Things are about to get serious

Tonight is when the Champions League starts to get serious.

By match day four the top clubs are looking to close out qualification while others begin to think apprehensively about the fixture list and chilly Thursday nights in Warsaw or Moscow. It may not quite be sudden death from now on, but the nerves are starting to twitch in Turin, as well as Manchester and Liverpool.

“This is the first crucial match of the season,” says Claudio Marchisio. Juventus have endured some mixed results over the past month, and that’s putting it kindly. Consecutive defeats against their group rivals Atletico Madrid and Olimpiakos have coincided with two setbacks in Serie A. All these games were away from home, and Juventus are still top of the league. They should turn it round against the Greeks, but it is that turnaround aspect that makes this week’s clashes interesting.