Champions League: Liverpool news conference coming up before Spurs & Arsenal in action

Four wins from four

Liverpool v Atletico Madrid (Wed, 20:00 BST)

Liverpool

Discourse around Liverpool's start to the season has been interesting.

In many ways, they have begun the defence of their Premier League title as well as they possibly could, winning their first four games.

However, all four have been secured by late - some very late - goals which has led to talk of them being unconvincing, leaky at the back and not having any rhythm going forward.

No doubt they have not been at their best, but given they have beaten Arsenal and Bournemouth - who have each won their other three games - scored three against Newcastle, who have kept clean sheets in their other three games and inflicted Scott Parker's first ever home defeat as Burnley boss, you have to wonder what will happen when the new players gel and they do start playing well.

That leaky defence has only allowed only one shot of target in the past two games as well.

It bring to mind a quote from legendary former Reds boss Bill Shankly: "Ay, here we are with problems at the top of the league."

'City's quality will test any team they play'

Phil McNulty Q&A

Phil McNulty

BBC Sport chief football writer

Harry: Hi Phil, Man City fan here - I'm relatively pessimistic about our CL run and don't think we're really in contention. I hope to be wrong but I'm curious, what do you think of our CL fixtures? Have you got any causes for optimism I can cling on to?

Hello, Harry. I think the cause of optimism is the quality of player that remains in Manchester City’s squad. When they get it right they can beat anyone.

Real Madrid away is a stand-out game, especially after being well beaten there last season, but I would fully expect City to reach the knockout stage, then their quality will test any team they play.

And you also have a new goalkeeper in Gianluigi Donnarumma who was outstanding when Paris St-Germain won the Champions League last season.

Does that make you feel any better?

'There is a lot of making up to do for Spurs'

Phil McNulty Q&A

Phil McNulty

BBC Sport chief football writer

Matthew: Hi Phil, is this Spurs squad good enough to compete on all fronts this season or do January reinforcements seem necessary?

I think we have to place all this in context. Spurs won the Europa League last season, but they finished 17th in the Premier League so there is a lot of making up to do.

I would say with the squad they have, Thomas Frank should be aiming for top six in the Premier League, qualify for the Champions League knockout stage and challenge for a cup.

I think they have a squad capable of doing that and, as always, I am sure Spurs will be looking to strengthen in January.

Tottenham's Champions League inexperience

Tottenham v Villarreal (20:00 BST)

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham's game against Villarreal tonight will be their first in the Champions League since 2022-23, when they reached the last 16.

In the intervening two years their squad has changed a fair bit - this is now a group with little experience at Europe's top table.

Rodrigo Bentancur leads the way with 37 appearances in the competition, and is one of just four players in the squad with 15 or more Champions League games to his name.

Mohammed Kudus has the most Champions League goals to his name, with four, despite only playing nine games in the competition during his time with Ajax.

Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Djed Spence, Mickey van der Ven, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert are among those who could make their debuts in the tournament tonight.

Arteta excited to start from scratch

Alex Howell

BBC Sport football reporter in Bilbao

Mikel Arteta said in yesterday's news conference that he is excited to "start from scratch" as Arsenal prepare to play Athletic Club in their first Champions League game of the season.

The Gunners reached the semi-final stage of the competition last season, losing to eventual winners Paris St-Germain.

Arsenal beat Athletic Club 3-0 in their final pre-season game of the summer, but have some injury worries coming into this fixture.

Captain Martin Odegaard came off with a shoulder problem in the win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday and has not travelled to Spain.

The Gunners are also going to be without Bukayo Saka and Ben White, who has a minor issue and did not train.

However, Arsenal have been given a boost as William Saliba is back in the squad after missing the match on Saturday with an ankle problem.

'Key for Arsenal is consistency'

Phil McNulty Q&A

Phil McNulty

BBC Sport chief football writer

Daniel: Hi Phil, with Arsenal in great shape, do you think they finally have the squad depth and firepower to consistently challenge on two fronts, or more? What is going to be the crucial thing for them this season, apart from keeping injuries to key players to a minimum, of course?

Hi Daniel. I do think they now have the depth and firepower but I think the key is consistency. They need to maintain the high level that will be needed, not throw in some of those occasional performances where they let themselves down.

Every lost point will be crucial this season.

I also thought manager Mikel Arteta was too cautious at Liverpool. Liverpool had looked vulnerable in their first couple of games, but Arteta utilised a conservative game plan and Arsenal lost to a late goal.

Champions League newcomers

Champions League

Sticking with the Newcastle theme, the Magpies' second Champions League game will be at Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise - one of four sides that have reached this stage of the competition for the first time...

Bodo/Glimt

Having made history last year in becoming the first Norwegian side to reach the Europa League semi-finals, Bodo/Glimt beat Sturm Graz in the Champions League play-off to reach the league phase.

They're the first Norwegian side to play in the competition since Rosenborg in 2007-08.

Kairat Almaty

The Kazakhstan champions are only the second side from the country to play in the Champions League, after Astana in 2015-16.

They beat Celtic on penalties to reach this stage and host Real Madrid on matchday two.

Pafos

A narrow 3-2 aggregate win over Crvena Zvezda in the play-off booked Pafos' place in the league stage.

They are the first team from Cyprus to play in the tournament proper since 2017-18 and can look forward to matches against Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Juventus among others.

Union Saint-Gilloise

The Belgians enjoyed a superb 24-25 campaign, winning a league and cup double with the former securing their place in the league phase.

Sebastien Pocognoli's side start their campaign away to PSV before hosting Newcastle and Inter Milan in their next two games.

The last time Newcastle were in the Champions League

Newcastle's extra games may yet again take their toll, as Phil alluded to, but it's difficult to assess the comparative strengths between the Magpies squad in their previous Champions League campaign and their current one - only time will tell.

All the same, fans and players enjoyed a memorable night at St James' Park in 2023-24, when they stunned a star-laden Paris St-Germain side, running out 4-1 winners.

Incidentally, Newcastle will once against face PSG, this time away from home in their final game of the league phase.

Eddie Howe will be hoping for a stronger finish to this season's campaign after Newcastle faded last time around. Home losses to Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan saw them fail to make it out of their group.

However, they did recover towards the tail end of the season and recorded their second-highest finish (7th) in the Premier League at the time, since being promoted in 2017.

Which player are you most looking forward to watching?

Champions League

Just because it's the obvious answer doesn't mean it's wrong...

John Murray: The player I'm looking forward to watching is Yamal as I am yet to commentate on him in a Barcelona shirt.

While disappointingly it looks like he might not be fit for Thursday at St James' Park, I suspect there will be other opportunities as this Champions League progresses.

Sami Mokbel: At 18, Yamal is still a kid - but already one of the premier attacking talents in European football. Destined to be one of, if not the, best footballers in the world.

Steph Houghton: Yamal is a global superstar. I'm excited to see how he performs against teams that are more than likely going to double up against him.

Nicky Bandini: We're all itching to see more of Yamal, aren't we? The two legs of Barcelona's semi-final against Inter last season will stay with me for a very long time. Maybe it's unfair to ask an 18-year-old what he can do for an encore, but you can't help but be excited at the prospect.

There are plenty of others I'm excited to watch too though! Of course we're all curious about Max Dowman after he made his debut for Arsenal at 15, and it'll be fun to see Scott McTominay in the Champions League with Napoli after he fired them to a domestic title last season and was named Serie A's Most Valuable Player.

I wonder if this might be a breakout year for Kenan Yildiz too, still only 20 and with a full season of starting for Juventus now under his belt.

Phil McNulty: It's not a shock choice but I can't wait to see Yamal play for Barcelona, hopefully starting against Newcastle on Thursday, although the 18-year-old is struggling with a back injury picked up on international duty with Spain.

PSG's Doue is another brilliant young talent currently struggling with an injury, but he is another who will light up the tournament when fit, as he did so wonderfully last season.

Matt Upson: Yamal is the player I want to see. He is a ridiculous talent and I love watching him play.

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