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As the second day of the first round of the UEFA Champions League 2018-19 gets underway on Wednesday, we take a look at five players who can make an impact for their respective teams.
1. Thiago Alcantara (SL Benfica v Bayern Munich)
Thiago Alcantara is in fine touch and will like to continue his golden run when Bayern Munich travel to Lisbon to play SL Benfica. He had a good game in the Bundesliga last weekend against Bayer Leverkusen, providing one assist and creating a host of chances. Alcantara will play in the center of Bayern’s midfield and would like to create opportunities for Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, and Thomas Muller.
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2. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City v Lyon)
Raheem Sterling has been in a purple patch lately, scoring three goals already in the Premier League. He is vital to Manchester City and their aspirations for dominance in Europe. Sterling can be quick and devastating with the ball at his feet. Moreover, he doesn’t mind playing second fiddle to Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, and Leroy Sane. Sterling can create a lot of opportunities for Guardiola’s forward line and has quite a decent eye for goal himself.
3. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid v AS Roma)
Gareth Bale scored a brilliant bicycle kick on his last UCL appearance (last season’s final against Liverpool) and would like to keep them coming. At least that is what Madrid’s supporters will want to see from him. Bale made a bold statement in the press recently when he said that Real now are "a team" without Cristiano Ronaldo as they can focus more on building as a side rather than concentrating on one player only. He will want to live up to those words and provide the Santiago Bernabeu faithful with some magic.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo (Valencia v Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo finally broke his Serie A duck last weekend by netting twice against Sassuolo and announced that he is back with the same hunger and desire. Possibly the world’s most gifted goalscorer, Ronaldo will like to get his Champions League underway with a winning start when Juventus travel to Valencia. He is the uncrowned king of the Champions League by being its highest goal scorer and will want to keep those goals coming. Moving to Italian giants Juventus in the summer, Ronaldo will want European glory with his new club. He is a big-tournament player and we can expect some fireworks from him tonight.
5. Paul Pogba (Young Boys v Manchester United)
Paul Pogba showed in the World Cup how destructive he can be if given the freedom to express himself in the final third of the pitch. His passing is other-worldly and he has a penchant for scoring goals too. Now that United and Jose Mourinho have provided him with the cushion of Marouane Fellaini and Fred in the back o midfield, Pogba has the license to go ahead with the forward line and wreak havoc. He is fast, deceptive and extremely manipulative in the center of midfield. Expect a big night from the Frenchman.
