Champions League Round 2 Preview for Italian Clubs

Assi di Coppe, Atalanta, Champions League, Inter, Italian Football, Juventus, Lazio, Serie A

For the second midweek in a row, football fans everywhere will be glad to have the European elite fighting it out on their TV screens. After a positive Round 1 of the group stages for Italian teams, which saw Juventus, Lazio and Atalanta all win their respective matches – with only Inter coming out with a disappointing draw at home – the four sides will be hoping to cement their encouraging start of the European season with some solid displays in the UEFA Champions League Round 2, including a top clash between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus and Lionel Messi’s Barcelona.

Shakhtar Donetsk – Inter

The Round 2 of the Champions League group stage begins on Tuesday with an encounter between Shakhtar Donetsk – the architects of last round’s major upset with a shocking win in Madrid – and Antonio Conte’s Inter, who are hoping to collect all three points from their Ukranian trip to avoid falling behind in the group’s standings.

The Ukrainians, as always, will mainly rely on their Brazilian exports, including Dentinho, Tetê, Marlos and Maycon. On the other hand, Conte will be hoping that his star striker Romelu Lukaku maintains his prolific run. The Belgian will be supported in attack by Lautaro Martinez, with the exciting midfield trio of Arturo Vidal, Nicolò Barella and Christian Eriksen expected to start. 

After settling for a draw in their opening match against Borussia Monchengladbach, Inter will try to build on their Serie A victory in the weekend over Genoa to kick-start a positive period. And Although an away result against Shakhtar won’t come easily, the Nerazzurri wouldn’t want to find themselves short on points before their upcoming double-header against Real Madrid.

Atalanta – Ajax

Later on Tuesday, Atalanta will finally get to play a Champions League fixture on their real home turf, as the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo will open its doors for a mouthwatering clash, when the other Nerazzurri welcome Dutch champions Ajax, who have just recorded a historic league result on Saturday in their 13-0 demolishing of VVV Venlo.

In the absence of Marten De Roon, Gian Piero Gasperini will start with Mario Pasalic and Remo Freuler in the double-pivot roles, whilst captain Alejandro Gomez will play in the hole behind Colombian strikers Luiz Muriel and Duvan Zapata. The Dutch visitors will unleash a devastating attacking trio of their own, consisted of Quincy Promes, Dušan Tadić, and Lassina Traoré.

Despite their recent Serie A struggles, Atalanta did well to start their European campaign with an empathic 4-0 victory over Midtjylland. But now it’s time for some more serious business, and with Ajax losing their opening match to Liverpool, the 1995 champions will have their eyes fixed on a victory, and nothing less. Expect to see some goals in this one!

Club Brugge – Lazio

On Wednesday, Lazio will travel to Belgium, where the local champions Club Brugge will be awaiting them for a Champions League Round 2 fixture between the two sides who earned surprising opening wins in Group F. While the Italians brought down Borussia Dortmund in the Olimpico Stadium, the Belgians won a thrilling encounter against Zenit St. Petersburg thanks to a last minute goal.

Brugge coach Philippe Clement will rely on the experience of former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, with Emmanuel Dennis and Michael Krmenčík in attack. For the Aquile, Joaquin Correa will start alongside star striker Ciro Immobile in attack, while question marks surround the availability of Stefan Radu, Lucas Leiva, and Manuel Lazzari.

As we mentioned after the group stage draw, Group F can be considered as arguably the most balanced this season, and all four sides can believe in their qualification chances. But whoever wins this particular match, will find himself on top of the group and with a significant advantage over the rest. The Biancocelesti wouldn’t want to waste this golden opportunity.

Juventus – Barcelona

And we leave the big one till last! Immediately after the Champions League group stage draw came to a closure, football fans all around the world had marked October 28 as the date of the clash between the greatest two players of their generation, Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who haven’t met since the latter’s departure from Real Madrid. Unfortunately for the football world, it will have to wait a little longer, as the Portuguese superstar won’t be available in time for the clash after testing positive for COVID-19.

Despite failing to score against Hellas Verona in the weekend, Andrea Pirlo is expected to maintain Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala in attack, with Federico Chiesa and Dejan Kulusevski coming to their aid, while Merih Demiral and Danilo are the only available options for the center-back roles.

On the other side, Barcelona’s Ronald Koeman could unleash a terrifying attacking unit consisted of captain Leo Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and teenage sensation Ansu Fati. Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic could both start after swapping clubs during the summer.

Although we all love a top Champions League clash between two true European giants, this one feels like a case of “too soon.” After earning their routine Round 1 wins against Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros, the meeting between the Bianconeri and the Blaugrana will probably be only useful in determining the side who will top Group G – beside its entertaining value – as the two clubs shouldn’t find their qualification to the round of 16 too troubling.

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  3. Serie A Round 12 Preview and Expected Lineups
  4. Serie A Round 15 Preview and Expected Lineups