Champions League Matchday 1 preview: Stats, team news, key games for 2019/20 UCL kick-off

Topics: TV SCHEDULES, LIVERPOOL, NAPOLI, DORTMUND, BARCELONA, JUVENTUS, ATLETICO MADRID, PSG, REAL MADRID, SHAKHTAR, MANCHESTER CITY, UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The UEFA Champions League returns on Tuesday! Here's everything you need to know as Liverpool gear up to defend their title against the likes of Barcelona, Juventus, PSG, Real Madrid, and Man City.

2019/20 UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 fixtures - time and date

Tuesday, September 17. 2019

Lyon vs Zenit at 12:55 ET/16:55 GMT
Internazionale vs Slavia Praha at 12:55 ET/16:55 GMT
Chelsea vs Valencia at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
Ajax vs Lille at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
Benfica vs RB Leipzig at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
Dortmund vs Barcelona at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
Napoli vs Liverpool at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
Salzburg vs Genk at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Club Brugge vs Galatasaray at 12:55 ET/16:55 GMT
Olympiakos vs Tottenham at 12:55 ET/16:55 GMT
Atletico vs Juventus at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
Bayer Leverkusen vs Lokomotiv Moskva at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
Bayern Munich vs Crvena Zvezda at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
Dinamo Zagreb vs Atalanta at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
PSG vs Real Madrid at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Man City at 15:00 ET/19:00 GMT

Team news/injuries

Chelsea vs Valencia

Injured: Soler (Valencia), Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)

Doubts: Emerson, Hudson-Odoi, James, Kanté, Pedro Rodríguez, Abraham, and Rüdiger (Chelsea)

Dortmund vs Barcelona

Injured: Dembele and Umtiti (Barca); Unbehaun and Morey (Dortmund)

Doubts: Messi (Barca), Schulz (Dortmund)

Napoli vs Liverpool

Injured: Alisson (Liverpool)

Doubts: Milik and Hysaj (Napoli); Keita and Origi (Liverpool)

PSG vs Real Madrid

Injured: Mbappe, Draxler, Kehrer, and Dagba (PSG); Modric (Real Madrid)

Doubts: Cavani (PSG); Isco, Diaz, and Valverde (Real Madrid)

Suspended: Neymar (PSG); Ramos and Nacho (Real Madrid)

Atletico Madrid vs Juventus

Injured: Vrsalijko (Atletico); Costa (Juve)

Doubts: Thomas and Morata (Atletico); Pjanic, De Sciglio, and Danilo (Juve)

Other notable news:

Sane, Laporte, and Mendy sidelined for Man City
De Vrij and Lukaku doubts for Inter Milan
Goretzka and Alaba injured for Bayern

Key stats

PSG and Real Madrid have met eight times before, with Los Blancos winning half of those games and their last three run-ins (D2, L2).
Les Parisiens home record against the 13-time kings of Europe is W1 D2 L1 and they are without a win against Real Madrid since March 1994.
Dortmund vs Barcelona will be the first clash between these German and Spanish giants in 20 years.
They have met only twice before, over a two-legged UEFA Super Cup affair with the Blaugrana winning 3-1 on aggregate.
Liverpool have lost their last two trips to Italy and lost all three of their group-stage away games last season.
However, overall, the Reds have lost only three of their nine trips to an Italian club (W3, D3).
Juventus are without an away win in their last three Champions League games while Atletico have won their last nine home games in Europe.
Cristiano, who scored a hat-trick to knock out Atletico Madrid when these two sides met in the round of 16 last season, has scored a whopping 25 times in 33 meetings with Los Rojiblancos while assisting another eight.

What is social media saying ahead of Matchday 1?

Will Ansu Fati set another record or will Messi come to the rescue?

In Messi's absence, one man has been dominating the headlines and he is Ansu Fati. The Teenager has set records this season, becoming Barcelona's youngest scorer, their youngest scorer at Camp Nou, and the youngest to score and assist in a Liga game. Should he find the net against Dortmund, he will become the youngest player to score at this competition as he will be 16 years and 322 days.

Is Ansu Fati about to make more history?

Youngest Barcelona scorer
Youngest scorer at Camp Nou
Youngest to score and assist in a Liga game
Youngest #UCL scorer
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 15, 2019

Or will Messi steal the show? The Argentine is yet to feature this season due to an injury but has been declared fit for the trip to Dortmund. Whether he will start remains unknown.

#Messi has been declared fit for Barcelona's Champions League opener against Dortmund on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/mKkzCyEjRN
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 16, 2019

Cristiano eyeing title no.6 and Hazard embarking on European success with Real Madrid

It's no secret that Cristiano Ronaldo is the most successful player in this tournament. He won three consecutive titles from 2016 to 2018 but missed out last season. This term, he will aim for title number six.

Cristiano Ronaldo is Atletico's most feared opponent in the UEFA Champions League.

He has had some iconic moments vs Los Colchoneros.

They meet again. pic.twitter.com/WTZnUc2FVR
— TeamCRonaldo (@TeamCRonaldo) September 16, 2019

As for his former club Real Madrid, they will embark on their campaign with Eden Hazard leading their attack. The Belgian will make his European debut with Los Blancos against PSG and will be keen on a dream start.