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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Firmino finding form, Napoli flying high and more ahead of Tuesday evening’s games

Roberto Firmino is back amongst the goals as Liverpool seek look to make a statement against Rangers, Napoli are firing on all cylinders and a certain Englishman is tearing it up in Portugal. This and more as Desh Parthab looks ahead to Tuesday’s Champions League fixtures.

Roberto Firmino of Liverpool

Roberto Firmino is back amongst the goals as Liverpool seek look to make a statement against Rangers, Napoli are firing on all cylinders and a certain Englishman is tearing it up in Portugal. This and more as Desh Parthab looks ahead to Tuesday’s Champions League fixtures.

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

Following the opening two matchdays of the Champions League, Viktoria Plezen have conceded seven goals – no club in the competition has conceded more.

Sporting Lisbon got their campaign off to the best possible start, recording back-to-back victories. Meanwhile, fellow Portuguese outfit FC Porto are enduring a torrid start in Europe with nothing to show for their two tournament appearances.

The tie of the night sees Inter Milan come up against Barcelona. Only Rayo Vallecano and (former club) Bayern Munich have been able to keep Blaugrana goal machine, Robert Lewandowski quiet this season.

With that being said, the stage is set as we look at a few players and teams who could light up Tuesday’s fixtures. 

Firmino finding form

Roberto Firmino is back in the thick of things at Liverpool. The Brazilian had fallen down the pecking order at the Merseyside club of late, but has made the most early-season absences of Darwin Nunez (suspension) and Diogo Jota (injury). Both are now available for selection but appear to have fallen behind the Brazilian. Liverpool could only manage a point against Brighton on Saturday- a game which ended 3-3 after the Seagulls raced into an early 2-0 lead. Firmino got on the scoresheet in that one. He has returned five goals and three assists across his previous three home league appearances. Jurgen Klopp will hope that his side can get their faltering campaign back on track against Rangers tonight. 

Free-scoring Napoli thriving at home and on the continent

Napoli have started the season like they mean to go on. They’re currently Champions League (7) and Serie A (18) top scorers. Piotr Zielinski has had a hand in three of their seven European strikes, netting twice and laying on another. The 28-year-old has attempted seven shots across his previous three appearances for Napoli (across all competitions), missing one big chance. He bagged an assist from his 10 chances created during that period. 

Schick battling to emulate last season’s form

Despite attempting nine shots in the Champions League thus far, Patrik Schick is yet to register a single effort on target. The Bayern Leverkusen hitman has opened his account in the Bundesliga, netting twice in his previous four league appearances, but hasn’t been nearly as clinical in Europe. Last season, Schick (24) finished second to Robert Lewandowski (35) on the scoring charts in the German topflight illustrating his pedigree. He has a chance to put things right this evening against a Porto side who have been poor in Europe this term, losing 2-1 against Atletico before being blown away by Brugge. To give you a reminder of Schick’s quality, a little reminder about the worldie he scored against Scotland at the Euros:

Edwards’ dancing feet lighting up the European stage

Marcus Edwards is loving life in the Portuguese Primeira Liga! Edwards (G3 A2) has been involved in five goals, across his eight league appearances this term. The Englishman has also opened his account in the Champions League and followed that up with an assist, across his two tournament appearances. The Portuguese outfit have lost just one of their previous six outings, across all competitions, recording four clean sheets in that run. Edwards made headlines with his slaloming run against Spurs on matchday two. Take a look below:

Dzeko still delivering for Roma

Edin Dzeko has delivered a goal and an assist in the Champions League this season. The Bosnian international has been seeing far more game time than he would have expected following the struggles of Romelu Lukaku. Additionally, Marcelo Brozovich has been ruled out for the tie due to injury. The Nerazzurri are significantly weaker for this one, however, Dzeko has established a reputation for being a big game player. Whether he can deliver against a red-hot Barcelona side remains to be seen, though. 

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