The Champions League championship stage enters its second day, with a series of blockbuster showdowns between Europe’s best teams set to light up the calendar midweek.
The fourth day promises high-level Champions League action, Brahim Diaz’s Real Madrid will face AC Milan, the Moroccan international’s former club at the Bernabeu, while Liverpool will face Bayer Leverkusen who will have to do without Amine Adli.
PSV Eindhoven vs Gérone : 18h45
PSV Eidhoven, where Ismail Saibari plays, is off to a good start in its title defense in the Netherlands, winning ten of its first eleven Eredivisie matches, but it is still looking for a victory in the first phase of the championship, after a defeat 3 -1 at Juventus followed by two 1-1 draws. “ Based on points alone, it’s not that good“, the Moroccan midfielder told Uefa.com.
The performances have been encouraging, but Girona won’t be a pushover. The debutants lost 3-2 at home to PSV’s Dutch rivals Feyenoord on matchday two, then secured their first win at this level last time out: 2-0 against Slovan Bratislava.
Slovan Bratislava vs Dinamo Zagreb: 18h45
Bottom of the table after losing their first three matches by an aggregate score of 11-1, Slovan are not too discouraged, with coach Vladimír Weiss saying there have been many positives. “ We showed good defensive organization as a team,” he declared.
For its part, Dinamo where Samy Mmae plays lost its first league match 9-2 at Bayern, but took four points in its next two matches under the return of coach Nenad Bjelica, and the lead high as he travels to Slovakia. “ Our goal is to be one of the first 24 teams to qualify”said striker Sandro Kulenović. Three more points in Bratislava will keep that goal in sight.
Real Madrid vs AC Milan : 21h00
Probably one of the most anticipated meetings this Tuesday: Two of the most successful teams in the history of the Champions League face each other again, with Real Madrid hosting AC Milan on Tuesday.
Real Madrid responded to their 1-0 defeat against Lille on matchday two with a 5-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund, including a hat-trick from Vinicius Junior. However, the Madrilenians come into this match on the back of a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in the La Liga Clasico.
Brahim Diaz, recently recovered from injury, was called up by Carlo Ancelotti to face his former AC Milan teammates, who secured their first Champions League victory of the season with a 3-1 win over the club Bruges. The Milanese head into this clash on the back of a narrow 1-0 win over Monza in Serie A, which could give them the momentum to take on Madrid.
AS Monaco vs Bologna: 21h00
Eliesse Ben Seghir’s AS Monaco will start the match against Bologna with some confidence with seven points, including three obtained in a 2-1 victory against Barcelona on the opening day.
His opponent, for his part, did not have an easy time, with an eventful pre-season preceding a checkered campaign. Bologna’s side have just one point and no goals in the Champions League, losing 2-0 at Aston Villa.
Bayern Leverkusen vs Liverpool: 21h00
Amine Adli’s Bayer Leverkusen will look to continue their strong start to the Champions League campaign when they travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool.
While Leverkusen have had a disappointing run of form domestically recently, with two consecutive draws away to Werder Bremen and at home to VfB Stuttgart, their European results have been solid. After three games, they are unbeaten, have taken seven points from nine and sit sixth in the 32-team league table.
For this shock, Alonso will have to cope without his attacker, Amine Adli. The Moroccan international, currently injured, will also be absent during the Atlas Lions gathering.
Liverpool, for their part, are one of the teams in good form in Europe. Arne Slot’s side are one of only two sides in the European competition to have won all of their matches in the competition so far (along with Aston Villa), most recently a 1-0 win over RB Leipzig .
Sporting vs Manchester United : 21h00
Sporting faces Man City in Lisbon. A sublime goal from Viktor Gyökeres sealed a 2-0 victory against Sturm Graz for the Portuguese, who have conceded just one goal before meeting the fourth highest-scoring team in the competition.
Man City have been one of the most dominant attacking teams in the Champions League this season, ranking first in possession and passing accuracy, adding five goals scored against Sparta Praha on Matchday 3.
Borussia Dortmund vs Sturm Graz: 21h00
Top scorer in the group stage this season with 12 goals, Dortmund found themselves in difficulty after leading 2-0 at Real Madrid on Matchday 3.
The Germans will look to bounce back against Sturm Graz, the Austrian champions having lost all three of their group stage matches and scoring their only goal on Matchday 1.
Lille vs Juventus: 21h00
Lille faces Juventus at the Stade Pierre Mauroy. The French side followed up their 1-0 home win over Real Madrid with a 3-1 win over Atletico in Madrid.
For their part, Juventus ceded their undefeated status following a late goal from El Bilal Touré which allowed Stuttgart to win 1-0 on the third day.
Celtic vs Leipzig : 21h00
Leipzig, looking for points in the first phase of the championship, travels to Celtic Park for the fourth day. The German team lost all three of their matches by one goal, with Darwin Núñez’s lone goal continuing that trend in the Liverpool home game.
Celtic, meanwhile, recovered from a 7-1 matchday two defeat against Dortmund to hold Atalanta to a 0-0 draw in Bergamo.
