoned with and strong in both attack and defence. The 31-year-old can alternate with Pogba and take turns in venturing forward to help out the attack while the other stays back to add cover to the defence. Toure has already scored 10 and assisted two goals this season.
Right Winger: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
The Chilean has continued to perform at the highest level despite switching leagues this season after signing for Arsenal from Barcelona. The 26-year-old has often carried the Arsenal team all on his own, and in process has notched up 17 goals and eight assists including three goals and one assist in the Champions League group stages. Sanchez is a true work-horse and is not shy to put a shift in both in attack and defensively.
#4 Attack
Finally here’s our three-man attack to complete this epic team.
Central Attacking Midifielder: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
The Argentine Maestro is no stranger to the position and is an automatic choice to play the role as the most advanced playmaker. No player has directly contributed to more goals in the group stages than Messi, scoring eight and setting up two. Messi has been in top form in the La Liga too with 26 goals and 13 assists.
Right Forward: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
When not injured, Aguero is possibly the best pure striker in the world. The Argentine, despite having his season riddled by injuries, has gone on to score 22 goals and six assists this season. Aguero was in stellar form during the group stages netting five including the hat-trick against Bayern Munich, which saw the 26-year-old single-handedly demolish the German champions.
Neymar (Barcelona)
The Brazilian has made the position his own at Barcelona and developed a telepathic connection with team-mate Lionel Messi. Neymar has had a productive year scoring 24 and setting up four this season. The striker is the perfect third man to link up with the two Argentines in attack.
#5 Substitutes
Sadly a football team can only have eleven players and the constraint means we had to leave out a lot of great players out. Just for the record, here are some honourable mentions disguised as our substitute bench.
GK: Joe Hart (Manchester City)Def: Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen)Def: Wallace (Monaco)Mid: Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)Mid: Koke (Atletico Madrid)FW: Carlos Tevez (Juventus)FW: Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Here is how the team will look like
