Champions League: Aston Villa hero Jhon Duran among Tuesday night's must-watch stars
Ahead of tonight's Champions League action, we take a look at a player from each match to keep tabs on, with stars from Aston Villa, Juventus, Lille, Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart and AC Milan featuring.
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After scoring a stunning winning goal against Everton on Saturday evening, Jhon Duran will hope he has done enough to start against Young Boys tonight. The Colombian has been forced to play second fiddle to England international Ollie Watkins but three goals in just 103 minutes of league action this season proves how effective he can be. Watkins himself has admitted he is not yet 100% fit following the Euros so Duran may get the chance to deputise in Switzerland.
Thiago Motta has looked to the youth in the opening weeks of his Juventus reign and one of those to benefit has been young forward Samuel Mbangula. The Belgian has featured in all four Serie A games to date for the Serie A powerhouse, and has been directly involved in three of their six goals, providing two assists. Having featured from the bench against Empoli at the weekend, Mbangula will be raring to go against PSV tonight.
Edon Zhegrova was instrumental in Lille's qualification for the Champions League, scoring once against Fenerbahce and twice against Slavia Prague. The likes of Jonathan David and Angel Gomes hog the limelight for Lille, but Zhegrova is just as important for the French giants, particularly in the final third. Les Dogues have started the season poorly, yet have a chance to upset the odds at Sporting if the 25-year-old is firing on all cylinders in Lisbon.
The new Champions League campaign gets underway this evening, but how exactly does the new format work? 🏆@stighefootball is on hand to explain how the revamped #UCL will function from this season onwards. 🎙️
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Aleksandar Pavlovic - Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich are overwhelming favourites to kick off their Champions League campaign with a win and they should make light work of Dinamo Zagreb on home turf. Any number of Bayern stars will take centre stage tonight but fans should witness Aleksandar Pavlovic make just his third Champions League start of his career against the Croatian side. Rested for the 6-1 win at Holstein Kiel, Pavlovic's impressive distribution should see FC Hollywood dominate at the Allianz Arena.
Angelo Stiller - VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart face a real baptism of fire as they gear up for their first Champions League game since 2010 as they take on defending champions Real Madrid. While the German side will be up against it at the Bernabeu, Angelo Stiller's influence in the middle of the park gives the Bundesliga outfit a fighting chance in Madrid. Stiller's distribution is not to be underestimated and this strength to his game means Los Blancos need to guard against complacency in front of their own fans.
The midfield battle at the San Siro will be key in tonight's marquee meeting between AC Milan and Liverpool. Tijjani Reijnders has proven a solid addition following his arrival from AZ Alkmaar last summer, with the Netherlands international a jack-of-all-trades midfielder for the Serie A powerhouse. Reijnders wasn't given a fair chance by now-Liverpool boss Arne Slot during the cancelled 2019/20 Eredivisie season in their time together with AZ. The 26-year-old, therefore, will be looking to prove a point to his compatriot in Milan tonight.
