Mikel Arteta faces Champions League demons in a Big Midweek for Liverpool and the Chelsea cast-offs

Mikel Arteta has some European demons to exorcise while Liverpool face a bunch of Chelsea cast-offs and another looks set to star for Atletico Madrid in the first Big Midweek of the all-new Champions League.

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Game to watch: AC Milan v Liverpool

A classic Champions League fixture courtesy of the Miracle of Istanbul and the Routine Win of Athens two years later, but the clash between Arne Slot and Paulo Fonseca’s sides on Tuesday will only be the fifth time the European giants have met, with Liverpool winning the other two games in the 2021 group stage.

Liverpool lost to two Filippo Inzaghi goals in 2007 and a Milan team including Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Kaka, while the 2024 vintage features less legendary footballers, or rather none, and appears to be chiefly made up of Chelsea cast-offs, with Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Alvaro Morata all part of a squad that clearly pales in comparison to the sides of the 90s and noughties.

Federico Chiesa could make his first appearance for Liverpool which is Worth The Amazon Prime Subscription Alone, though how you’ve survived this long without next-day delivery is beyond us, as is Jeff Bezos’ apparent belief that showing one Champions League game a week will enable him to sell enough poo bags for dogs to make a full production team worth the outlay.

Anyway, probably worth the 30-day free trial. Especially when Slot had admitted that “something is wrong” with Liverpool.

Team to watch: Real Madrid

Jude Bellingham is back in contention and we are fascinated to see how Carlo Ancelotti is going to get him into the team with Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo while not giving 39-year-old Luka Modric a heart attack.

The veteran started the 2-0 win over Real Sociedad at the weekend alongside Federico Valverde in midfield, more through necessity than invention with Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni both out injured. The latter could return for the clash with Stuttgart but is unlikely to start, meaning we could see Bellingham operating in a deeper role that may well prove beneficial for club and country in the long run.

Mbappe didn’t get off to the best of starts for Madrid but having failed to score in his opening three La Liga games he now has three in his last two and appears to be getting on famously with Vini Jr, who drew rank for the first penalty against Sociedad before ceding the second to Mbappe.

We’re still nowhere close to being convinced that Mbappe’s signing was a) necessary and b) won’t actually prove to be a spanner in the works of a machine that was functioning pretty smoothly without him. A stellar showing from him, Vini and Jude in the opening game of the Champions League against a Stuttgart side that’s won one of their opening three Bundesliga games won’t make us converts but will nudge us in the right direction.

And Mbappe really does have some ridiculous stats.

Manager to watch: Mikel Arteta

He may not have won the Premier League but it’s hard to watch games like the North London derby on Sunday without begrudgingly admitting that Arteta is an excellent Premier League manager. He’s coached his team to a point where they win when they’re bad in high-pressure games. But that wasn’t the case in the Champions League last term.

They topped an easy group and squeezed through on penalties against Porto before being brushed aside in the quarter-final by a distinctly average Bayern Munich side in crisis. Arsenal were so, so poor in the second leg in Munich and we imagine it’s that game over any dropped points in the Premier League last season that keeps Arteta up at night.

Victory over Atalanta in Atalanta would probably be Arteta’s biggest scalp in his three seasons managing in Europe on the back of the Serie A side winning the Europa League last season.

Arsenal’s away victories in that time have come over Bodo/Glimt, FC Zurich, Slavia Prague, Olympiacos, Dundalk, Molde, Rapid Vienna and – most notably – Sevilla last season. Games on the road against Villarreal, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Porto, Lens and Bayern have all ended in draw or defeat. The Spaniard has plenty still to prove on the continent.

MORE ON THE NORTH LONDON DERBY FROM F365:

👉 16 Conclusions as wide-eyed Spurs throw themselves into Arsenal’s well-constructed but entirely obvious NLD trap

👉 Arsenal rubbish but Arteta brilliant in pre-ordained NLD that raises Postecoglou doubts

👉 Arsenal man ‘chose the dark arts’ as Sky Sports ‘refuse’ to say sorry

Player to watch: Conor Gallagher

Conor Gallagher and Diego Simeone always threatened to be a perfect match and we can’t help but smile at the midfielder who was so wantonly cast aside after an excellent season for Chelsea playing for a club that genuinely appreciates his undeniable quality.

“He came with a lot of enthusiasm, and we needed that kind of player in the midfield. He does not stop giving his best in every game situation in which he participates.” Simeone was delighted with Gallagher’s first goal in his man-of-the-match display against Valencia ahead of their European opener against RB Leipzig on Thursday.

And sweet justice will be served as the England international enjoys the Champions League anthem while midfielders deemed better suited to Chelsea sit at home waiting for their Europa Conference League bow in two weeks’ time.

Carabao Cup game to watch: Coventry v Tottenham

“I’ll correct myself – I don’t usually win things, I always win things in my second year. Nothing’s changed.”

Even before you consider he’s the manager of Tottenham Hotspur, that’s a mad thing to say and we really, really hope Spurs lose to Coventry, purely in the hope that a bold reporter asks an angry Australian whether his stance on winning their first trophy in 16 years has changed on the back of defeat in one of the two (maybe three) competitions they have a slim chance of winning.

We would strongly advise Ange not to field a second-string XI as he did last year in defeat to Fulham at the first hurdle if he’s to make good on his promise.