Champions League: Celtic welcome the champions

Holders Real Madrid will launch their title defence in Glasgow when this season's Champions League group stage gets under way on Tuesday evening against Celtic, in a game that's live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player.

Carlo Ancelotti's men face Scottish champions Celtic in their opening Group F fixture while on the same night Paris St Germain and Manchester City set out on their latest quest to lift European club football's biggest prize for the first time.

Could this be the year for Man City or PSG? Real Madrid's 14th European Cup title brought into ever sharper focus the ongoing wait for glory at both Manchester City and Paris St Germain.

Both clubs have invested heavily in their pursuit of the biggest prize of all, but despite their respective domestic dominance and one final appearance each, the yearning remains unrequited. Real, in contrast, have won five of the last nine editions and, under the wily Ancelotti, are likely to be one of the teams to beat again.

Erling warning system City's hand has been strengthened significantly by the summer addition of £51million striker Erling Haaland to their ranks.

The Norway international has plundered 10 goals, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, in his first six league appearances for City, and history suggests the flow of goals is unlikely to dry up as Pep Guardiola's men prepare to open their Group G campaign at Sevilla.

He scored three times on his Champions League debut for Salzburg against Genk in September 2019, and helped himself to a double against PSG in his first appearance in the competition for Borussia Dortmund in the February of the following year.

It could get Messi If PSG prosper this season, Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi