Champions League Fixtures 2015: Updated Schedule, Live Stream and Group Picks
Europe's premier club competition resumes in earnest this week with the first round of matches in the group stage. There are some intriguing games headlining the updated schedule, not the least of which is Tuesday's Group D clash between Manchester City and Juventus.
Manchester United's trip to take on PSV Eindhoven will see expensive new-boy Memphis Depay return to his old stomping ground. Roma's hosting of last season's winners, Barcelona, is also sure to generate plenty of interest.
Here's the full list of fixtures, including schedule information and picks:
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| Date | Time | Match | Group | Stream | Pick |
| Tuesday, September 15 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Benfica vs. Astana | C | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2GO | Benfica |
| Tuesday, September 15 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Galatasaray vs. Atletico Madrid | C | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | Atletico |
| Tuesday, September 15 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Manchester City vs. Juventus | D | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | City |
| Tuesday, September 15 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | PSV Eindhoven vs. Manchester United | B | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | Draw |
| Tuesday, September 15 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Paris Saint-Germain vs. Malmo | A | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | PSG |
| Tuesday, September 15 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Real Madrid vs. Shakhtar Donetsk | A | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | Madrid |
| Tuesday, September 15 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Sevilla vs. Borussia Monchengladbach | D | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2GO | Sevilla |
| Tuesday, September 15 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Wolfsburg vs. CSKA Moscow | B | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2GO | Draw |
| Wednesday, September 16 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. BATE Borisov | E | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | Leverkusen |
| Wednesday, September 16 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Chelsea vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv | G | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | Chelsea |
| Wednesday, September 16 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Dinamo Zagreb vs. Arsenal | F | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | Arsenal |
| Wednesday, September 16 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Dynamo Kiev vs. Porto | G | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | Draw |
| Wednesday, September 16 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | AA Gent vs. Lyon | H | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2GO | Gent |
| Wednesday, September 16 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Olympiakos vs. Bayern Munich | F | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2GO | Munich |
| Wednesday, September 16 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Roma vs. Barcelona | E | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2Go | Barcelona |
| Wednesday, September 16 | 7:45 p.m. (BST) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Valencia vs. Zenit St. Petersburg | H | BT Sport Extra / Fox Soccer 2GO | Zenit |
Manchester Clubs Facing Tough 1st Tests
It's tough early duty for Manchester neighbours City and United. The former begin by hosting last season's Champions League finalists, Juventus. But this isn't quite the same Juve that made it to Berlin.
Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo are gone from the once-dominant midfield. It's no surprise, then, that the Old Lady has made a very poor start to this season, losing her first two Serie A fixtures.
By contrast, City have been awesome so far this Premier League season. Manager Manuel Pellegrini's men have made a perfect start with five wins and no goals conceded.
While Juve have been stunted, City have been flowing thanks to an attack boasting greater pace than in recent seasons. The summer arrivals of winger Raheem Sterling and the mercurial Kevin De Bruyne have added a more direct element to City's approach play.
But Pellegrini will be without star striker Sergio Aguero, according to the club's Twitter account. He was withdrawn from City's 1-0 win at Crystal Palace with a knee problem.
This competition has been unkind to the Citizens in recent seasons, with just getting out of the group stage proving difficult. But this season's team has more about it than previous vintages.
Expect City to start this Champions League campaign with a bang by blowing away Juve's seasoned competitors at the Etihad Stadium.
United boss Louis van Gaal will also fancy his chances of starting with three points. After all, he is armed with Depay, the prolific forward who spearheaded PSV's Eredivisie title win last season.
In fact, PSV also lost Georginio Wijnaldum to the Premier League this summer. Therefore, manager Phillip Cocu is entering the Champions League without last season's two most influential attackers.
Not surprisingly, Eindhoven have initially stumbled in their title defence. Cocu's men managed just eight points after four games. But their fifth match produced a 6-0 away win at Cambuur.
Van Gaal may need the win more than Cocu. The brash United boss has had a rough recent time in the press thanks to reports he's at odds with his players.
But Van Gaal has defended his relationship with his squad, insisting he's on good terms with senior players at Old Trafford, per Sky Sports:
"Maybe you have to consider how many players are coming to the manager to say something. In my career, I didn't have so many who come to say something about the atmosphere in the dressing room or the way we train.
But it is very positive that they are coming to you and that they trust you. I think I have a superb relationship with my players.
"
United's recent 3-1 league win over old enemy Liverpool helped, but Van Gaal still has to win over his doubters. Leaving Eindhoven with three points to seize early control of Group B would be the ideal tonic for the former Ajax boss.
Barca Will Begin Title Defence in Winning Fashion
Last season, AS Roma shipped seven goals at home to Bayern Munich in the group stage. Things won't quite be as rough when holders Barcelona visit the Stadio Olimpico, but manager Rudi Garcia's team will still be on the losing end.
Garcia's teams have had a tendency to be a little too open in recent seasons. Yet the Frenchman has insisted he won't curtail Roma's attacking intent, even when faced by an opponent he dubbed a "fearsome machine," during an interview with French radio station RMC (h/t ESPN FC's Ben Gladwell).
Interestingly, Garcia also spelled out a fluid vision for how Roma's forward line will work this season. It's an attack still underpinned by ageless wonder Francesco Totti but now also featuring on-loan City striker Edin Dzeko:
"They can play together in a 4-3-3 against a five-man defence, with one of them pushed out wide without any defensive duties.
...
Otherwise we need to adapt our style to a 4-3-1-2 or a 4-2-3-1 with Totti as the playmaker. Even a 4-4-2 would work. We're working on it more and more.
"
Of course, it isn't Roma's front line that will draw the attention in this match. Barca scooped a treble last season thanks to their terrific trio of strikers.
No team in Europe can match or cope with the pace, ingenuity and ruthless efficiency of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. If Roma leave gaps, this awesome front three won't waste time taking full advantage.
Expect the competition's big guns to hold sway during the first round of group matches. The same holds true when predicting the eventual group winners.
Familiar names such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea will all top their respective groups ahead of the knockout phase. Things will be tighter in groups A and D, where it's tough to choose between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain and Juve and City respectively.
At the moment, the European tournament expertise of new Madrid boss Rafa Benitez is a good bet to give Los Blancos the edge over PSG. Meanwhile, this just feels like City's year to finally get it right in the group stage.
