Arsenal will aim to stop rot at Manchester City
liverpool vs chelsea
Liverpool and Chelsea face off in the first heavyweight clash between title contenders of the Premier League season, while Arsenal aims to get off the mark when they visit Manchester City on Saturday.
Chelsea and Liverpool are two of five teams to take maximum points from two games alongside West Ham, Tottenham and Brighton.
But of the pre-season title favourites, they have already opened up a two-point advantage over Manchester United and three-point lead on Manchester City.
UEFA Champions League
Tougher test
Lukaku faces a much tougher test at a full Anfield with Liverpool rejuvenated by the return of fans and talismanic centre-back Virgil van Dijk from injury.
The Dutchman’s presence has seen Jurgen Klopp’s men keep two clean sheets in their opening games against Norwich and Burnley.
But goalkeeper Alisson Becker acknowledged that beating Chelsea would send a far stronger signal to its title rivals that Liverpool is back to its best.
More misery for Arteta?
Arsenal sits second bottom without a point or even a goal to show from its first two league games and faces a daunting trip to the defending champion if it is to break that drought before a two-week international break.
The Gunners got a morale-boosting 6-0 win over a youthful West Brom side in the League Cup in midweek to ease the pressure on manager Mikel Arteta with captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring a hat-trick in his first start of the season after testing positive for coronavirus.
Arteta has reportedly been given until the October international break to turn things around, but Arsenal’s recent record against City gives little cause for optimism come Saturday.
City has not lost to Arsenal in the league since 2015 and can ill-afford another slip up after losing to Tottenham on the first weekend of the season.
Homecoming for Kane
City was forced to concede another defeat to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy this week after Harry Kane announced he will be remaining at Tottenham this season.
The England captain had wanted to move to the Etihad with the aim of ending his wait to win a trophy, but City was unwilling to meet Levy’s demands of a fee well in excess of the Premier League record £100 million it paid for Jack Grealish earlier this month.
Heroes welcome
Despite the speculation over his future, Kane was given a hero’s welcome by the travelling Tottenham support away to Wolves last weekend.
After committing his future to his boyhood club, he is expected to start for the first time in the league this season when Spurs aims to keep its perfect start going at home to Watford.
City’s 2021/22 Champions League group stage fixture dates confirmed
City will begin the 2021/22 Champions League campaign with a home game against German side Red Bull Leipzig on 15 September.
Men’s Team
UCL draw: All you need to know about our opponents
Our eagerly-awaited first clash with PSG will take place in Paris on Matchday 2, 28 September.
Then it’s back-to-back clashes with Club Brugge, the first taking place in Belgium on 19 October and the return will be two weeks later at the Etihad on 3 November.
Our home game against PSG will be on 24 November before we wrap up the group stage away to Red Bull Leipzig on 7 December.
The full dates and times are as follows and are based on UK timings.
Matchday 1
Wednesday, 15 September, 8pm
City v Red Bull Leipzig
Matchday 2
Tuesday, 28 September 8pm
PSG v City
Matchday 3
Tuesday,19 October, 5.45pm
Club Brugge v City
Matchday 4
Wednesday, 3 November, 8pm
City v Club Brugge
Matchday 5
Wednesday, 24 November, 8pm
City v PSG
Matchday 6
7 December, 5.45pm
Red Bull Leipzig v City
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UEFA Champions League 2021-22 futures odds, bets: Soccer expert reveals picks to win, long shots to back
Martin Green has locked in his 2021-22 UEFA Champions League futures best bets
The 2021-22 UEFA Champions League draw is in, and finalists Chelsea and Manchester City face tough roads in their hopes to get back to the title game.
Reigning champion Chelsea is in a group with Juventus, which eliminated the Blues in the group stage when they last tried to defend a title in 2013.
Meanwhile, defending Premier League champion Manchester City was drawn into a group that includes tournament favorite Paris Saint-Germain, now featuring Lionel Messi.
Bayern Munich, the 2020 champion, also is expected to be in the mix for the title along with Premier League heavyweights Manchester United and Liverpool.
The UEFA Champions League kicks off Sept. 14, and the final will be played on May 28 at Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Caesars Sportsbook lists PSG as the +300 favorite in its latest 2021-22 UEFA Champions League futures odds, followed by Manchester City (+350). Meanwhile, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are both listed at +800. Before you make any 2021-22 UEFA Champions League futures bets or predictions, you need to see what SportsLine’s soccer insider, Martin Green, has to say.
After working in the sports betting industry for several years, Green became a professional sports writer and handicapper and has covered the game worldwide. Since then, his European soccer picks have been spot-on. Green has generated over $36,000 for $100 bettors since the 2017-18 season, and he has his finger on the pulse of the game all over the globe.
Now, with the 2021-22 Champions League draw set in stone, Green has studied every team in the competition and identified seven Champions League 2021-22 futures best bets. You can visit SportsLine now to see his Champions League picks.
Top 2021-22 Champions League predictions
Green is supremely confident that a team from England will win be crowned champions of the UEFA Champions League at +100 odds. The Premier League is the most competitive club competition in the world, and the four teams in the Champions League are still the clear cream of the crop. Two of the past three finals have pitted English teams against each other, and all four EPL representatives have only gotten better. Manchester City is the reigning Premier League champion and added Jack Grealish to a team that already includes the world’s best midfielder in Kevin De Bruyne to operate the smooth-running machine.
Chelsea has been a transformed team since manager Thomas Tuchel took over in late January. The Blues beat City three times in a six-week span last season, culminating in May’s Champions League final, and added top striker Romelu Lukaku. Forgotten in all this is Manchester United, which was second in the league and has added key pieces including superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in the transfer window. In addition, 2020 EPL champion Liverpool is finally healthy after it was ravaged by injuries and finished third last year.
Liverpool has six Champions League titles, second-most all-time, its most recent being in 2019.
Liverpool face Chelsea as Arsenal aim to stop rot at Man City
Arsenal sit second bottom without a point or even a goal to show from their first two league games
•Arsenal suffered at the hands of Chelsea last weekend as Romelu Lukaku scored on his second debut in a 2-0 win for the Blues.
•The Belgian, who returned to Stamford Bridge this month for a club record £97 million, scored his 114th Premier League goal at the Emirates
Liverpool and Chelsea face off in the first heavyweight clash between title contenders of the Premier League season, while Arsenal aim to get off the mark when they visit Manchester City on Saturday.
Arsenal suffered at the hands of Chelsea last weekend as Romelu Lukaku scored on his second debut in a 2-0 win for the Blues.
The Belgian, who returned to Stamford Bridge this month for a club record £97 million, scored his 114th Premier League goal at the Emirates, but his first for Chelsea after failing to make an impression in his first spell at the club.
Now 28, Lukaku looks the complete package and the final piece needed to turn Thomas Tuchel’s European champions into Premier League winners.
Chelsea and Liverpool are two of five teams to take maximum points from two games alongside West Ham, Tottenham and Brighton.
But of the pre-season title favourites, they have already opened up a two-point advantage over Manchester United and three-point lead on Manchester City.
Lukaku faces a much tougher test at a full Anfield with Liverpool rejuvenated by the return of fans and talismanic centre-back Virgil van Dijk from injury.
The Dutchman’s presence has seen Jurgen Klopp’s men keep two clean sheets in their opening games against Norwich and Burnley.
But goalkeeper Alisson Becker acknowledged that beating Chelsea would send a far stronger signal to their title rivals that Liverpool are back to their best.
“For what we believe and for what we want to achieve, it’s a good sign because you are playing one of the favourite sides in the title race and if you can beat one of these sides it’s always good for you to give confidence,” said the Brazilian.
“We won the Premier League before and we know that we need to think always about the next challenge that we have in front of us, so this game is important.”
Liverpool’s Champions League fixtures: Who Reds face before and after each tie
Liverpool now know not only their opponents in this season’s Champions League, but also when they’ll play the ties and thus which Premier League game falls before and after European games.
The 2019 winners were drawn in Group B on Thursday, alongside Atletico Madrid, FC Porto and AC Milan, meaning trips to Spain, Portugal and Italy for Jurgen Klopp‘s side this autumn.
The campaign kicks off at Anfield, with Italian side AC Milan visiting the home of the Reds for the first-ever time.
A trip to Porto awaits in matchday two, before back-to-back ties vs. Atletico.
The trip to Madrid comes in a week with three away games, with Watford away and Man United away either side of the visit to the Wanda Metropolitano.
The final two group games see Porto visit Anfield in late November, then the final group game at the iconic San Siro stadium in Milan.