We are in the middle of the Champions League group stage for the 2020-21 season and there will be a lot of talking points as we get more active during the week.
Premier League clubs Manchester United and Chelsea could take big steps towards the knockout stage as Liverpool continue to grapple with their injury crisis while reigning champions Bayern Munich could rewrite history and Barcelona will have a rather noticeable absence.
Here Sportsmail deals with 10 topics of conversation before this week’s Champions League campaign.
We are in the middle of the Champions League group stage for the 2020-21 season and Real Madrid and Inter Milan will play this week’s much-anticipated match
Messi is missing for Barcelona
Lionel Messi was excluded from the Barcelona squad on Tuesday after one of his worst performances for the club in Saturday’s loss to Atletico Madrid to face Dynamo Kiev.
While Messi’s omission could be a sign of further distress between him and the club, manager Ronald Koeman cited the reasons for his departure and midfielder Frenkie De Jong is out due to her comfortable position in the group.
Barcelona are seven points ahead of third-placed Kiev at the top of Group G, so on the surface it makes sense to rest Messi. However, add more context and Barca fans could get a taste of it in the near future as Messi continues to be linked to a move away.
The Argentine hasn’t looked around this season. In the 1-0 defeat at Wanda Metropolitano, he lost the ball an amazing 23 times. He also only managed 36 passes.
Lionel Messi showed one of his worst performances for Barcelona in the loss to Atletico Madrid on Saturday and will now sit out against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League
Four Haaland goals on fire
Borussia Dortmund’s front man Erling Haaland continues to prove why he is one of the most sought-after strikers in the world after his Golden Boy Award triumph and why he is honored as Europe’s best player under the age of 21.
The 20-year-old Norwegian international is currently leading the Champions League Golden Boot alongside Liverpool’s Diogo Jota, Juventus striker Alvaro Morata and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.
He will likely take the lead as Dortmund host of Club Bruges after scoring an incredible four goals in 22 minutes against Hertha Berlin at the weekend.
Erling Haaland scored four goals in 22 minutes against Hertha Berlin at the weekend
Manchester United’s revenge mission
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s recent Champions League memory will be one of his worst since he took over as Manchester United manager.
The Red Devils receive Istanbul Basaksehir on Tuesday and revenge must be on the agenda. United suffered a 2-1 defeat by the Turkish side in the second leg and Demba Ba’s opener underscored the Shambolian defense organization.
In Group H you still have to play against United and RB Leipzig with six points, but Basaksehir and last year’s finalist Paris Saint-Germain are not far behind with three points.
Chelsea can secure progress
Frank Lampard can lead his team to the knockout stage of the Champions League if they win the other game in Group E against Rennes and Sevilla against Krasnodar.
The blues are starting to gain a foothold under Lampard as all of their new summer additions have had a little more time on the training ground.
Having entered the game unbeaten in nine games of all competitions and with five straight wins, including four goals against, Chelsea are looking to secure their place in the next round so they can rest key players for the last two games in the group Part of the hectic schedule this season.
Mason Mount (right) and Chelsea aim to secure their spot in the next round this week
Who will play for injured Liverpool?
Jurgen Klopp is six and seven years old and is trying to put together a squad for the next few games while Liverpool’s injury crisis continues.
Without Trient, the reds are Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Xherdan Shaqiri. Thiago Alcantara and Rhys Williams are still fighting for fitness ahead of the Champions League game against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Luckily for Klopp, he has a pretty full compliment on the attack when Mohamed Salah returns after recovering from the coronavirus to join the in-shape Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
The Reds will have to rely on young talent like Curtis Jones, who is showing great promise under Klopp as they move through the full winter schedule without so many of their star players.
Fortunately for Jürgen Klopp, he has a full-fledged attack, and Mohamed Salah is back
Real Madrid and Inter absolutely have to win
Group B would look more realistic if turned upside down, but the Champions League loves to surprise.
Real Madrid and Inter are third and fourth in the group and face each other in a competitive match on Wednesday.
The Italians haven’t won a game this season. Antonio Conte’s side have only managed two draws and one defeat. Meanwhile, Madrid are working hard with their group, also made up of Borussia Mönchengladbach and Shakhtar Donetsk, with one win, one draw and one loss.
Given their position, both teams will be fighting desperately for victory as a draw won’t help either. But defeat would leave them with an all-powerful battle for advancement against an embarrassing eviction.
Man City has to become clinical
Pep Guardiola will still be scratching his head over the weekend as City barren travels to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Despite 22 shots against Spurs, they failed on goal and lost 2-0 to the current leaders of the Premier League.
Ferran Torres, who signed in the summer, could be vital to City’s goal hopes as he scored a hat-trick in Wednesday’s second leg against Olympiacos, the opponent, and scored a clear win over Germany in the international break for Spain.
Pep Guardiola is still scratching his head over Manchester City’s stuttering attack
Bayern can continue to rewrite the history books
The reigning champions have maintained their European dominance this season and are leaders in Group A with three wins from three games.
On Tuesday, they will face Red Bull Salzburg, whom they defeated 6-2 in the second leg, and can extend their series of consecutive Champions League victories to 15.
Bayern broke the record for most consecutive Champions League victories last season, surpassing Real Madrid’s 10 wins in the 2014/15 season. With every win since then, they have rewritten the history books.
While they miss the key players Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich due to injury, the Bundesliga champion should still achieve another victory and qualify for the next phase of the competition.
Even if Salzburg are strong, Bayern have proven that they can break teams at some point as striker Robert Lewandowski has scored in each of his last five goals in Europe in the last 15 minutes.
The great FC Bayern Munich can extend its number of consecutive Champions League victories to 15
PSG face embarrassing outcome
After PSG came so close to winning the Champions League last season, there is a risk that they will be eliminated from the competition in the group stage.
This week they got in the way of RB Leipzig, who defeated them in the second leg and left them with just one win from three games in Group H.
PSG’s high funding has always been geared towards becoming European champions as their resources were already strong enough to establish themselves as the best club in France.
Given Tuesday’s result that has so much impact on the group and a potentially embarrassing exit if it goes wrong, one must feel that the game for manager Thomas Tuchel and Talisman Kylian Mbappe is crucial to their future in Paris could play.
Moise Kean (right) and PSG have to avoid a disaster against RB Leipzig or get out early
Mönchengladbach and Shakhtar’s unlikely supremacy
As already mentioned, Group B brought the most surprises when Borussia Mönchengladbach took the lead just ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Behind them, Real Madrid and Inter Milan are fighting for three points, as whoever wins this match could deal a heavy blow to the loser of the other game and possibly downgrade him to the Europa League.
The Germans were in shape in this competition with 10 goals from their first three games, with striker Alassane Plea sitting on three goals and three assists.
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