It's a kinder format that leaves plenty to be decided on the final day. Smaller clubs will unquestionably advance to the direct elimination stages of the competition, where the stakes and pressure are higher. Upsets in the playoff round are likely to happen, with plenty of Davids getting a chance to dispatch any struggling Goliaths.

Despite three losses in their last four Champions League games — as many as in their previous 29 — they are expected to win their remaining two home games against Red Bull Salzburg and Brest after a daunting trip to high-flying Atalanta, and they have just a seven per cent chance of falling through the early trapdoor.

The UEFA Champions League is back and better than ever very different, as 36 teams play eight games — four home and four away — in bids to reach the knockout rounds. The schedule is longer, the table much bigger, and there are even Thursday games on ...

Malik Tillman scored a brace to bring PSV level, becoming the first U.S. player to score twice in a Champions League match. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Ricardo Pepi scored the winner, sending the crowd at Phillips Stadium into a frenzy.

Chelsea are nearly a third of the way through the Premier League season and their chances of qualifying for the Champions League look promising. Enzo Maresca’s team are in third place, having accumulated 22 points through six wins,