London looks to do much better than Manchester when the UEFA Champions League rolls into a second day of group stage debuts on Wednesday.
All matches kick off at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Manchester United and Manchester City both suffered 2-1 defeats on Tuesday, with PSV Eindhoven and Juventus reaping the rewards. Elsewhere, Real Madrid and PSG were among the clubs to handle their business.
[ PL PLAYBACK: Is Mourinho the man to rescue Chelsea? ]
Now we’ve got eight more matches on the menu. Sweet, sweet Wednesday.
AS Roma vs. Barcelona
Could i Lupi send out shockwaves on Day One of Group E play? Roma is off to a fine start to 2015-16 in Serie A, unbeaten winners of two of three. Still, it’s Barca at the visitors’ end: the lone 3-0 team in La Liga, conceders of just one goal overall. Could very well see a 0-0 game here (which of course means a 5-5 goal fest).
Chelsea vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv
Surely Jose Mourinho watched Juventus defy its domestic form with a UCL win over Manchester City on Wednesday and thought, “We’ll do that, too.” The opponents are a far cry from Juve, so expect the Blues to get their legs under them and pick up a comfortable win. Otherwise, maybe the seat under Mou will (somewhat) legitimately be hot.
Dinamo Zagreb vs. Arsenal
The Gunners should have little problem advancing to the knockout rounds, but for whatever reason they don’t like to make it easy on themselves. Dinamo has finished last or second last in group play in its last 10 European groups.
Bayer Leverkusen vs. BATE Borisov
The visitors got handled in last year’s group stage, to the tune of a minus-22 goal differential against Porto, Shakhtar and Bilbao. This time, the opponents are much tougher, and Bayer is a must-point if BATE wants to be a Cinderella. Barcelona and Roma await.
Elsewhere
Valencia vs. Zenit Saint Petersburg
Dynamo Kyiv vs. Porto
Olympiacos vs. Bayern Munich
Gent vs. Lyon
