The second half of this week’s Champions League action takes place this evening as we hit the halfway stage of the league phase.
There are a number of European giants taking to the field tonight, with gargantuan duels hosted at the Parc des Princes and San Siro. Aston Villa are also aiming to maintain their perfect record as they visit Belgium.
The recently reformatted and expanded Champions League has thrown up some shocks already – Lille have beaten reigning champions Real Madrid, for example – and some more may lie in wait across the continent this evening.
Here are 90min’s predictions for Wednesday’s match-ups in the Champions League.
Aston Villa have won all three of their Champions League fixtures to date and are yet to even concede on their return to Europe’s premier club competition. They won’t be overly concerned with keeping a fourth straight clean sheet providing they can beat Belgian outfit Club Brugge in the early kick-off slot.
Shakhtar Dontesk are also in action early doors as they face winless Young Boys. The reigning Swiss champions have slumped to tenth place in this year’s 12-team top-flight table and are yet to score a European goal in three miserable defeats.
Feyenoord are aiming to pour more misery on Pep Lijnders’ Salzburg, who are without a point in the Champions League under the former Liverpool assistant manager and are also yet to find the net. Sparta Prague are looking to upset French side Brest, who have made a phenomenal start to their maiden campaign.
Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich were offered a reality check in their last Champions League encounter, beaten 4-1 by their former manager Hansi Flick and his Barcelona outfit. A home clash with Benfica is a more appealing fixture for Die Roten this week, with the Portuguese side losing 3-1 to Feyenoord last time out.
Bayern’s Bundesliga foes Stuttgart have impressed on their return to the competition and secured a memorable victory over Juventus last time out. They now host equally impressive Italian opposition, with Europa League winners Atalanta visiting the MHPArena as they seek to maintain their unbeaten record.
In one of Matchday 4’s most tantalising clashes, last season’s semi-finalists Paris Saint-Germain host Atletico Madrid. The French giants have made a thoroughly underwhelming start to their campaign but meet a similarly out-of-sorts Atletico side that have tasted defeat to Benfica and Lille in their past two outings in Europe.
The tie of the night comes in Milan where 2022/23 Champions League finalists Inter host an Arsenal side low in confidence. The Gunners lost to Newcastle United at the weekend and have fallen off the pace in the Premier League. They could be punished by Simone Inzaghi’s side, who have lost just once all term.
|
Kick-off Time (GMT) |
Fixture |
Prediction |
|---|---|---|
|
17:45 |
Club Brugge vs Aston Villa |
1-3 |
|
17:45 |
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Young Boys |
2-1 |
|
20:00 |
Bayern Munich vs Benfica |
4-2 |
|
20:00 |
Feyenoord vs Salzburg |
3-1 |
|
20:00 |
Red Star vs Barcelona |
0-3 |
|
20:00 |
Inter vs Arsenal |
0-0 |
|
20:00 |
PSG vs Atletico Madrid |
1-1 |
|
20:00 |
Sparta Prague vs Brest |
1-1 |
|
20:00 |
Stuttgart vs Atalanta |
2-1 |
