The new season of the Champions League is set to kick off in just a few days’ time. Last season provided some terrific action and surprising results, which culminated in Liverpool topping Tottenham in an all-English final.
This year’s competition figures to provide more of the same, with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus expected to be prominently involved in the latter stages.
Those two clubs, who are among the big favourites according to the Champions League 2019 odds, are also involved in some of the biggest news stories ahead of the opening round of matches. Meanwhile, there’s also a report regarding the very future of the competition.
As usual, SBOBET is here to get you caught up with all these big news items before the tournament begins in earnest.
Edinson Cavani expected to face Real Madrid
Without question, one of the marquee matchups in the opening round of Champions League games is Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid.
Although, it seemed as if PSG would be without their top three forwards with Neymar suspended for the first three Champions League games and both Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani picking up injuries.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, however, Cavani appears to be close to returning from his hip problem and is expected to feature against Madrid. He could even make it back for their weekend match against Strasbourg in Ligue 1.
PSG do still have Mauro Icardi — whom they acquired on loan from Inter Milan during the transfer window — in case Cavani can’t quite make it in time.
But even if he only makes it on the bench, Cavani should still be a welcome addition to the PSG side against a formidable opponent like Real Madrid.
At 32 years of age, the Uruguayan is still capable of scoring some important goals. He had 23 goals in 33 games for PSG last season, including two in the Champions League.
Cavani scored the last time PSG faced Real, which was in the second leg of their round of 16 tie back in 2018. The French champions lost that match 2-1 and 5-2 on aggregate.
Emre Can left out of Juventus’ Champions League squad
Juventus midfielder Emre Can was handed some surprising news last week when he was informed he wasn’t part of the team’s 22-man Champions League squad.
“The fact that I am not in the Champions League squad is extremely shocking for me, mainly because I was promised something different last week. There were talks with other clubs [before the transfer window closed] and one of the conditions for me to stay was to be part of the Champions League squad.”
Can also revealed that the phone call where he was informed of the decision didn’t last a minute and that he wasn’t given an explanation as to why he was omitted from the squad. He added that he’ll seek talks with the club to discuss his situation.
Can, who arrived in Turin on a free transfer in the summer of 2018, made 37 appearances and scored four goals in his debut season for Juventus last season under Massimiliano Allegri. But it appears he is not a key part of new manager Maurizio Sarri’s plans.
Juventus’ six central midfielders included in the squad over Can were Miralem Pjanic, Sami Khedira, Aaron Ramsey, Blaise Matuidi, Adrien Rabiot, and Rodrigo Bentancur.
It’s a testament to Juventus’ remarkable strength in depth that they could not even find room for players of Can and veteran forward Mario Mandzukic’s calibre on their squad.
But even without those players, Juventus — who made it to the quarter-finals last season — are still more than capable of providing a number of Champions League 2019 highlights this season.
Revised Champions League format foiled
There will be no change in the current Champions League format… for now. That’s after a proposal to alter the tournament will likely be delayed or scrapped after it was met with strong opposition.
Juventus and European Club Association chairman Andrea Agnelli acknowledged that their plan to drastically change the competition from 2024 onwards has been unable to win support of other members, who have “different views” on the matter.
The proposal would see the competition transformed into a three-tier European League with promotion and relegation.
The top tier would be the new version of the Champions League, but 24 of the 32 teams would keep their places for the following season and would no longer need to qualify through their domestic leagues.
That change, which would favour the top European clubs, was strongly opposed by lower-ranking leagues that say the battle for Champions League places is a key aspect of their competitions.
It remains to be seen if the top clubs’ goal to see the competition changed will ever come to fruition. But for the next five seasons, at least, the Champions League will continue on with its current format.
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