Internazionale v Tottenham, Tuesday, 5.55pm BST
Tottenham’s two previous trips to San Siro have been eventful to say the least. Eight years have passed since Gareth Bale announced himself on the European stage with a second-half hat-trick in Milan. Those goals weren’t enough for Spurs to avoid defeat on the night, having conceded four goals before the break, but they did go through as group winners – along with Inter. Spurs’ most recent visit to San Siro, for the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie in 2013, ended in sheer relief. Spurs went into the game with a 3-0 lead from the first leg but again conceded four, only scraping through thanks to a late away goal from Emmanuel Adebayor.
One might expect a high-scoring affair then, but both sides are struggling right now and are still waiting for their talismanic strikers to hit top form. Mauro Icardi and Harry Kane will captain their sides on Tuesday evening but neither has really led by example so far, with Icardi yet to get off the mark in Serie A. Rested from kick-off at the weekend, he had no impact whatsoever from the bench against Parma, who pulled off a shock 1-0 victory to really mark their return to the top flight. Inter had 28 shots on Saturday but, despite coming on at half time, Icardi failed to have a single effort on goal.
Kane’s quiet start to the Premier League campaign has at least been punctuated with two goals, but an apparent hesitance to fire off as many attempts at goal does point to a dip in confidence. The England captain is taking less than half as many shots per game this season (2.4) as last season (5), and he is yet to chance his arm at all from outside the box in five appearances.
Liverpool v Paris Saint-Germain, Tuesday, 8pm BST
It’s impossible not to get excited about Liverpool’s clash with Paris Saint Germain on Tuesday night. The crowd will be trying to create an inhospitable atmosphere at Anfield for the French champions but the bad news for the home fans is that both Neymar and Kylian Mbappé missed Friday night’s 4-0 thumping of Saint-Etienne and will be well rested.
Full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will need to be sharp, although Neymar has been deployed in a more central position this season and we’ve perhaps seen a more mature and refined version of the Brazilian, even if his performances haven’t been littered with as many moments of individual brilliance. With goals in all four of his appearances so far, the 26-year-old has made a strong start but he has still been overshadowed by Mbappé, who has scored four goals and set up two more in just 225 minutes of action. PSG have won all five of their league games so far this season, scoring 17 goals in the process.
The good news for Liverpool is that Marco Verratti and Gigi Buffon are suspended – although the goalkeeper may not have started in any case, having been confirmed as second choice to Alphonse Areola by new PSG manager Thomas Tuchel. The German is up against Jürgen Klopp, the man he replaced at Borussia Dortmund, and the tactical battle between the two countrymen will add another air of intrigue to an already fascinating match.
Manchester City v Lyon, Wednesday, 8pm BST
Manchester City go int their first ever match against Lyon with confidence after their convincing 3-0 win over Fulham at the weekend. Benjamin Mendy, John Stones and captain Vincent Kompany will hope to return to the team having missed out at the weekend, although Sergio Agüero had to be withdrawn early in the second half against Fulham, so Gabriel Jesus may be given the nod up front.
It’s been a disappointing start to the season for Bruno Génésio’s side, who salvaged a point at Caen at the weekend with a goal in the final few minutes. Memphis Depay was rested from kick-off but had to come on from the bench to set up the late equaliser. He will be hoping to prove his personal progression on his return to Manchester following a difficult 18 months at Old Trafford. The Dutchman has impressed in Ligue 1. While the standard is inferior, there’s no denying his resurgence, having had a direct hand in 47 league goals in just 57 appearances.
The Manchester connections don’t end there. Another former Manchester United player, Rafael da Silva, is also set to start for Lyon, while Jason Denayer could make his first appearance at the Etihad Stadium. The Belgian signed for City five years ago but never made an appearance for the club. After various loan spells around Europe, he signed a permanent deal with Lyon this summer.
Real Madrid v Roma, Wednesday, 8pm BST
Real Madrid won both legs 2-0 when these sides met in the last-16 stage in 2016. However, Roma caused them problems at times in both legs and all three of the goalscorers in that tie – Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodríguez and Jesé – have since left Madrid.
Roma approach this game in poor form, having surrendered a two-goal lead at home to Chievo at the weekend to extend their winless streak in Serie A to three matches. They exceeded expectations to reach the Champions League semi-finals last season but are missing the dynamism of Radja Nainggolan, who moved to Inter in the summer. New signings Javier Pastore and Steven Nzonzi haven’t really settled yet and Eusebio Di Francesco does not seem to know his best team, with only new goalkeeper Robin Olsen – a somewhat underwhelming replacement for Alisson – Kostas Manolas and Edin Dzeko starting all four league matches to date.
Julen Lopetegui has been less experimental with his teamsheets, picking a front three of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio for every La Liga game so far. The one surprising omission at times has been Isco, who scored from the bench to salvage a point against Athletic Club at the weekend. The playmaker sparkled for Spain under Lopetegui, so may have expected the Real Madrid team to be built around his talents. He will surely be given a chance to show what he can do on Wednesday as he aims to establish himself as a key player at the Bernabéu this season.
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