New Era released its 2019 NBA Tip-Off Series collection this week, and, man, those hats are really … um …

Well, how exactly do you describe a regular-sized cap that features the team and city names — sometimes in full and sometimes only a portion — four times each, in various sizes and directions, as well as the team logo twice, and the NBA and New Era logos once each?

Interesting? Definitely.

Fun? Sure.

Beyond bizarre? Hell yeah.

Here’s a quick look at these wonderfully weird creations.

The front two panels have a lot going on. The right side features the city (or borough or district or state nickname, as the case may be) name in as many large letters that can fit horizontally on that panel. In most cases, that’s six letters (one annoying exception is Boston, which could easily fit its whole name on there but inexplicably goes with “BOSTO”).

On the left side, there’s a representation of the team logo on top. Much of the team name can fit below it vertically. That seems to be about five or six letters. This design for the front two panels works well for teams such as the Miami Heat, with names so short that the hats actually look relatively normal from that angle.

It also works for the Minnesota Timberwolves and other teams with super long names, where you can clearly see the effect the hat designers were trying to achieve.

But the design does not work so well for teams with medium-length names, such as the Atlanta Hawks, which ended up with hats that look like someone left a letter off by mistake.

Moving down to the bill, the designers showed remarkable restraint on the left side, with the full-length city name in nice, easy-to-read letters. But then they went absolutely nuts on the right side, slapping on the team name in letters so large that barely any of it can fit on the hat. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers might be the most extreme examples.

Speaking of extreme, let’s move on to the left side panel. Holy cow. Running vertically on the left side is the team name in humongous letters, which don’t come close to fitting into the allotted space.

Next to that, on the right side of the same panel, is the team name again, only this time it’s horizontal and it fits better, but still not completely. Once again, this leaves some teams, like the Lakers, looking like a letter was accidentally dropped at the end of their name.

Oddly enough, teams with short names, like the Utah Jazz, receive the same treatment as the other teams on this portion of the hat, even though there appears to be plenty of room for every letter in its entirety.

The back features the full city name running vertically on the right panel and a small NBA logo in the middle. On the left panel, there’s a humongous representation of the team logo that often doesn’t quite fit into its space. This is easily the coolest portion of these hats.

And finally we head to the peace and tranquility of the right side panel, which features only the New Era logo underneath the full city name, both fitting quite nicely in the space. Ah, just take a moment to soak in the glorious simplicity.

By the way, the Clippers went slightly rogue with their hats. Instead of using the full city name like everyone else, they went with just “LA” in all references, giving their headgear a bit of a distinctive look.

So there you have it. If you’re looking to make a bold fashion statement as the new season begins — or if for some reason you want people to think you root for a team with a name like “WARRI GOLDEN” or “GRIZZ MEMPH” — you might want to snag one of these bad boys.

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Alicia Keys and Sara Bareilles teamed up at the City of Hope’s Spirit of Life Gala on Thursday for a musical salute to Sylvia Rhone, chairman and chief executive officer of Epic Records, and performed a duet fittingly for the honoree — a mashup of their respective songs, “Girl on Fire” and “Brave.”

“We’re so happy to be here to honor you, Sylvia,” said Bareilles, a seven-time Grammy, three-time Emmy and two-time Tony nominee. “You are such an amazing mentor and a guiding light for me in my career.”

Added Keys, a15-time Grammy Award winner, “I think we all have that power to be brave and to be in our power as we reach back and continue to lift others up along with us.” She said the evening was “a powerful testament to what that does and how that makes us all so much stronger.”

The event

At the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, the City of Hope’s Music, Film and Entertainment Industry Group honored Rhone at the black-tie affair, which raised more than $4 million for the world-renowned research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other illnesses. Rhone is the first African American woman to receive the charity’s Spirit of Life award.

The entertainment

In a night filled with music, Yolanda Adams serenaded the audience with a series of her hit tunes, stopping briefly to address Rhone. “She is the reason I don’t take no for an answer ever anymore,” said the four-time Grammy-winning gospel singer. “Most of those songs that you heard me sing, Miss Sylvia Rhone made sure that they were heard by the world.”

Before guests adjourned for an afterparty in the adjacent tent, DJ Khaled took the microphone to introduce a reunited En Vogue for a surprise performance as the night’s final tribute to the honoree.

The program

Music industry VIPs took turns at the podium, beginning with Evan Lamberg, who spoke of Rhone’s “smashing glass ceilings,” not only for women but also for people of color. Lamberg is president of Universal Music Publishing Group North America.

After a stirring medley by Adams, Jimmy Jam introduced fellow songwriter-producer Kuk Harrell, listing Harrell’s collaborations with music superstars Rihanna, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and others. For his part, Harrell praised the City of Hope as he recounted his fight against prostate cancer.

He fought back tears as he expressed gratitude for his care team’s compassion. “I was overwhelmed with joy because I knew right then I was in the right place,” he said.

The honoree

Stepping up to the podium, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder delivered the tribute to Rhone, who is credited with the launch and guidance of Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Tracy Chapman and Metallica, among other music superstars.

“It was not a hard decision for me to make — to be the Spirit of Life honoree,” said Rhone onstage, “because I sat in these rooms for 20 years, wondering if there would be anybody up here that looked like me getting an award, and I sat there with a great deal of respect for those honorees. No question about it. They were amazing men, but it was time for a change. I want each and every one of you, especially for the women and people of color, to understand one of my motivations. … I particularly did it because it will open doors for everybody else, and so, this is for us.”

She closed with advice for the young people in the room. “As you rise in your careers, ” she said, “don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone. … The door is open, and now the only question is, ‘What do you want to do to make your mark and what are you going to do to give back?’”

The crowd

Among many in the audience were Meghan Trainor, Daryl Sabara, 21 Savage, Zara Larsson, Keltie Knight, Forest Whitaker, Clarence Avant and Robert Stone, president and chief executive officer of City of Hope.

The numbers

Tickets for the 1,150 guests began at $1,500, with tables of 10 ranging to $60,000.

BRUSSELS — 

The European Union said Friday that talks with Britain to find an amicable divorce deal were back on track, despite huge challenges and a looming end-of-month deadline for Britain to leave the bloc.

EU Council President Donald Tusk said he has “received promising signals” from Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar that a Brexit deal is still possible, so he has extended a deadline to continue the Brexit talks.

Tusk, speaking in Nicosia, Cyprus, said “for the first time” Varadkar and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saw a path toward a deal, adding that “even the slightest chance must be used” to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

An official from an EU nation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing said Britain had offered compromises on how to deal with the only EU-U.K. land border, on the island of Ireland.

The official said EU negotiator Michel Barnier told EU ambassadors that Britain will shift its position on the custom union, the issue of consent of the Northern Ireland legislature on the border and some regulations on trade.

Immediately, the wheels of the negotiating machinery started churning again. Johnson’s Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, got a warm welcome from Barnier before they started almost two hours of talks Friday around breakfast.

The EU said later that the two sides would “intensify discussions over the coming days” before an assessment on the Brexit talks would be made on Monday.

“If there is a will, there is, of course, a way. Otherwise people would not be working on this,” said EU Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva.

Originally, Tusk said he was planning to pull the plug Friday on the Brexit talks, but because of the breakthrough he can now see talks going through the weekend, ahead of the EU’s two-day summit, which starts Thursday.

Tusk said “there is no guarantee of success and the time is practically up” but insisted both sides should use every opportunity available ahead of Britain’s scheduled Oct. 31 departure date.

“A no-deal Brexit will never be the choice of the EU,” Tusk said.

Johnson said late Thursday there was a “pathway” to a belated agreement to stave off a chaotic, costly no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31, while Varadkar said the meeting was “very positive.”

After his meeting with Barclay, Barnier said it was essential to keep focused.

“Brexit is like climbing a mountain. We need vigilance, determination and patience,” said the man who once organized the 1992 Winter Olympics in his Savoie region of France.

The main stumbling block remains how to handle Britain’s only land border with the EU, between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The challenge of keeping this border invisible — something that has underpinned both the local economy and the region’s peace deal — has dominated Brexit discussions for three years, ever since British voters chose in 2016 to leave the EU.

Tusk insisted “even the slightest chance must be used” to avoid an acrimonious split since both the EU and the United Kingdom would be hit hard economically in a no-deal Brexit.

One way to do that could be to extend the Oct. 31 deadline so that negotiators have more time to work things out in legally binding detail. But Johnson has insisted that Britain is leaving on Oct. 31 “do or die” — with or without a divorce deal.

France has also long said that deadlines cannot be extended forever, since Britain was originally slated to leave the bloc on March 31.

In Paris, France’s European affairs minister, Amelie de Montchalin, had another take on the debate, saying that a no-deal Brexit “is probable, at this stage.” De Montchalin told France Inter radio that she does not see an obvious reason to grant a further Brexit extension to the U.K.

“I have a fundamental question: Why give more time? If it is time for the sake of time? It has taken one year, even three years, and we don’t really get it,” she said.

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Amman, Jordan — 

Turkish artillery and warplanes on Friday battered Kurdish-held territories across northeast Syria, while ground troops and allies overran 14 villages on the periphery of two strategic towns along the border, Turkey’s military said.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, referring to Kurdish fighters, said 342 “terrorists have been neutralized” since the start of cross-border military operations on Wednesday, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

The incursion called Operation Peace Spring involves a heavy barrage in a region controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, Kurdish-led militias that for years have received U.S. backing in the fight against Islamic State militants.

The assault announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began after President Trump announced early this week that U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the area, in effect allowing Turkey, an ally, to attack the Kurds, also allies — a move viewed by many U.S. observers, both Democrats and Republicans, as a betrayal.

Turkey has said it wants to push Kurdish fighters from a 20-mile band of territory it calls a safe zone extending along the Syrian-Turkish border. It also has said it aims to resettle millions of refugees who went to Turkey since the start of war in Syria in 2011.

In his speech, Akar said that “only terrorists and their shelters, positions, weapons, ammunition depots and equipment are targeted,” and that the attack would avoid targeting “innocent people.”

Yet there were civilians among the dead on both sides of the border. The Kurdish Red Crescent reported 11 civilians killed, while Kurdish shelling on Turkish border towns including Akcakale killed six people, including an 11-month-old baby, according to Turkish media.

The funeral for the child, Mohammad Omar Saar, was broadcast from Akcakale, with footage depicting Turkish soldiers in ceremonial attire carrying and then saluting a small coffin draped in the red of the Turkish flag.

Later Friday, several artillery shells landed near a U.S. observation post in the Kurdish-controlled city of Kobani, some 35 miles northwest of Tal Abyad, Syria. A U.S. official, speaking on background, said no troops were harmed. Turkey’s Defense Ministry denied it had targeted the observation post.

The Turkish military has the coordinates for U.S. positions; the attack was not considered a direct one, said the U.S. official, even if it was “reckless.” The U.S. personnel departed the post.

More than 100,000 people have fled the violence, the United Nations said Friday, while the International Rescue Committee aid group estimated that a total of 300,000 could be forced to abandon their homes.

It has disrupted life throughout the Kurds’ enclave, which they established as a semiautonomous area in northeast Syria with U.S. support.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Syrian National Army, a Turkish-backed grouping of Syrian rebel factions, said they had controlled villages surrounding Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, two strategic areas Turkey needs to bolster its drive into Kurdish-held territory, but had yet to enter the towns.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders said the main hospital in Tal Abyad had been closed after medical staff left with their families.

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Some hospitals elsewhere in Kurdish-controlled areas had also shuttered their doors, activists said, while those still receiving the wounded were “stretched beyond their capacity.”

The shelling also struck critical infrastructure, including water stations, causing shortages in many areas.

In the turmoil, Islamic State planted a car bomb near a restaurant in the city of Qamishli, the group said, leaving behind “dozens” of casualties among the Kurdish fighters. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition watchdog group, said six people were killed.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, at a news conference Friday with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, acknowledged what he called “Turkey’s legitimate security concerns,” but said he expected Turkey “to act with restraint.” He said he was concerned about further destabilizing the region, and “even more human suffering.”

“We have a common enemy — Daesh,” Stoltenberg said, referring to Islamic State by its Arabic acronym. “A few years ago, they controlled significant territory in Iraq and in Syria. Working together in the global coalition, we have liberated all this territory and millions of people. These gains must not be jeopardized.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, meanwhile, spoke to his Turkish counterpart by phone, according to a Pentagon statement released Friday, in which he said that the incursion could risk “serious consequences for Turkey” and that its action could harm remaining U.S. personnel in Syria.

Esper, the statement said, “strongly encouraged Turkey to discontinue actions in northeast Syria” before the situation became “irreparable.”

Erdogan, speaking later in Istanbul, said Turkey was receiving pressure to stop but “will not turn back,” according to Anadolu.

The Pentagon said it’s ramping up the deployment of U.S. forces to the Middle East to “assure and enhance the defense of Saudi Arabia” against Iran at the same time President Trump has vowed to start bringing troops home from the region.

The Pentagon plans to dispatch about 1,800 additional troops to Saudi Arabia, officials said. Combined with other recent deployments, about 3,000 personnel are being sent or are having their missions extended in the Mideast, they said. Since May, an additional 14,000 U.S. personnel are in the region, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Friday.

The deployment to Saudi Arabia comes as Trump and his top aides defended his decision to pull back some U.S. forces in northern Syria, a move that cleared the way for Turkey to send its forces into the country and attack American-allied Kurdish militias. Esper, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, said most U.S. troops remain “co-located” with Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria.

“We are not abandoning our Kurdish partner forces,” Esper said at a briefing alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.

The latest deployment appeared at odds with statements Trump has made repeatedly in recent days about pulling U.S. forces out of “endless wars” in the Mideast.

“It’s time to bring them home,” Trump said at a rally in Minneapolis on Thursday night. “We’ve done our job, we’ve defeated everyone that we’re supposed to defeat.”

Esper and Milley said they’ve told their Turkish counterparts that they oppose Ankara’s attacks in northern Syria and said the U.S. never “greenlighted” the operation despite the White House announcement Sunday that American troops “would no longer be in the immediate area” if Turkey moved into Syria. Amid denunciations, including from many Republican lawmakers, Trump later said he had warned Turkey that the incursion was “a bad idea.”

Esper and Milley are likely to face tough questioning on whether Trump served as an enabler for Turkey’s incursion when they testify in a closed session of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday on “The Situation in Syria and the Wider Region.”

So far, Milley estimated, Turkey has sent hundreds of ground troops into the region to work with as many as 1,000 members of the Syrian Free Army but has primarily attacked with fighter jets, armed drones, artillery and tank fire. He called the Turkish operation on the ground “relatively limited.”

Crude oil prices were already climbing after a pair of explosions on an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea on Friday. The Islamic Republic’s tanker company initially said the attacks probably came from Saudi Arabia, but later withdrew the claim.

The deployment to Saudi Arabia announced Friday will include a previously previewed delivery of additional Patriot and THAAD missile defense systems that were initially held in reserve. The two systems will provide Saudi Arabia a layered air defense to intercept ballistic missiles at different altitudes and distances, extending coverage.

Esper said that move was in response to last month’s missile and drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, a strike the U.S., Saudi Arabia and some European nations have blamed on Iran.

MEXICO CITY — 

At least one man died when a small boat filled with migrants from the Central African nation of Cameroon capsized Friday off the Pacific coast of southern Mexico, authorities said.

Two passengers were still missing late in the day, said prosecutors in Chiapas state.

The single-engine boat most likely originated in Mexico or nearby Guatemala with the aim of smuggling the migrants up the coast of Mexico so they could avoid traveling by land through Chiapas.

Thousands of African migrants trying to get to the United States have been stranded in southern Mexico as authorities there — under pressure from the Trump administration — have refused to issue them transit visas to continue north. Many plan to seek political asylum or other forms of humanitarian protection in the United States.

Mexican and U.S. authorities have reported detaining record numbers of undocumented African nationals this year.

Activists were quick to assign blame for the tragedy.

“What happened today with the African migrants is completely the fault of the Mexican government that has accepted the caprices and orders of President Trump,” said Irineo Mujica, a member of the Pueblos Sin Fronteras group that has assisted migrants traveling through Mexico.

Mexican officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Eight other Cameroonian nationals — seven men and one woman — survived and were treated in an area hospital and released.

Mexican authorities were questioning them to determine where the boat had originated, how long it had been at sea and other details.

The attorney general’s office in Chiapas state vowed to “clarify the matter” and identify those responsible.

The boat capsized about 7 a.m. near the fishing town of Puerto Arista, part of the municipality of Tonala, police said.

The dead man was identified as Emanuel Cheo Ngu, 39. Photos circulated on the internet of his fully clothed body in the brush along a beach.

Immigration authorities in Costa Rica had issued him a transit visa on Sept. 6 that gave him 25 days to pass through that Central American nation, according to a document made public in Mexico.

For years, smugglers have transported migrants in boats along the Pacific coast to points north of Chiapas, which has a heavy presence of police, soldiers and immigration agents tasked with deterring illicit migration.

Immigration checkpoints — bolstered by recently deployed Mexican National Guard forces — line the major northbound routes in Chiapas state.

Stranded African migrants have staged angry demonstrations in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula and have camped in protest outside Mexico’s federal immigration lockup there. Most had flown to Ecuador or other places in South America and made their way overland to Mexico.

Cameroonians represent the largest group among the African migrants arriving in Mexico. Many are part of that country’s English-speaking minority and say they face repression from a government dominated by the French-speaking majority.

Special correspondents Maria de Jesus Peters Pino in Tonala and Cecilia Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.

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On Thursday October 11, the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra invited a number of esteemed guests to join Vogue Australia in celebrating its rich 60-year history with the opening of its highly-anticipated new exhibition, Women in Vogue: Celebrating Sixty Years in Australia.

The VIP celebration, which was hosted by Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann (above) and National Portrait Gallery director Karen Quinlan, with thanks to Paspaley, Moët Chandon and hotel partner Ovolo Nishi, saw former Foreign Minister of Australia, The Hon. Julie Bishop, take to the stage to unveil the celebrated exhibition. 

With the likes of former Vogue Australia editors Nancy Pilcher and and Juliet Ashworth in attendance, together with Vogue Australia cover stars Samantha Harris, Anneliese Seubert and Ursula Hufnagl, the event proved to be one that was not to be missed. 

“The elegant and contemporary exhibition will draw on our archive and highlight Vogue Australia’s role in documenting the changing roles and diversity of Australian womanhood over two generations,” shared McCann, prior to the opening of the showcase. “I couldn’t think of a better way to start our 60th anniversary celebrations.”

The exhibition, which is split up into three different segments–Looking Back, featuring images from the 1960s and 1970s; Looking Out, a visual representation of the second wave of feminism; and Looking Forward, depicting the faces currently shaping the country–will be open to the public from October 11, 2019 to November 24, 2019.

To view iconic portraits of everyone from Kylie Minogue, Elle Macpherson, HRH Crown Princess Mary and Nicole Kidman, to Cate Blanchett, Margot Robbie, Miranda Tapsell and Adut Akech, be sure to plan a visit to the National Portrait Gallery.

Julie Bishop, Samantha Harris and Edwina McCann.

Pia Miller.

Jake Terrey and Matilda Dods.

Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman.

Carla Zampatti.

Graace.

Alison Veness.

Julie Bishop.

Nicky Oatley and Melissa Doyle.

Tessa and Beth MacGraw.

Nancy Pilcher.

Nicholas Gray and Anneliese Seubert.

Pia Miller.

Karen Quinlan.

Karen Quinlan , Ursula Hufnagl, Edwina McCann, and Samantha Harris.

Juliet Ashworth and Marc Freeman.

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The Dutch defender was frustrated with Neymar and Co’s theatrics during Champions League defeat at Parc des Princes

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Virgil van Dijk joined Jurgen Klopp in condemning Paris Saint-Germain’s theatrics during the sides’ Champions League clash – but then suggested the Reds should have taken a leaf out of Neymar and Co’s book.

It was a disappointing night for Liverpool in the French capital, their 2-1 loss leaving their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage hanging by a thread.

Last season’s finalists must beat Napoli either 1-0 or by two clear goals at Anfield in a fortnight’s time to guarantee progression, having slid to a fifth successive European defeat away from home.

The game was settled by first-half goals from Juan Bernat and Neymar, but afterwards much of the talk centred on the performance of referee Szymon Marciniak and the behaviour of Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Van Dijk was one of six Liverpool players booked on the night, with many of the Reds’ party angered by what they believed to be constant play-acting from the PSG players.

Klopp, speaking post-match, said that his team had been “made to look like butchers” by the referee, while Andy Robertson was another who spoke out. Jamie Carragher, the former Reds defender, described PSG’s antics as “embarrassing”.

As for Van Dijk, he was equally irked, though the Dutch defender hinted that Liverpool may have been wise to play the Ligue 1 champions at their own game.

He told reporters: “Obviously they’re world-class players but I don’t think it’s needed in the game at times.

“Sometimes they get hit and they will go down and sometimes I think it’s too easy and I’m getting so frustrated. It’s important to keep your head cool but every time we made a foul they all came to the ref trying to get us a yellow card.

“We should do the same at times today and I think in the second half we did it better. It’s not my type of game that I like. We still respect them how they are as players because they’re world-class players but it’s not really necessary at times.

“But other than that, they scored two goals, we lost and that’s it.”

Victory for PSG, of course, kept alive their own hopes of reaching the last 16. Tuchel’s team now need only a win against Red Star Belgrade on Matchday Six to secure their place, and the celebrations which greeted the final whistle on Wednesday told their own story. They did not go unnoticed by those from Liverpool, either.

“I think everyone in Europe respects us and I think we deserve that,” Van Dijk said. “But I think they are playing for the Champions League, that’s what their season is all about. They’re going to win the league, that’s something pretty obvious, so the only big thing for them is the Champions League.

“You see how much it meant after the game, how they celebrated.”

For Liverpool, the concern is that their struggles on the road in Europe go on. Once more, they were unable to impose their game and were punished for a slow start. A revival, prompted by James Milner’s penalty, failed to materialise in the second half.

“I hate losing, like everyone else,” added Van Dijk. “When you’re 2-0 down after 30 minutes, then you know it’s going to be tough. I think after the penalty that we scored we had more belief than ever and I think second half we did much better and unfortunately we didn’t get the equaliser.

“We don’t need to forget that we played Napoli, one of the best teams in Europe; PSG, one of the favourites to win the Champions League; and obviously the game in Belgrade was not good enough. We don’t need to [think] we are a s*** team, basically. It can happen.

“But the frustrating thing is how we conceded the goals and then it’s always difficult to come back. I don’t know if there’s any explanation for that right now because I can’t think of one – otherwise we should have used it already. But now we need to look forward and the only option for us to qualify is to win against Napoli, no matter what.”

Van Dijk added: “I’m very disappointed from tonight but we know that there’s only one chance left and we all want to take. We’re going to do everything that’s possible. We need everyone’s help, we need all the fans, we need everyone that comes to support us that night to make it a special evening for all of us.

“We know it’s going to be tough – Napoli is a fantastic team with great players, they have a great manager – but we need to keep believing in ourselves. We already do, I think, but at times today it wasn’t good enough and we need to be ready for that test.”

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The Serie A champions need only a point to secure a place in the next round, having slipped up against Manchester United last time out

Juventus were cruising towards the last 16 of the Champions League before they were stunned by a late Manchester United double salvo three weeks ago, but can secure their berth in the knockout stages by earning a point against Valencia at home on Tuesday.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side had been perfect in the competition until Juan Mata and an own goal from Leonardo Bonucci consigned them to an unexpected defeat in Turin earlier this month.

That result was also a blow for the Spaniards, who could find themselves out of the competition if they fail to win at the home of the Serie A champions, having earned five points from four games to date.

In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

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In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV on BT Sport Extra and it can be streamed live online using the BT Sport app.

Juventus starting XI: Szczesny; Cancelo, Chiellini, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Bentancur, Pjanic, Matuidi; Dybala, Mandzukic, Ronaldo

Valencia starting XI: Neto; Gabriel, Kondogbia, Guedes, Parejo, Diakhaby, Gaya, Coquelin, Wass, Rodrigo, Santi Mina

Juventus are hot 2/5 favourites to win, according to bet365, while Valencia are priced at 8/1. The draw is 4/1.

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Aside from six minutes of madness against Manchester United three weeks ago, it has been very much business as usual for Juventus this season.

They have established their dominant position atop Serie A, having opened an eight-point gap to Napoli after only 13 matches, winning 12 of 13 fixtures, while they had boasted a perfect Champions League record until their uncharacteristic late collapse against the Red Devils.

Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s match, victory over Young Boys in Switzerland next month would be enough for a place in the last 16, but such have been the standards in Turin, they expect to win the group. 

“Tomorrow we want to get through and secure first place, but Valencia are in good form,” Allegri said.

Indeed, the coach believes that the defeat against Jose Mourinho’s club was actually a welcome jolt that reminded his team that they are vulnerable before a big Serie A clash with AC Milan that was won 2-0.

“We can’t fall asleep like we did with Manchester United,” he said.

“It’s just a matter of focus, and losing against United did us good because if not we’d have stumbled against Milan.

“We must have respect for Valencia, they’ve only lost one of their last 10 matches. Tomorrow at 11pm we’ll know everything.”

While Allegri is right to point out that the Spaniards have been tough to beat, they have made little headway in La Liga this term due to the fact they have drawn eight of their 13 matches.

Marcelino’s men have won four of their last five games in all competitions, but in each of those victories their opponents have finished with 10 men.

The Mestalla club, who face Real Madrid on Saturday, must find a path to victory at Juventus Stadium if they are to keep their Champions League hopes burning, and with a fully focused home team standing in their way, they are unlikely to be granted any presents in the way that Man Utd were.

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The two World Cup winners have contributed massively to Munich’s dire defensive record this season and there are mounting calls for them to be dropped

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The regime change at Bayern Munich is not going smoothly. Niko Kovac’s job is in peril just a few months after taking over from adored treble-winner Jupp Heynckes.

President Uli Hoeness wanted Heynckes to remain as Bayern boss this season but the coach opted for retirement instead. The veteran has already managed Bayern four times – most recently as a rescue act after Carlo Ancelotti’s tenure drew to a premature close – and he could well be answering the phone for a fifth time in the coming weeks.

Bayern are again in a tailspin; the stability that Heynckes provided as the club roared to a sixth consecutive Bundesliga title is gone. They are languishing in fifth place in the Bundesliga and already nine points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.

They lost the Klassiker before the international break and their poor form continued over the weekend with a 3-3 draw at home against Fortuna Dusseldorf, which must have felt like a loss with the equaliser coming in the 93rd minute.

Kovac may well be the first victim of Bayern’s crisis but, in truth, this is a team which is falling apart from the inside out. The core of the squad remains the same as 2013, when they won the Champions League under Heynckes. If a week is a long time in football then what is five years?

The continued presence of Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, Javi Martinez, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller in the line-up is testament to the club’s consistency but the time has come to question whether a few of those are past their sell-by date.

In particular, German World Cup winners Neuer and Boateng have been in pitiful form for Bayern over the past few weeks. Legitimate questions now exist as to whether they will ever get back to their dominant best.

Neuer has long been regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world but the forcefield that once seemed to cover him has disappeared. Neuer has conceded a remarkable 14 goals from the last 17 shots he’s faced. That’s not just bad; that’s Claudio Bravo bad.

In terms of goals conceded, this is Neuer’s worst run since becoming a Bayern player. He has failed to keep a clean sheet in each of his last eight games, an unwelcome record last hit in 2010-11, when Neuer was still at Schalke.

Bayern haven’t had a run of games like this, in terms of goals conceded, since 2000. Moreover, this is the first time since 1994 that they’ve gone four Bundesliga matches without a win. Neuer is a problem but he’s not the only problem.

“Manuel is not so stable this season because the defence is not so stable,” Fortuna coach Friedhelm Funkel told Sky on Saturday. “He is still our best goalkeeper in Germany. He can’t do anything about the goals.

“But, in a good phase, he might have saved one or two, because he’d play a bit more successfully. People know that now too. Bayern have conceded 17 goals, and that is in just 12 games. They’ve sometimes done that after 34 games!”

Dusseldorf should be the type of game Bayern win easily, particularly from 3-1 up. But there is a great vulnerability about them at the moment and it all stems from their defensive woes.

Neuer cannot be relied upon as he once was but Bayern are so soft through the centre of their defence. There is little any goalkeeper could do, given the quality of the chances being surrendered by Boateng, fellow world champion Mats Hummels and Niklas Sule at centre-back.

Boateng might well have provided a good assist for Muller on Saturday but his defensive work was dire. He turned his back on the cross which first permitted Dodi Lukebakio to score from close range. His contribution for Fortuna’s second, meanwhile, was woeful.

“When I see how Boateng tried to play the offside trap on the second goal – my dear fellow, that was alarming,” Funkel said.

“No coach in the world can do anything about Boateng playing the offside trap only because he’s too lazy to run after his man. He takes two steps forward and wants to get out of a race with Lukebakio. That shouldn’t happen with such a world-class player.”

Both Neuer and Boateng have suffered significant injuries during the past couple of seasons and are performing a long way beneath their once world-class standards. Neuer’s metatarsal injury towards the end of 2017 kept him out for the best part of a year, while numerous thigh and hamstring injuries appear to have caught up with Boateng.

Indeed, there were discussions over the summer about Boateng leaving the club for Manchester United or Paris Saint-Germain but he remains on the books. But for how much longer?

Neuer has a capable deputy in Sven Ulreich – even if he messed up in the Champions League semi-finals last season – and some Bayern fans are asking for his inclusion.

And if Bayern had a bigger pool of talent in the centre of defence, then Boateng would probably be taken out of the firing line too. But Sule and Hummels have been having their struggles too and it’s an area in need of drastic reconstruction in one transfer window or another.

In that regard, Kovac is paying the price for Bayern’s negligence in the summer transfer window. This is a team which clearly had holes in it given their Champions League failure against Real last season but where major changes were needed, only tweaks came.

Loyalty is an admirable quality, but someone has got to get hold of the situation and recognise that this club and these players are not what they once were.