Wirtz praying for Isak debut in Champions League as Liverpool star under pressure like Maresca, Newcastle, Man City

The not-quite-so-new Champions League is back and there are some very tasty fixtures indeed to whet the palate on Matchday 1 including Juventus v Borussia Dortmund, Ajax v Inter Milan and PSG v Atalanta, which aren’t mentioned here because there are more than enough English teams for us Premier League-centric souls to get our teeth into.

Even Arsenal, who head to Athletic Club for their opener on Tuesday, don’t make the cut here, which goes to show just what a Big Midweek of Champions League action this really is.

Florian Wirtz and Enzo Maresca are under pressure, while Newcastle v Barcelona and Manchester City v Napoli should both be great fun.

Game to watch: Newcastle v Barcelona

Toon fans old enough to remember, and actually even those who aren’t and have inevitably had their ears chewed off in remembrance of those halcyon days, will be looking to one of Eddie Howe’s men to play the Faustino Asprilla role on Thursday night.

Quite the uptick in quality will be required for any of Newcastle’s forwards to be that hat-trick hero against a Barcelona side that’s conceded three and scored 13 in their opening four La Liga games.

There’s no Yoane Wissa after he picked up an injury on international duty that’s set to keep him out for six weeks, while Jacob Ramsey’s also out for a month. And although Anthony Gordon can and surely will play as he sits out domestic football after the Liverpool fiasco, there’s already a helluva lot of weight on the somehow equally broad and bony shoulders of Nick Woltemade.

READ MORE: Woltemade makes big impression while Leeds suffer hilarious new low in London

He got off the mark while impressing on debut but probably shouldn’t be carrying a Newcastle team at 23 while being constantly compared to Alexander Isak. It would be nice to see something from Anthony Elanga at some point. £55m is looking like an awful lot of money for him right now.

In more positive news for Newcastle, Lamine Yamal didn’t play for Barcelona against Valencia and hasn’t trained. Hansi Flick will therefore have to rely on some combination of Raphinha, who scored a brace on Sunday, Robert Lewandowski, who also scored a brace on Sunday, Fermin Lopez, a brace for him too, Marcus Rashford, Ferran Torres, Roony Bardghji or Dani Olmo as a source of goals.

Player to watch: Florian Wirtz

Arne Slot is keeping us guessing as to whether Alexander Isak will make his debut against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. “He will be able – either Wednesday or Saturday – to play 45 as a minimum, maybe a bit more,” the Liverpool boss said over the weekend. It may depend on the state of the game, though on current form he could probably turn to a spade with a face painted on it to score a late winner.

Our guess is that Wirtz would love Isak to make his debut sooner rather than later. Not so much to give him a world-class option to feed in order to break his goal contributions duck, more to give him some breathing space and draw the fan and media gaze away from him for a bit.

He got pelters on international duty from a German press now more than willing to find fault in his performances after he snubbed Bayern Munich for the Premier League. And we here as the voice of The Best League In The World are wholly unimpressed after a shrug of the shoulders start to his career in England.

READ MORE: Florian Wirtz is a ‘rusty, misfiring Ford Pinto’ as Liverpool luck continues

And if we’re to accept that it’s the physicality of the Premier League and a necessary period of adaptation that’s hampered his early season displays, rather than the pressure of the price tag or – God forbid – him not actually being all he’s cracked up to be, a home game against renowned softies Atletico Madrid should be his time to shine.

Manager to watch: Enzo Maresca

There will be fewer questions about Maresca’s ability to win big games after his Chelsea side swatted Paris Saint-Germain aside in such impressive fashion in the Club World Cup final, but their only victory in six clashes against the teams that finished above them in the Premier League last season being the 3-1 win over a hungover Liverpool after they had won the title should be a cause for concern.

Bayern have already hit RB Leipzig for six and Hamburg for five on their own patch this season, and although Chelsea are unbeaten after four games it’s been an incredibly accommodating opening to the campaign and, whipping boys West Ham aside, Maresca’s side haven’t looked particularly convincing in any of them.

There’s a chance Chelsea will look like a better outfit against more front-footed opposition, as was the case in the victory over the European champions in July, but there’s perhaps a far greater chance that the Blues’ greatest perceived weaknesses – their centre-backs and goalkeeper – which has remained reasonably resolute up to this point this term, will be found wanting when faced with Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz et al.

READ MORE: Premier League winners and losers: Amorim sack; Emery, Maresca struggle; Arsenal, Woltemade shine

Team to watch: Manchester City

Suggestions that Manchester City might be getting their act together on the back of Sunday’s derby are contentious to say the least given their opponents, but something of an acid test with regard to that return to the Pep Guardiola norm will come on Thursday as they welcome reigning Serie A champions and current league leaders Napoli to the Etihad.

It’s intrigue abound as Antonio Conte brings Kevin De Bruyne back to his stomping ground, while Red Devils outcasts Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund also return to Manchester, the former on his first trip back to these shores having turned from spare-part footballer to midfield god, the latter on the back of his first goal for Napoli in his very first game.

The ideal scenario for the Citizens would be a high-scoring win featuring a goal from each of those three, from De Bruyne so they can get the old ‘hands in the air I’m not celebrating’ tribute, and from Hojlund and McTominay to thoroughly f*** off their not-so-noisy neighbours.

READ MORE: 16 Conclusions from Man City 3-0 Man Utd: Haaland, Foden, Doku joy, but more grim United misery

League Cup game to watch: Brentford v Aston Villa

We love Unai Emery and therefore have a soft spot for Aston Villa, but are fascinated by just how long they can go in a season without scoring a goal.

They’ve already drawn a blank in this very fixture last month despite having 77% of the ball in Brentford’s 1-0 win and Keith Andrews’ side will be on a high after their last-gasp draw against Chelsea on Saturday.

It’s also very intriguing as to what the Villa chiefs will do if they keep failing to score. Everyone says you can’t sack the players, but when the alternative is sacking a manager who is quite clearly the best you’re going to get, maybe you could. #WatkinsOut.

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