Champions League 2026-27: Italian Players to Watch

The Champions League is back. Floodlights on, anthem ready, and a fresh wave of Italian storylines scattered across Europe as the 2026-27 campaign kicks off on Tuesday night.

Three kick-off slots, six games, and a cluster of Azzurri regulars and hopefuls trying to make a mark before the night is out.

Early curtain-raiser: Tresoldi in the shop window

The first Italian interest comes before most of the continent has even sat down to dinner.

At 17.45 BST, Club Brugge host Aston Villa, and Nicolo Tresoldi is expected to lead the line for the Belgians. Still eligible for both Germany and Italy at senior level, every Champions League appearance carries extra weight for the forward. It is not just about goals; it is about identity, about which shirt he will eventually pull over his head on international nights.

Bruges has become a platform. A strong start against Premier League opposition would echo loudly in Coverciano.

Night stage: Donnarumma and the Bernabeu blockbuster

Once the early game settles, attention swings to the 20.00 BST window, where Italian interest stretches across Europe.

In Portugal, the Italy no.1 takes centre stage. Gianluigi Donnarumma is expected to start for Manchester City away to Porto, a heavyweight presence in goal for the reigning English champions. The Champions League has often been the stage where City’s ambitions are measured, and Donnarumma’s performances will be scrutinised through both club and national-team lenses. Every save, every command of his box, feeds into the narrative of an undisputed Azzurri starter.

But the headline act of the night is in Madrid.

At the Santiago Bernabeu, 15-time European champions Real Madrid face Inter, the current Serie A and Coppa Italia holders, in a clash that drips with history and subplots. Cristian Chivu is set to lean on two pillars of the Italy setup: Alessandro Bastoni at the back and Nicolo Barella in midfield. Both are expected to start, carrying the responsibility of anchoring Inter in one of the most unforgiving arenas in world football.

Bastoni will be asked to read the game, to step out, to set the line. Barella, as ever, will be charged with injecting bite and rhythm into Inter’s midfield. Their performances against Madrid’s star-studded cast will be a sharp early test of their European sharpness.

Pio Esposito, another Italian prospect, is likely to begin on the bench, waiting for his moment. A late cameo at the Bernabeu can change a career.

One notable absentee, though, alters the usual Inter picture. Federico Dimarco, a regular down the left for both club and country, has stayed in Milan after suffering knee pain in the build-up to the game. His omission strips Inter of one of their main creative outlets from deep and removes one more Italian from the evening’s marquee fixture.

Dortmund’s young Italian trio

While Madrid and Porto command the spotlight, another important thread runs through Germany.

Borussia Dortmund host Villarreal at 20.00 BST, and three Italian youngsters hover on the edge of the action: Luca Reggiani, Filippo Mane and Samuele Inacio. For them, this is not about legacy yet. It is about opportunity.

Pre-match reports suggest Mane has a genuine chance of starting under Niko Kovac. A place in the XI would throw him straight into the intensity of a Champions League night at Signal Iduna Park, with the Yellow Wall at his back and a Spanish opponent in front that knows its way around this competition.

Reggiani and Inacio add depth to Dortmund’s Italian flavour, ready to be called upon if the game’s pattern demands fresh legs or a different profile. For the national team selectors, these are the nights that separate academy promise from real European pedigree.

Italy’s Champions League footprint

Across Tuesday’s programme, four of the six matches carry an Italian angle. From Tresoldi’s audition in Bruges, to Donnarumma’s authority in Porto, to the established core of Bastoni and Barella at the Bernabeu, and the raw potential in Dortmund, Italy’s presence is spread across the continent rather than concentrated in one club.

It is only the first matchday, but the stakes are already clear. Some are fighting to confirm their status. Others are trying to announce themselves.

By the end of the night, the Azzurri conversation may have a few new names – or a few old ones underlined in thicker ink.