00:00And obviously the big match of this day
00:03is going to be Real Madrid hosting Inter Milan
00:06at the Bernabeu.
00:08Now, okay, these two obviously have a lot of history,
00:12these squads, especially in this tournament.
00:15Fun fact for you, Marse,
00:17Inter actually beat Real Madrid in the 1964 European Cup final,
00:20but obviously more recently Real Madrid, the giant here.
00:24I mean, Real Madrid's won last four of their meetings
00:27in the Champions League.
00:28So we have an idea of how this could go,
00:30but it's going to be an amazing matchup.
00:33Nonetheless, both teams come into this match
00:35looking perfect in their respective leagues.
00:38So as things, you know, get heated up,
00:41we got a lot to look forward to.
00:43But yeah, five days basically.
00:45But between now and then,
00:46we also have a lot of the leagues kicking off
00:48and a lot of great football to watch.
00:49This is like my favorite time of the year
00:51because everything's kicking off at once.
00:53Not only the amazing leagues of Europe,
00:54but obviously champions!
00:57The champions!
00:59Nick, this is very exciting.
01:00What other games are you really tracking?
01:02I like the Bruges-Aston Villa.
01:05Aston Villa, not at the best moment.
01:08Maybe this tournament might turn it around.
01:10Bruges always a strong competitor in this competition.
01:15Porto versus Manchester City.
01:17Manchester City with a lot of new signings.
01:21What else do we have?
01:22Barcelona fair?
01:23No, I think Barcelona should take this easily at home.
01:25But Liverpool-Atleti.
01:27I think that's another match day one game
01:29that I would really love.
01:31And I know Napoli versus Arsenal
01:32will also bring some fireworks.
01:34And then Thursday, three days of European football.
01:37Don't you miss that champion so much, Nick?
01:40No, of course.
01:41And by the way, I will say,
01:42given this new format that we've seen
01:44in the last few years with the Champions League,
01:46squads like Aston Villa, for example,
01:48okay, not doing great,
01:50not at the top right in their domestic league in the EPL,
01:53but they've done surprisingly well in the Champions League.
01:55And Bruges too.
01:56Bruges, I remember, was like your dark horse favorite
01:58for a while.
01:59You were calling them to do great,
02:00and they actually went pretty far
02:02for a smaller club like Bruges
02:04when you're talking about the giants of European football.
02:06So good on them.
02:07Anything can happen.
02:07I guess the other squad that I'm looking at
02:09is Lask out of Austria.
02:11It's their first time in the Champions League.
02:14So you know me, I'm a sucker for that.
02:15You're an expert on the smaller teams.
02:17Break it down.
02:18Who are the ones that have a chance
02:19to at least win a couple of games?
02:21Oof.
02:22Well, that's a kind of a different question.
02:25Win a couple of games.
02:26I mean, we've seen squads come from Azerbaijan,
02:28from Kazakhstan,
02:30but unfortunately,
02:31we just don't see them do very well.
02:33They tend to flop.
02:35I would put Lask as the squad that I could see
02:38actually doing some damage
02:39because their league domestically
02:41is going to be more competitive
02:43on the European level.
02:44When we talk about the debutants,
02:47the newcomers from, say, the Azerbaijanian league,
02:50the level of play there is obviously a bit lower,
02:52and they tend to struggle,
02:53maybe get a draw here,
02:55a draw there at best.
02:56Same thing with squads coming from Cyprus,
03:00for example.
03:00It's like they're just going to struggle.
03:02Well, they're going to hope for a draw against a giant.
03:04You know, it's probably the best they can ask for.
03:07Now, there's a team
03:07that might not be on the radar of many,
03:10but I think it will be an important squad
03:13in this season.
03:14And I'm talking about Como from Italy, Nick.
03:17I know that you are plugged in,
03:18and I know you know that this team
03:20has not only a legendary coach,
03:22but also has been growing consistently
03:24for many seasons.
03:25What are your expectations for Como?
03:28That's tough.
03:30They've proven themselves in Serie A.
03:31They've made a name for themselves, yes.
03:34Owners, including Thierry Henry,
03:37big names, coaching, Fabregas.
03:39Is that enough?
03:40No, it's not.
03:41They got to bring the heat.
03:42They got to play well.
03:44They were promoted to Serie A only in 2024,
03:48and clearly this is a meteoric rise for the squad.
03:51Can they translate that over to the Champions League?
03:57It's going to be tough.
03:58We see squads that are very well-developed,
04:01like the Napoles, like the AS Romas,
04:03like the inters struggling, respectively.
04:07But hey, we love a fairytale story.
04:10Anything can happen.
04:10Let me tell you the path of this fairytale,
04:12because it's not easy.
04:13They have Leeds Pig, they have Feyenoord,
04:16they have Manchester United,
04:18Lenz, A.K.A. Athens, Real Betis,
04:23Paris Saint-Germain, and Barcelona.
04:26It's a tough schedule for one of the darlings
04:29of the Serie A, my friend.
04:30It's going to be tough.
04:31It's going to be tough.
04:32It's going to be tough.
