Bayern take on Inter in high-voltage clash

Bayern Munich will take on Internazionale in their first game of this season’s UEFA Champions League, while FC Barcelona will take on Victoria Plzen and Liverpool will take on Napoli.

Bayern, in the pursuit of their seventh Champions League title, will be without Robert Lewandowski for the first time in eight years as the Polish striker will be playing at the Camp Nou against Plzen instead.

But they now have their new star man in Sadio Mane, who has already racked up three goals in the Bundesliga after joining from Liverpool this summer.

Mane was not the only big name arriving in Munich this year as Matthijs De Light joined for 67 million Euros. And with the new signings, Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann will hope that they will bury the ghosts of being knocked out by Villareal last season and make a better start.

But Bayern’s form in Bundesliga is not inspiring as they have drawn both of their last two games, and thus Nagelsmann wants the team to wake up before their clash at the San Siro.

“Our energy level needs to be the same as before. We were not 100 per cent awake in our heads in certain situations,” he said in the pre-match press conference.

Inter are coming off a similar run of form as well as they lost the Milan derby on Saturday, and have lost two out of their five matches.

They will also be without Romelu Lukaku, who came back on loan from Chelsea this summer. Inter will look towards Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez, who has scored three goals this season already.

Barca hoping for new start

After being knocked out of the group stage of last season’s UCL, Barca will look for a fresh start this season with a squad that has been bettered over the summer.

The arrivals of Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Marcos Alonso, and Hector Bellerin have given them depth and quality all over the pitch, which has reflected in their unbeaten start to the season.

Despite facing a weaker opponent on paper, Barca manager Xavi Hernandez is aware of the fixture.

“It’s the Champions League, we play at home against an opponent who have nothing to lose, it’s going to be a tricky game,” he said.

In the other high-profile clash of Wednesday, Liverpool will look to put their poor start to the Premier League behind them and find a win against Napoli, who are currently second in Serie A.