Nigerian Players Gear Up for Champions League Matches

Nigerian players are back in Champions League action this week. Ademola Lookman and Christian Nwachukwu will play on Tuesday, while Victor Osimhen takes the stage on Wednesday. Moses Usor from LASK is doubtful again for his game.

Lookman’s Atletico Madrid will visit Stuttgart at the MHPArena on Tuesday. The match kicks off at 8pm Nigerian time. Atletico lost 2-1 to Liverpool in their first match but has won all six matches since then. This includes a 2-0 victory over Manchester United last week, where Lookman scored.

Stuttgart has won both of their league-phase matches. They beat Viking 3-1 and Slovan Bratislava 3-0, but they lost 1-0 to Hamburg on Saturday. Lookman has two goal involvements in 11 appearances this season.

In Baku, Sabah will host Borussia Dortmund at 5:45pm. They are looking for back-to-back wins after a historic 2-0 victory over Slavia Prague last week. This was their first win in the Champions League. Sabah has won all five of their home games in the competition, including qualifying rounds. Dortmund has not won in three matches since the international break.

Nwachukwu, who is 20 years old, joined Sabah from Sheffield United in August. He was part of the squad that beat Slavia last week. He also played in Sabah’s 4-0 win against Gabala on Saturday.

Slavia has several Nigerians in their squad, including Mubarak Suleiman, Emmanuel Ayaosi, Moses David, and Samuel Isifie. They are playing against Fenerbahce at 5:45pm. Both teams are searching for their first win of the campaign. Slavia has lost 3-2 to Lens and 2-0 to Sabah. Fenerbahce drew 1-1 with Roma before losing 6-0 to Aston Villa.

On Wednesday, Osimhen’s Galatasaray will travel to Lille at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. The match starts at 5:45pm. Galatasaray has lost both of their opening games. They lost 3-1 at Sporting CP and 4-1 at home to Barcelona, even after taking the lead in both games. Lille has also lost both of their matches and drew 1-1 with Brest in Ligue 1 over the weekend.

Osimhen played the full 90 minutes in Galatasaray’s 1-0 win against Gençlerbirliği on Saturday. The game was decided by a late own goal.

Also on Wednesday, LASK will face Sporting CP. Usor is doubtful again, as he missed last week’s game against Liverpool. His teammate Samuel Adeniran scored in LASK’s 4-0 win at Austria Lustenau on Saturday and will hope to lead the attack in Lisbon.