Liverpool v Paris St-Germain is the first mega-rumble as Champions League comes alive

While it is true the Champions League has become a contest to determine which teams progress to the knockout stages for the privilege of being pummelled by the great houses of Europe, there is tension for each of the English clubs, bar Manchester City, in the group stages.

Will City ever feel tension again outside Pep Guardiola’s pitiless training ground school? It might be that they do as the bookies suggest and move serenely to Madrid in June to fulfil their billion-dollar destiny and end the bizarre Champions League hoodoo that has claimed Guardiola in his post-Barcelona days. City open on Wednesday in what looks a low key trot at the Etihad against a Lyon team already eight points adrift of Paris St-Germain in Ligue 1.

On the same night Manchester United travel to Bern to meet Young Boys, who are tearing up the Swiss Super League with six wins from six. Whether a victory would meet the Rio Ferdinand upset test depends on how we view the state of the Old Trafford union. Given the trouble United invited having established control at the previously unbeaten Watford, it might be another 90 minutes of Marouane Fellaini worship.

Golden legs

At least a part of the intrigue this year lies in discovering how much remains in a generation of golden legs. Cristiano Ronaldo had to wait until the weekend to score his first league goals since his move from Real Madrid to Juventus. Though he got both in the victory over Sassuolo, can we really expect the great Portuguese to continue the unremitting avarice he showed in the service of Real? Sorry Valencia, I think I have just invited his first hat-trick for the Old Lady in the other match in the group.

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Juventus face tough Mestalla challenge as Cristiano Ronaldo targets his sixth Champions League trophy

The same question is asked of Leo Messi and Arjen Robben at Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively. Robben smashed a great volley in Bayern’s routine win against Bayer Leverkusen and says he does not feel 34, but come on, he was injury prone in his youth. How long can he keep running in at the requisite intensity? Then again Bayern are in a gimme of a group and the Bundesliga is already wrapped up.

Europe’s top five leagues are led by familiar brokers, Bayern, Barca, Juve, PSG, Liverpool/Chelsea, none of whom have looked like dropping a point. The concentration of power and wealth in too few hands has a suffocating effect on the game until, of course, the rich and famous play each other, which brings us to the visit of PSG to Liverpool in the first mega-rumble of the group stages.

Let’s get ready to rumble

Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Firmino v Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani under lights at Anfield, a line-up that deserves a ring walk with Michael Buffer calling them in. This is indeed a bout that would do Floyd Mayweather numbers were the Champions League to go pay-per-view. Don’t worry, it’s coming. You would expect both teams to progress but the presence of Napoli, leading the chase of Juve in Serie A, ought to act as a check and a balance on bombast.

Liverpool were arguably a judoka throw from ending Real Madrid’s three-year reign in Kiev. Before Sergio Ramos went all WWF on Salah last year’s final was finely poised, and though Real eventually overwhelmed Liverpool, the result seem to measure teams at opposite ends of the potential curve. Real minus Ronaldo’s goals are structurally weakened while Liverpool’s regal start in the Premier League leaves suggests percentage gains and leaves them well placed to test the majesty of PSG outside their French walkover zone.

Spurs open against Inter at San Siro, a fixture which immediately looks like the first of two arm wrestles to determine who goes forward with Barcelona. Spurs, subdued by successive defeats to Watford and Liverpool can at least take comfort from the plight of Inter nestling in 15th spot in Serie A after two defeats in four, including a home loss to Parma at the weekend.