Eddie Howe has guided Newcastle back to the big time (Picture: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
The greatest teams on the continent are readying themselves for the return of Champions League football, with the action getting underway this week with a full schedule of group stage games.
And it is not just managers and players who are gearing up for the greatest show in club football, with millions of fans in the UK set to tune into their TVs to get their fix of European football.
Unsurprisingly, the current Kings of Europe Manchester City are the favourites to defend their crown having beaten Inter 1-0 in the final in Istanbul back in June.
City are joined in the competition by last season’s Premier League title rivals Arsenal, who will be quietly confident of a deep run in their first Champions League campaign since the 2016/17 season.
Manchester United will be looking to put their domestic troubles behind them when they open up against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are making the glamorous trip to San Siro to take on seven-times winners Milan on Matchday 1.
Thousands of Geordies will be making the trip to northern Italy to cheer on the team in their first Champions League outing since 2002/03, with further mouthwatering trips to PSG and Borussia Dortmund standing out in the diary further down the road.
Celtic are Scotland’s only representative in this year’s competition, in the absence of fierce rivals Rangers, with Brendan Rodgers’ men hoping to take advantage of afriendly draw by reaching the knockout stages for the first time in 11 years.
Here is how you can watch the Champions League on TV and live stream in the UK.
How to watch the Champions League on TV
TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) has the exclusive rights to show every Champions League game live in the UK.
Pep Guardiola is gunning for back-to-back European crowns with Manchester City (Picture: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
The action will be shown across four TV channels (TNT Sports 1-4) and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5-10).
The hugely popular Goals Show is back for 2023/24, with fans able to keep across the group stage goals as they go in across the length and breadth of the continent.
Fans who do not currently have a subscription can join up from £29.99 per month with discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
How to watch on live stream
Those with a TNT Sports subscription can live stream games at no extra cost on discovery+ and via the web player.
Alternatively, a TNT Sports 30-day pass can be purchased for £29.99 with the action immediately available to watch on discovery+ and via the web player.
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Who is presenting TNT Sports’ coverage of the Champions League?
Laura Woods will front TNT Sports’ coverage of the Champions League this season as the main presenter.
Woods, who hosted ITV’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup, replaces Jake Humphrey in the role with the experienced presenter having stepped down after a decade with BT Sport.
The punditry team includes regulars Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch and Joe Cole as well as the likes of Rachel Brown-Finnis, Owen Hargreaves, Steve McManaman, Joleon Lescott, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes and Robbie Savage.
MORE : Pep Guardiola gives injury update on Manchester City trio ahead of Champions League opener
MORE : Arsene Wenger says Champions League will ‘cost points’ for Arsenal this season
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