As football fans all over the world look forward to viewing Wednesday night’s UEFA Champions League showdowns, various European clubs have been talking about their preparedness for the clashes.
Pep Guardiola’s formidable managerial skills will be put to the test again when his stuttering Manchester City side visit his former club, Barcelona in a much anticipated game.
Guardiola’s brilliant start in England, which saw him oversee 10 consecutive wins in all competitions, has given way to a run of three games without victory.
The former Barcelona player and coach took the helm of the Sky Blues last summer.
The Catalans, however, are unbeaten at their home in the Champions League since 2013.
Barcelona defender, Gerard Pique expects a completely different City, now that the British side is under Guardiola.
Pique believes his former coach has managed to make Manchester play in a similar way to the Spanish side.
Elsewhere, Ludogorets Razgrad manager, Georgi Dermendzhiev, says his side have learnt from their mistakes, as they prepare to take on Arsenal at the Emirates.
Ludogorets have been impressive so far in the campaign; drawing with Basel and leading French champions, Paris Saint Germain (PSG) last time out, before eventually succumbing to a 3-1 loss.
The Bulgarian side have won the domestic title five years in a row and have slowly built up experience of European soccer.
Coach Arsene Wenger, however, earlier warned the Gunners against their visitors’ experience and hopes his team would reflect the caution in the match.
Meanwhile, French midfielder, Francis Coquelin, is ready to fight for a place in the Arsenal squad ahead of the clash, after he was out with injury since September 24.
For the Frenchman to get back in the team, he will have to beat competition from Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny in a packed midfield.
On the flip side, Bayern Munich are hoping to return to winning ways in their match against PSV Eindhoven.
Bayern, who started the season well, have not had a win in their last three matches in all competitions.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti, however, says it is too early to talk of a ‘crisis’ in the team.
Bayern are second in Group D with three points while PSV are in fourth place with one point.
Other fixtures to look out for tonight are: PSG against Basel, Dynamo Kyiv versus Benfica, Napoli against Besiktas, Celtic versus Borussia Moenchengladbach and FC Rostov hosting Atletico Madrid.
