Key events
Tonight’s Champions League fixtures, UK times.
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Dinamo Zagreb v Celtic, 17:45
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Girona v Liverpool, 17:45
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Brest v PSV, 20:00
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Shakhtar Donetsk v Bayern Munich, 20:00
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Club Brugge v Sporting, 20:00
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RB Salzburg v PSG, 20:00
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RB Leipzig v Aston Villa, 20:00
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Bayer Leverkusen v Inter, 20:00
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Atalanta v Real Madrid, 20:00
Could this be the night Alisson returns? Last seen at Crystal Palace in October, and out for longer than expected. Caoimhin Kelleher has done just fine, though his error against Newcastle had Liverpool fans yearning for the Brazilian.
The Champions League has been rather different to what many expected. Has it actually been better? There’s a case for that. Perhaps it’s the novelty value.
Yet some voices within European football urge caution and believe bigger scores are a consequence, intended or not, of the expanded format’s rules. The argument is persuasive: with so many teams bunched together, and goal difference certain to be a deciding factor for key positions in the table, many have simply appreciated the benefits of turning the screw. It can effectively count for the extra point that separates success from early elimination. Previously, the restrictive head-to-head rule had been the tie-breaker for league‑phase deadlocks.
Preamble
Liverpool, Liverpool, top of the league. That’s the case at home and abroad. Can they take their perfect record beyond the Christmas break? In Girona, a team fighting to try and make the last 24, there are familiar foes. This is the club co-owned by the City Football Group and also Pere Guardiola, brother of, well, you know who. Among others. Liverpool may be well rested after last weekend’s postponement of the Mersey derby followed that 3-3 draw with Newcastle. Can Arne Slot keep the momentum going? A reshuffling of the pack is expected, though that weekend off may have changed thinking.
Kick-off is at 5.45pm UK time. Join me.
