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Champions League set to return on August 7 with teams eyeing glory
- The coveted competition set to resume on August 7
- Four last-16 ties still need to be played out in hunt for glory
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic
Champions League resumes in August after a five month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
European assignments are set to resume in August with most of the teams involved done with domestic league duties.
Four last-16 ties still need to be played out to conclusion following the Champions League’s suspension amid the coronavirus pandemic that has rocked sporting events around the globe.
Manchester City and Real Madrid will battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals, while the likes of Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich still have plenty to play for to join Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Co for the feast of football in Lisbon.
Manchester City
City hold a 2-1 advantage over Real Madrid heading into the second-leg of their last-16 tie at the Etihad, but an enthralling contest awaits us in Manchester on Friday, August 7.
Madrid will be buoyed with league success after snatching the La Liga title from Barcelona after putting on a scintillating performance in the league since the season restart.
City will be desperate for success having relinquished the Premier League title to Liverpool. A semi-final FA Cup loss to Arsenal means that Pep Guardiola’s side will be hungry for European glory.
Bayern Munich
The German side still remain top favorites to clinch the European cup over the remaining sides.
The German league was was the earliest league to finish having resumed way before the rest of the leagues in Europe.
After sealing the domestic double with German Cup glory on July 4 against Bayer Leverkusen, Hansi Flick gave his Bayern stars some much-needed time off to refresh their minds.
They resume their quest with a return match against Chelsea but with a 3-0 advantage meaning that they remain favorites in the tie to progress to the knockout stage.
Barcelona
The Nou Camp side will be hoping to save face with European success after a disastrous league campaign.
The Catalans were leading the La Liga table before the hiatus in March and looked to seal the third successive title.
But dismal performances after the league restart coupled with talk of mistrust between the management and the players saw them hand the title to bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Club talisman Lionel Messi in a postmatch interview questioned manager Quique Setien’s tactics and called for ‘change’ lest they lose to Napoli.
Messi and Co. host Napoli in the second-leg of the last-16 tie after a 1-1 draw at home to Napoli.
Chelsea
Chelsea’s European dreams are all-but over after going down 3-0 to Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge in the first-leg of their last-16 clash.
The Blues however have put up a solid performance in recent matches that saw them earn top-four position that guarantees them Champions League football next season.
Frank Lampard’s side have eyes on FA Cup glory with a crunch final against Arsenal in the Englishman’s managerial debut season at Stamford Bridge.
Real Madrid
The Spanish giants have been in emphatic form since LaLiga restarted in June, winning 10 out of their 11 matches as they wrapped up the top-flight title in style ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona.
The newly crowned champions have enjoyed European success under the helm of Zinedine Zidane who led them to three consecutive wins in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Despite their deficit against City, Zinedine Zidane will be quietly confident his side can turn it around and book their place in the quarter-finals in Lisbon.
Atletico Madrid
Atletico have already booked their place in the quarter-finals of the competition after beating last season’s winners Liverpool 4-2 on aggregate during the last-16 stage.
Diego Simeone’s side put up a good run that saw them finish third in La Liga and book a slot in next season’s Champions League campaign.
They take on RB Leipzig on August 13 and after a short break to recover from their La Liga assertions, Simeone’s side will be straight back down to business in their pursuit of European glory.
RB Leipzig
It will not be all smooth sailing for the German side having lost their top scorer Timo Werner who joined Chelsea.
Julian Nagelsmann will have to rally his squad for European action having etched their name into the club’s history books by reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time ever after beating Tottenham convincingly in the last-16 stage.
The German side has not had a good run since the restart, having played nine times in the league – winning just four times.
Juventus
The Italian giants sealed their ninth consecutive Serie A title on Sunday after beating Sampdoria 2-0 thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi.
This will be a heap of confidence for Maurizio Sarri’s side as they continue to chase European success that has evaded them over and over.
Juventus take on Lyon in Turin – desperate to overturn a 1-0 deficit against the Ligue 1 outfit as they look to book their place in the last-eight of the competition.
Atalanta
Perhaps the underdogs for this season’s Champions League. Atalanta have once again been in fine form and will look to go under the radar when the competition restarts next month.
They are on a 12-match unbeaten streak, in which they have won nine games and sit third in the table.
Gasperini Gian Piero will hope that the fine form will extend in Europe as they prepare to take on Paris Saint-Germain on August 12.
Napoli
Napoli take on Barcelona at the Nou Camp on August 8, with the tie finely poised following a 1-1 draw at the Stadio San Paolo on March 8.
Gennaro Gattuso’s side have had a relatively good run since the restart, having played 13 games and lost only three times.
nd speaking ahead of their match in Barcelona, manager Gennaro Gattuso has admitted his side will need to be mentally sharp during what has been a draining period of football for his side.
Gattuso recently said: ‘After COVID we are playing another sport. Playing every three days without our fans with no time to prepare matches it is hard. I must say that the team is doing well.’
Paris Saint-Germain
Out of the remaining teams in the Champions League, it is the French clubs who have been hit hardest – lacking that competitive sharpness after their season was curtailed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Ligue 1 was ended in April amid the pandemic that hit Europe adversely. While other leagues prepared for a restart, French sides were thrown into oblivion.
Their quest for European success was hit by a major blow last week when a terrible tackle on Kylian Mbappe during the French Cup final will see him miss the return of the European competition.
Lyon
Just like their French rivals, PSG, Lyon will be short of competitive edge after seeing their league canceled back in April.
The Ligue 1 side hold a slender 1-0 advantage over Juventus ahead of their clash in Turin on August 7.
They have been building up their fitness levels again with a host of friendlies too, playing against the likes of Nice, Rangers, Celtic and Gent.
One more game against PSG in the French League Cup final this Friday, then it’s time to face Juventus – with Lyon hoping that their time off will have reinvigorated them.
