Champions League 2016: Group Live Stream, TV Schedule, Predictions for Wednesday

Real Madrid will begin the defence of their UEFA Champions League title on Wednesday, as they welcome Sporting CP to the Santiago Bernabeu.

It’s set to be a special night for Los Blancos star Cristiano Ronaldo, as he goes up against his former club; the Portugal captain emerged through the youth academy in Lisbon before going on to play for Manchester United and Madrid.

Elsewhere, all eyes will be on Leicester City, as they make their Champions League debut at Club Brugge. Other eye-catching matches include Juventus’ tussle with Sevilla and Tottenham Hotspur’s clash with Monaco at Wembley.

Here are Wednesday’s fixtures, a prediction for each and a closer look at two of the marquee games from Week 1.

Group	Fixture	Prediction
E	Bayer Leverkusen vs. CSKA Moscow	2-1
E	Tottenham Hotspur vs. Monaco	2-1
F	Legia Warsaw vs. Borussia Dortmund	1-3
F	Real Madrid vs. Sporting CP	3-0
G	Club Brugge vs. Leicester City	2-2
G	FC Porto vs. Copenhagen	2-0
H	Juventus vs. Sevilla	2-1
H	Lyon vs. Dinamo Zagreb	2-0

Matches can be streamed via the BT Sport website (U.K.) and Fox Soccer 2GO (U.S.)

Real Madrid vs. Sporting CP

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The pursuit of a 12th European Cup begins on home soil for Real Madrid on Wednesday, and they’ll be the big favourites to get the better of Sporting.

This competition was a salvation for Los Blancos last term, as they struggled on the domestic front for long spells of the season. To get the better of Atletico Madrid in the final, with Ronaldo netting the winning penalty, would have been especially sweet for the Santiago Bernabeu club.

Ronaldo will be up against his former employers here, having returned to action against Osasuna on Saturday. As noted by Ben Hayward of Goal, it didn’t take long for the 31-year-old to find his goalscoring touch:

One of the key factors in Real’s successful season last term was their ability to build momentum in the group stages, and Zidane will be expecting some similarly emphatic showings this year too.

The form of the side has been extremely positive, after all. In LaLiga, the 5-2 win over Osasuna was their 15th in league matches in succession, while the likes of Alvaro Morata and Marco Asensio have added a fresh dimension to the team’s attacking play. 

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Sporting do have the potential to cause some problems, with Jorge Jesus a canny manager. As noted by Sport Witness’ Tom Kundert, they’ve had a strong start to the season too:

Even with the likes of Joel Campbell and Bas Dost offering something new in attack for the Lisbon club, they’ll find it tough to contain Madrid. Expect Real to get the defence of their crown off to a comprehensive beginning.

Prediction: Real Madrid 3-0 Sporting CP

Club Brugge vs. Leicester City

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For Leicester City supporters, the team’s first foray into the UEFA Champions League will be a memorable occasion, as they get set to enjoy the fruits of their remarkable Premier League triumph last season.

Brugge are the side that will host the Foxes for this one in what promises to be a fascinating game. Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri is an experienced operator, although for plenty of his players this will be the first time they’ve featured in European competition.

While the Belgian side will be keen to capitalise on any hesitancy from the Foxes, they have at least done their utmost to make the supporters feel welcome in the city:

Leicester will need to improve their form if they’re to get a result here. Against Liverpool in their previous Premier League outing they were humbled 4-1, showing naivety in defence and a lack of inventiveness going forward.

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Ranieri’s side have built their success on counter-attacking foundations, although you sense the Foxes will need to recycle the ball more efficiently if they’re to have success in Europe. With that in mind, Danny Drinkwater has a very important role in the centre of the park.

As noted by Oliver Holt of the Mail on Sunday, the England international’s midfielder partner last season, N’Golo Kante, has been a huge loss:

Brugge haven’t been in the best form themselves lately, with two defeats and a draw in their last three games. As such, the Foxes will feel as though they can cause plenty of problems in the final third; keeping their opponents out will be problematic, though.

Prediction: Brugge 2-2 Leicester