After a terrific start to the UEFA Champions League on Stan Sport, Matchday 5 has arrived with some mouth-watering matches featuring the world’s best players and biggest clubs.
Stan Sport has assembled a top-class commentary team to cover a back to back double header with Villarreal v Manchester United (LIVE from 4:30am AEDT) followed by Barcelona v Benfica and on Thursday, Manchester City v PSG (LIVE from 6:35am AEDT).
Stan Sport’s Max Rushden, Craig Foster and Mark Bosnich will lead the coverage.
FEATURE MATCH: VILLARREAL V MANCHESTER UNITED
WEDNESDAY 24 NOVEMBER
LIVE ONLY ON STAN SPORT FROM 4:30AM AEDT
Stan Sport’s studio coverage will bring a special double-header to football fans on Wednesday morning, starting with Manchester United’s trip to Villarreal from 4:30am AEDT.
Former Manchester Untied midfielder Michael Carrick will take charge of the Red Devils for this vital clash with Villarreal as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been sacked as head coach after a series of disastrous results including a 4-1 loss to Watford at the weekend. Carrick won the Champions League with United as a player in 2008, but is untested at this level having previously only worked as an assistant coach. Carrick will immediately need to ensure United are less vulnerable to Villarreal’s intelligent attack.
Villarreal, who come from a town with a population of 50,000 people, less than the capacity of Manchester United’s home ground, will take confidence in the fact they beat United on penalties in last season’s UEFA Europa League Fiinal. Should they win the match, they will leapfrog United into first place in Group F.
FEATURE MATCH: BARCELONA V BENFICA
WEDNESDAY 24 NOVEMBER
LIVE ONLY ON STAN SPORT FROM 6:50AM AEDT
Following the first match, the Stan Sport team will head a few hours north to the Camp Nou in Catalonia for Barcelona v Benfica.
Barca will welcome a club legend to the bench with four-time Champions League winner Xavi taking over as coach from the recently sacked Ronald Koeman.
Xavi won’t be the only familiar face in this vital clash. Dani Alves, the most successful player of all-time with 43 trophies, has returned to Barca and could feature against Benfica.
Meanwhile, The Eagles, who are the biggest team in Portugal, will know that a victory in Barcelona will put them within touching distance of the knockout stage for the first time since 2017.
FEATURE MATCH: MANCHESTER CITY V PSG
THURSDAY 25 NOVEMBER
LIVE ONLY ON STAN SPORT FROM 6:35AM AEDT
City are in ominous form with 15 goals scored in 4 UCL games this season. Pep Guardiola’s men will be looking for revenge after their 2-0 loss in Paris earlier in the season.
Guardiola will have to come up with a way to stop his former protégé Lionel Messi, who is now at PSG. Together in a four-year spell they won 14 trophies in four years, including two Champions League titles. Since being apart, they faced each other five times, with Messi scoring seven goals in those matches.
This match will likely determine who finishes top of group A and therefore gets an easier draw in the knockout stages. However, should the French giants lose, they would go into the final group match possibly needing a result to avoid early elimination.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN V CELTIC
FRIDAY 26 NOVEMBER
LIVE ONLY ON STAN SPORT FROM 4:40AM AEDT
Celtic’s Australian coach Ange Postecoglou insists his side are a different beast to the one thrashed 4-0 by Leverkusen in Glasgow in September. The Scottish giants have since hit form in the Europa League, with back-to-back wins over Ferencvaros, and are now a shot of progressing from Group G.
“I feel we are in a good place to have a go at them,” Postecoglou said.
“Can we take the game to them and come away with a result? Otherwise it’s all bravado without any substance. The reason we play as we do is because that is the kind of team we want to be. We want to be that against everyone. If you shy away when the stakes are highest, and you are up against better quality, then players would lose belief in what I am telling them.”
RAPID WIEN V WEST HAM
FRIDAY 26 NOVEMBER
LIVE ONLY ON STAN SPORT FROM 4:40AM AEDT
The Hammers lost for the first time in eight matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend and they will look to return to their winning ways in Europe.
This match will be played without fans after Austria went into lockdown on Friday.
“I’m thrilled that we’ve qualified from the group and I’m confident that along the line we will take the points we need from the final two games to win the group,” West Ham coach David Moyes said.
NŠ MURA V TOTTENHAM
FRIDAY 26 NOVEMBER
LIVE ONLY ON STAN SPORT FROM 4:40AM AEDT
New Tottenham coach Antonio Conte registered his first win at the club with a dramatic 2-1 comeback over Leeds at the weekend.
Spurs were booed off the park by their own fans at halftime before a terrific response in the second term.
“Our fans weren’t satisfied with the football we played and I agreed with them,” Conte said.
“We changed totally and I’m pleased for the players. They played well, they played with personality, they ran and put pressure on.”
Tottenham are second in Group G of the Europa Conference League and will be confident against a Slovenian outfit that is yet to register a point.
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