The UEFA Champions League group stage is about to kick off on Tuesday with some intriguing match-ups and some clubs some of you may have not heard of before.
Liverpool will travel to France to take on Marseille just three days after knocking of Manchester United in EPL action. The Reds won’t have an easy time against a Marseille side that has gotten off to a good start in Ligue 1 play.
Other marquee match-ups on Tuesday include Atletico Madrid-PSV Eindhoven as well as FC Barcelona vs. Sporting Lisbon.
For those of you who intend on taking in some of the action on TV, here is the TV schedule for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League action:
UEFA Champions League on TV
TUESDAY
- 2:30pm- ESPN2/ESPN360.com- Bordeaux at Chelsea (LIVE)
- 2:30pm- ESPN Deportes- Sporting Lisbon at FC Barcelona (LIVE)
- 2:30pm- Setanta USA- Marseille at Liverpool (LIVE)
- 5pm- ESPN Classic- Sporting Lisbon at FC Barcelona
- 5pm- ESPN Deportes- PSV Eindhoven vs. Atletico Madrid
- 5:35pm- Setanta USA- Panathanaikos at Inter Milan
- 7:15pm- Setanta USA- PSV Eindhoven vs. Atletico Madrid
- 7:30pm- ESPN Deportes- Panathanaikos at Inter Milan
Here is a complete rundown of Tuesday’s games by group:
GROUP A
- Bordeaux at Chelsea
- CFR Cluj-Napoca at Roma
Outlook– So who is CFR Cluj? None other than the Romanian League champions and first team outside of Bucharest to win the Romanian title in 17 years.
GROUP B
- Inter Milan at Panathanaikos
- Anorthosis Famagusta at Werder Bremen
Outlook– Have no idea who Anorthosis Famagusta is, do you? Well, that would be the Cyprus champions who are led by Euro 2004 star and Greek midfielder Traianos Dellas.
GROUP C
- Sporting Lisbon at FC Barcelona
- Shakhtar Donetsk at FC Basel
Outlook– Barcelona is the heavy favorite in Group C and can set the tone with a win against second-choice Sporting, which is much stronger than casual fans realize. Donetsk isn’t as strong as last year’s squad, but still boast Fernandinho in midfield.
GROUP D
- Liverpool at Marseille
- Atletico Madrid at PSV Eindhoven
Outlook– There are no easy points in this Group of Death candidate. Atletico is the pick to follow Liverpool to the next round but getting at least a point in Eindhoven won’t be easy.
What do you think of Tuesday’s match-ups? Do you see any upsets? What match are you most looking forward to watching? Share your thoughts below