Champions League group stage kicks off with Arsenal taking on Dortmund

Champions League group stage kicks off with Arsenal taking on Dortmund

Published Sep. 15, 2014 6:22 p.m. ET

The Champions League gets back underway on a jam-packed Tuesday afternoon of matches live across the FOX family of networks. Highlighted by Arsenal's trip to Germany to face Borussia Bortmund (2 PM ET, FOX Sports 1) and the return of Liverpool to the European Cup, this year's group stage has served up a series of enthralling matches in the early going.

All matches are available on FOX Soccer's streaming service, FOXSoccer2GO, which is open for a free preview this weekend. And, in a first, this week will also see the debut of a new whiparound soccer show for the Champions League, Multimatch 90, available on 2GO and FOX Soccer Plus on game days.

Arsenal's trip to the Westfalenstadion is certainly the most magnetic of the matches Tuesday: a meeting between two teams in Europe that in any other era might well be champions. Stocked with talent, and playing an expansive, attacking style that is easy on the eye, both sides also have the misfortune to be playing in an era with some big-spending whales that make it nearly impossible for a side without limitless funds to triumph.

In Borussia's case, that would be Bayern Munich, Dortmund's long-time rivals and a team that has made a habit of siphoning off their best talent. Mario Goetze and Robert Lewandowski are but two of the names that have headed to Bavaria at BvB's expense and there is a strong suggestion that young Marco Reus may be the next big target. Reus will miss this game -€“ he is out a month with an ankle injury -€“ but Saturday Dortmund showed they remain a potent force without him with a fine 3-1 win over Freiburg. Shinji Kagawa made a solid return to the team from his ill-fated spell at Manchester United, setting up the first goal and then scoring the second.

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Dortmund, currently fourth in the league after three games, also looked solid across the back, with Sebastian Kehl sitting in front of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Neven Subotic to form a triangle in front of Roman Weidenfeller's net. Dortmund are recovering from a host of injuries -€“ Nuri Sahin, Mats Hummels, Jakub Błaszczykowski and Ilkay Gundogan are all out alongside Reus - but they still looked solid enough with Lukasz Piszczek and Erik Durm as the fullbacks against an admittedly tepid Freiburg side.

Arsenal showed resilience in their Saturday match against Manchester City -€“ as well as a heaping dose of frustration. They had recovered to lead the match 2-1 with eight minutes to play, only to throw two points away when Martin Demichelis was allowed to ghost in unchecked to score a free header. Arsene Wenger was unhappy with the concession, noting after the match that his team was unlucky not to lose as City hit the post twice in the dying minutes, but the fact is Arsenal still look a piece short.

Arsenal have bulked up in the past two seasons, buying the fitful but inventive Mesut Ozil and the hard-working and goal-minded Alexis Sanchez for princely sums. They were forced into something of a panic buy late in the transfer window when Olivier Giroud suffered a freak injury during the Everton match which will rule him out until at least the new year, and while Danny Welbeck has a pedigree, there is real question over whether or not he can actually make an impact. (Certainly, Manchester United did not feel he could.)

Where they are lacking is in street smarts. The Gunners were unable (or unwilling, depending on your level of charity) to acquire defensive cover and that softness has been a consistent problem for the club. The Gunners can attack with the best of them, with Aaron Ramsey, Alexis and Santi Cazorla all looking in fine form. But Per Mertesacker has lost more than a step and Ozil's unwillingness to cover back has been costly more than once. Mathieu Debuchy will miss the game due to the suspension incurred in the playoff against Besiktas; he was injured on Saturday and so is now a long-term doubt to boot. Theo Walcott also remains out as he recovers from a knee injury suffered last season in the game against Tottenham, but Kieran Gibbs was available for selection Saturday.

Both teams know each other quite well -€“ this is the third meeting in four seasons for these two in the group stage - and last season the sides split their games, each time seeing the home side lose. On paper, this one's a toss-up, but it should be thrilling for neutrals.

Elsewhere, Liverpool will host minnows Ludogorets  (2 PM ET, FOX Sports 2) as the Reds play their first Champions League match in five year. This match should be the easy one: Liverpool also have to face giants Real Madrid and Basel in their group, and are looking to rebound after a shock home loss to Aston Villa on the weekend.

Real Madrid host Basel (2GO) while a Monaco side in transition will face Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen (2GO). Real lost on the weekend to arch-rivals Atletico in the Madird derby 2-1 in a performance that raises more questions about the galacticos' direction. The loss of Angel Di Maria has already proved costly and the new-look midfield of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez has yet to gel.

Leverkusen played out a wild 3-3 draw on Friday against Werder Bremen that showed off the German's attacking potency but also revealed some real defensive frailties. They can score in buckets and look to be one of the teams to watch. They also leak goals like a sieve as they are unable to deal with long balls into space. Bernd Leno is a decent enough keeper, but he has a very hazy set of defenders in front of him. Monaco of course have had a cleanout to their owner's very costly divorce -€“ Manchester United also benefited from that, thanks very much -€“ and it's going to be very interesting to see what this quite depleted side puts forward. Currently next to last in Ligue 1, they haven't shown much of anything yet.

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