No warm welcome for Pep Guardiola as Manchester City and Barcelona shape up for Champions League epic
Thursday morning (Hong Kong time) sees a host of heavyweights take the field, with Bayern Munich and Arsenal among them
The highly anticipated Barcelona v Manchester City clash is one of eight Champions League matches scheduled for early Thursday morning (Hong Kong time) and City coach Pep Guardiola is keen to impress on his return to Barcelona.
Group A
Gutsy Gunners keen to capitalise against Ludogorets Razgrad
Arsenal look a solid bet to continue their Champions League unbeaten start when they host Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets Razgrad. The Gunners were unfortunate not to win in Paris before form striker Theo Walcott scored a brace to beat Basel. Walcott scored twice again this weekend as a gritty Arsenal dug in for a 10-man 3-2 win over Swansea that saw them climb level with Man City at the top of the Premier League. One note of caution for the hosts is that Ludogorets took the lead in both their games, a 1-1 draw with the Swiss and a 3-1 home defeat by PSG. The Bulgarian champions are also on a seven-game unbeaten run away from home.
Business as usual for Paris Saint-Germain against Basel
As coach of Sevilla last season Unai Emery beat Basel on the way to winning the Europa League. Now his current charges, French champions Paris Saint-Germain, host them in a confident mood thanks to Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani – enjoying a purple patch of 15 goals in his last 11 games – and Brazilian playmaker Lucas. Both scored in a weekend win. Basel’s Iceland midfielder Birkir Bjarnason scored in his last match in Paris, albeit in a 5-2 defeat at the Stade de France against hosts France in the quarter-finals of the Euros. The Swiss champions warmed up with a 3-0 win over Luzern and can welcome back players whose legs were saved at the weekend.
Group B
