Tottenham´s Wembley ´curse´ and Zidane aims to make history – Champions League in Opta numbers

Tottenham will aim to tackle their supposed Wembley curse as the Champions League continues on Wednesday, with Real Madrid seeking to win the tournament for the third year in a row.

No manager has won the Champions League three times in succession so Zinedine Zidane will be out to make history, and has the competition’s record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo available despite serving a domestic ban.

Elsewhere, RB Leipzig will make their Champions League bow against last season’s semi-finalists Monaco, the Ligue 1 champions shorn of many of the stars who fired them to glory in France last year.

Premier League sides Liverpool and Manchester City also get up and running with their first group games on Wednesday and here we examine the upcoming schedule with the help of Opta facts.

 

The complete 2017/18 UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw!

Most exciting group?#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/Jf9ebJrJ9t

— #UCL (@ChampionsLeague) August 24, 2017

TOTTENHAM v BORUSSIA DORTMUND

– Tottenham and Dortmund’s only previous encounter was in the round of 16 of the 2015-16 Europa League. The German side won 5-1 on aggregate.
– Spurs have won only two of their last nine Champions League games (D2 L5). They’ve also won only one of their three games at Wembley in the competition (L2).

TEAM NEWS: @dele_official (suspended). @ErikLamela (hip), Danny Rose (knee), @VictorWanyama (knee) & @gknkoudou (foot) also miss out. #COYS pic.twitter.com/VlY1oTUDFu

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 12, 2017

LIVERPOOL v SEVILLA

– Liverpool and Sevilla’s only previous encounter came in the final of the 2016 Europa League. Sevilla won 3-1.
– Only Marco Verratti (479) completed more passes than Sevilla midfielder Steven N’Zonzi (459) in last season’s Champions League group stages.

 #SevillaFC have arrived in Liverpool Training this evening!#vamosmisevilla #UCL pic.twitter.com/HwknDVTEJW

— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) September 12, 2017

REAL MADRID v APOEL NICOSIA

– Real Madrid and APOEL Nicosia’s only previous encounter was in the quarter-finals of the 2011-12 Champions League. Madrid won 8-2 on aggregate.
– Despite having only managed 20 games in the Champions League, Zinedine Zidane has already won the title twice (2016, 2017). No manager has won the European Cup/Champions League in three consecutive seasons.

#RMUCL
The back-to-back European champions are all set for the return of the Champions League!#RMCity #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/A3qDstTkuo

— Real Madrid C.F.