Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso is under huge pressure after his team lost 2-0 to Celta Vigo at the weekend. Los Blancos have just 1 win from their last 5 league games, and they're now 4 points below Barcelona in La Liga. They were poor when losing to Liverpool in the Champions League last month, and they could struggle against Man City. Pep Guardiola's men are on a three-game winning streak, and Erling Haaland is on fire right now.
PSG should be far too strong for Athletic Club in this game. Athletic Club have struggled in this competition, with just one win in five games. They were heavily beaten by Dortmund, Arsenal, and Newcastle. They could only draw with a weak Slavia Prague team, and their only win came against Qarabag. Their league form has been underwhelming too, so I expect them to be outclassed by the reigning European champions in Bilbao.
Chelsea should be full of confidence after scoring 10 goals in their last three Champions League games. The Blues cruised to a 3-0 victory over Barcelona last time out, and they look dangerous in attack. However, Chelsea’s defense is leaky. They’ve conceded a goal per game this season, and they may struggle to contain Atalanta’s forwards on Tuesday. Atalanta have picked up three wins and a draw from their last four Champions League matches, so they also have a great deal of momentum, and this could be an entertaining game.
Liverpool desperately need a morale-boosting win after enduring a dismal run of results. The Reds have fallen into the bottom half of the Premier League table after losing six of their last seven games. Their EPL title defense now lies in tatters, but they’re still going strong in the Champions League. Liverpool have won three of their four Champions League games, and they beat Real Madrid last time out. The Reds are in a full-blown crisis, but they could take out their frustrations on PSV, whose defense is brittle.
This should be an entertaining game between two strong teams. Dortmund have scored 13 goals in four Champions League games this season, but they’ve also conceded 11 times. That means their UCL games have seen an average of six goals. They drew 3-3 with Stuttgart at the weekend, which underlined their attacking dynamism and defensive frailties. Villarreal could cause problems for Dortmund’s struggling defense. They’re now third in La Liga after beating Mallorca 2-1 at the weekend. They’ve scored 2 goals per game in the league this season, and they now need to replicate that form in the Champions League.
Galatasaray should extend their winning streak to four Champions League games when they host Union Saint Gilloise in Istanbul. The Turkish champions have already beaten Liverpool at home this year, and they then thumped Bodo/Glimt and Ajax in their last two games. They boast a great deal of firepower, so they should outgun USG, who've lost their last three UCL matches.
PSG beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup this summer. The Parisians had two players sent off in the closing stages of that game, but they remained superior to Bayern. They’ve won all three Champions League games so far this season, scoring 13 goals in the process. PSG beat Barcelona on the road, and they thumped Leverkusen 7-2 in their last match. Bayern Munich are dangerous, and Harry Kane is in fine form, but PSG should ultimately outclass them.
Arsenal should be too strong for Slavia Prague when the teams meet in the Czech capital this week. The Gunners are on a nine-game winning streak in all competitions. They’ve covered a 1.5-goal spread in all three of their Champions League matches this season. Arsenal beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0, Olympiakos 2-0, and Atlético Madrid 4-0. Those teams are all better than Slavia Prague, who are winless in this season’s Champions League. Arsenal really should win this game by at least 2 goals, even if they rest a few players.
Ajax look out of their depth in the Champions League. They lost 2-0 to Inter in their opening game, before suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat to Marseille on Matchday 2. Their situation is unlikely to improve when they face a strong Chelsea team in London this week. Chelsea are in fine form right now, having beaten Benfica, Liverpool, and Nottingham Forest in their last three games. They have enough firepower to exploit Ajax’s shaky defense, so they should cruise to a comfortable win.
Inter Milan should have enough quality to beat Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels on Tuesday. The Nerazzurri are on a six-game winning streak, and they picked up an impressive 2-0 away victory over Ajax in their last Champions League game. Meanwhile, Union Saint-Gilloise lost 4-0 at home to Newcastle in their last Champions League match. They dominate the Belgian league, but that result suggests they could struggle against elite teams like Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Borussia Dortmund are the top scorers in the Champions League, with eight goals in just two games this season. They played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Juventus, before thumping Athletic Club 4-1 on Matchday 2. Der BVB could run riot against FC Copenhagen, who have a terrible defensive record. The Danish champions have conceded 1.5 goals per game in their domestic league this season, and 2 goals per game in the Champions League. They lost 2-0 to Qarabag in their last game, and they could struggle against this dangerous Dortmund team.
Bayern Munich could run riot against Pafos when the teams clash in Cyprus this week. Pafos are making their Champions League debut this season, and they did well to draw 0-0 with Olympiacos in their opener. However, they face a far sterner challenge against Bayern, who are in sensational form right now. The Bavarians beat Chelsea 3-1 on Matchday 1 of the Champions League, and they've also won all five Bundesliga games so far this season. They thrashed Werder Bremen 4-0 at the weekend, and they've now scored 30 goals in just eight games in all competitions. Striker Harry Kane is on fire, which is ominous for Pafos.
Tottenham Hotspur beat Bodø/Glimt 5-1 on aggregate when the teams met in last season's Europa League semifinals. Spurs beat the Norwegian champions 2-0 on the road and 3-1 at home. That should give them a psychological advantage when they return to the Arctic Circle to face Bodø/Glimt again this week. They look stronger this season under new manager Thomas Frank, and they should have enough quality to win this game.
Inter Milan should be too strong for Slavia Prague when the teams clash at the San Siro on Tuesday. The Nerazzurri are unbeaten in their last 16 home games in the Champions League, which is a formidable record. They're coming off a 2-0 victory over Cagliari at the weekend, and they also picked up a 2-0 win against Ajax in their first Champions League game of the season. Captain Lautaro MartÃnez is back from injury, and he should fire his team to victory against the Czech champions.
Inter Milan have rebuilt their team since losing 4-0 to PSG in last season's Champions League final. They've made a slow start to the new campaign, but they should have enough firepower to pick up an away win against Ajax. Inter boast two elite forwards in Lautaro MartÃnez and Marcus Thuram, and that should ultimately prove decisive.