Rookie Coaches Face High Stakes As Champions League Returns

The UEFA Champions League roars back into action this week, and if you thought the winter break would bring calm, think again. The landscape has shifted dramatically, with coaching changes shaking up some of Europe’s biggest clubs, and a slew of pivotal fixtures promising high drama as the tournament enters its decisive league phase rounds. The spotlight shines brightest on Real Madrid and Chelsea, both returning to continental duty with rookie managers at the helm and plenty to prove.

Real Madrid, a club synonymous with Champions League glory, finds itself in uncharted territory. Just a week ago, the board dismissed Xabi Alonso after barely seven months in charge, despite the team sitting seventh in the standings. The reins have now passed to Álvaro Arbeloa, who will oversee only his third match as a senior head coach when Los Blancos host Monaco on Wednesday. The last time Madrid rolled the dice on a novice mid-season—Zinedine Zidane’s appointment in January 2016—the gamble paid off with three consecutive Champions League titles. Can Arbeloa conjure similar magic, or is this a bridge too far?

Arbeloa’s early tenure has already seen turbulence. During Madrid’s recent clash with Levante, fans voiced their frustrations loudly, whistling at the players and chanting pointedly at club president Florentino Perez. The pressure is palpable, and with a crucial La Liga fixture against Villarreal looming and just a single point separating Madrid from Barcelona in the league, squad rotation and morale management are paramount.

There is some good news for Madrid. Both goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and the in-form forward Rodrygo have returned to training. Lunin, sidelined by a calf injury sustained during the Copa del Rey loss to Albacete, is expected to be backup to Thibaut Courtois. Rodrygo, who had been in electric form before a Super Cup injury, is back in contention but may start on the bench given the congested schedule. As journalist Melchor Ruiz of COPE reported, "Both goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and forward Rodrygo are back in training ahead of the game against Monaco." However, the squad remains depleted, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eder Militao, and Ferland Mendy ruled out, and Antonio Rudiger’s status uncertain until matchday morning.

Madrid’s opponents, Monaco, arrive in the Spanish capital with their own set of challenges. The French side, now coached by Sébastien Pocognoli after the October sacking of Adi Hütter, will be without several key players. Paul Pogba, still nursing a calf injury, has not made the trip, and the likes of Lukas Hradecky, Christian Mawissa, Mohammed Salisu, and Takumi Minamino are also absent. Lamine Camara and Krépin Diatta remain on AFCON duty, further thinning the squad. Stanis Idumbo, however, returns after illness. Monaco sits on nine points after six matchdays and is hungry for more, with qualification still very much in play. According to GFFN’s Luke Entwistle, "Pogba has been out for over a month due to a calf injury and was not expected in the squad for the match."

Meanwhile, Chelsea mirrors Madrid’s upheaval. Enzo Maresca, fresh off a Club World Cup win, was replaced by Liam Rosenior, who previously led Strasbourg to the top of the Conference League standings. Rosenior’s first Champions League test comes against Pafos, another club that has recently changed coaches. Pafos’s Juan Carlos Carcedo bought out his contract to return to Spartak Moscow, prompting the Cypriot side to hire Albert Celades, a former Madrid Champions League winner. The revolving door of managers is a theme this season: eleven of the thirty-six Champions League clubs have changed coaches, with nine sackings, including high-profile dismissals at Ajax, Atalanta, Benfica, Club Brugge, Juventus, and Bayer Leverkusen. Benfica, for instance, wasted no time firing Bruno Lage after a home loss to Qarabag, quickly appointing José Mourinho—himself recently dismissed by Fenerbahce after a playoff defeat to Benfica.

Stability, though, is the watchword at Arsenal and Inter Milan, who face off in the marquee match of the week at San Siro. Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta, is the only unbeaten team left in the Champions League, boasting a perfect 18 points from six matches. Yet, their Premier League form in 2026 has been less than convincing, with back-to-back goalless draws against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Arteta acknowledged after the Forest stalemate, "We came here to win the game, that’s clear, and we needed the opportunities that we had. We haven’t managed that, so the word is disappointment." Despite these hiccups, the Gunners lead both the Champions League and the Premier League, seven points clear of Manchester City domestically.

Inter Milan, meanwhile, have surged to the top of Serie A, unbeaten in eleven domestic matches and three points ahead of AC Milan. However, in Europe, the Nerazzurri have stumbled, losing consecutive Champions League fixtures to Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, dropping them to sixth in the standings. Coach Cristian Chivu, in his first season, rested stars Alessandro Bastoni and Marcus Thuram in the weekend’s league win over Udinese, ensuring freshness for the Arsenal clash. Thuram is set to start alongside Lautaro Martinez in Inter’s familiar 3-5-2, though key contributors Hakan Calhanoglu and Denzel Dumfries remain sidelined with leg injuries but are nearing returns.

For Arsenal, the attacking trio of Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, and Gabriel Jesus is expected to lead the line, with the Gunners still missing the injured Max Dowman, Piero Hincapie, and Riccardo Calafiori. The stakes couldn’t be higher: an Arsenal win or draw guarantees them a top-eight finish and automatic qualification for the Champions League last 16, bypassing the knockout playoffs. Inter, by contrast, need to avoid a third straight loss to stay on track for the next round—last season, 16 points were required for a top-eight finish.

Elsewhere, Manchester City face a frigid trip to Bodø/Glimt in Norway, with temperatures expected just below freezing—a homecoming of sorts for star striker Erling Haaland. Napoli’s Rasmus Højlund returns to his hometown club Copenhagen, while Qarabag and Kairat Almaty host rare home games to accommodate their distant time zones. UEFA’s scheduling ensures all 18 matches on January 29 will kick off simultaneously at 9 p.m. Central European Time, aiming for maximum fairness as the league phase reaches its climax.

With so many clubs in flux and qualification scenarios hanging in the balance, this week’s Champions League action is set to deliver all the drama fans crave. Whether the rookie managers at Madrid and Chelsea can steady their ships, or if established powers like Arsenal and Inter will hold their nerve, Europe’s elite competition is once again living up to its billing. The road to the round of 16 is open—and the next chapter is about to be written.