UEFA Champions League PREVIEW 9 Sep 2026: Iraola's first Champions League night, Allegri down to four midfielders, and Viking's debut headline Wednesday's card

The oddest team-news line of the round belongs to Naples. Massimiliano Allegri has lost Scott McTominay — "set for a month on the sidelines as he prepares to undergo a minor heart operation for a mild arrhythmia", per Sports Mole — and then his partner: "McTominay had an operation this morning, but we've also lost Anguissa, who had an adductor problem today." The arithmetic he offered was stark: "I've only got four midfielders, so three of them will start tomorrow." One of the four may be a debutant of some renown — "He is an extraordinary player, who only arrived to work with us on August 5, but he will probably be ready to play tomorrow", Allegri said of Kevin De Bruyne. Arsenal's build-up was stranger still: per Football Italia, "Arsenal won't hold their traditional pre-match press conference, as they haven't even arrived in Italy yet", after "the Gunners were delayed by travel chaos that affected London airports Heathrow and Gatwick." Mikel Arteta's side arrive in form — "Sunday's merited 2-1 Premier League win over assigned title rivals Chelsea also marked Arsenal's fourth win from four in all tournaments in 2026-27" — and with a record to lean on: "Arsenal have avoided defeat in each of their last nine matchday one fixtures in European competition, winning seven and drawing two such contests." Jurrien Timber "would only make the bench at best" and William Saliba "is still a number of weeks away."

At Anfield, a new man meets an institution. "Yes, I think obviously it's a special night for me", said Andoni Iraola of his first Champions League match in charge of Liverpool, with due respect across the touchline: "It's Atletico Madrid. Simeone is doing an incredible job as a manager." The fixture is, per Sports Mole, "a repeat of matchday one from last season when the Reds claimed a 3-2 home victory over their Spanish counterparts, with Virgil van Dijk netting a 92nd-minute winner", and the hosts are "seeking to better last season's quarter-final finish and end their eight-year wait to lift Europe's most prestigious club trophy." Liverpool are without Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni, with Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo "left out of the club's Champions League squad"; Atletico's Alexander Sorloth "is expected to miss out with a thigh injury" and the visitors come off "a deserved 3-0 away defeat at Athletic Bilbao." The reigning champions begin at home: Paris Saint-Germain, "beginning their bid to claim a third straight Champions League crown", host a Slovan Bratislava side whose coach Yaya Toure promised "On va jouer sans peur, avec beaucoup d'envie" — we will play without fear, with plenty of desire — and reasoned "C'est le bon moment pour les affronter" (it is the right moment to face them) given PSG's slow starts. Luis Enrique knows him of old: "I know Yaya Touré well; he was a player when I was coaching the B team. He began his career as a head coach in Bratislava." PSG lost their last outing, "beaten by old foes Monaco, who came from behind to win 2-1 at Parc des Princes", but welcome back Nuno Mendes from suspension.

The romance of the round is in Stuttgart, where Viking of Stavanger arrive for what Bulinews calls "their Champions League debut and first-ever meeting with VfB Stuttgart", having "secured Champions League qualification for the first time in club history with a 5-3 aggregate victory over Dinamo Zagreb." Sports Mole adds the generational frame: "Boss Morten Jensen will be the first manager to lead his side out in the Champions League since 1992", and "it will in fact be the first time they have reached the league or group stage of a European competition in 21 seasons." Sebastian Hoeness sweats on his captain — Deniz Undav is "a doubt due to minor Achilles tendon problems", and the manager was blunt: "Undav is crucial to our ability to play in the Champions League, and everyone must be clear about that." Barcelona open against Feyenoord with history thin on the ground — the sides "have faced Feyenoord on just two previous occasions, which both came in the last-16 stage of the 1974-75 Champions League" — and Hansi Flick setting the bar: "All the big teams dream about it. It's the biggest competition there but we have to show we can win it." Barcelona are without Frenkie de Jong, Roony Bardghji and the suspended Eric Garcia; Feyenoord's Giovanni van Bronckhorst faces the resource gap squarely: "We have to recognise this reality, and we are all doing it at the club... I think it's the only way to face it and move forward in a positive way." And in Lisbon, Sporting CP and Galatasaray "meet in Europe for the first time", with Victor Osimhen "likely to miss the trip to Lisbon due to an adductor issue" and the visitors dragging a grim road record: "Gala have won a paltry one game in their last 15 away matches on the continent, losing a staggering 13 games during that run."