The marathon new Champions League ‘league phase’ continues apace this week with Matchday 2 and 18 teams in action across Europe on Tuesday night.
Bayern Munich, who don’t play until Wednesday, currently lead the way by virtue of putting nine goals past Dinamo Zagreb in their opening game. Celtic and Bayer Leverkusen also made strong starts, but 15 teams bagged a win on matchday one so it’s still very early days in the competition.
Remember, the top eight at this stage will get automatic passage to the last 16. Those who finish ninth to 24th will go into a play-off knockout round, so it’s worth really fighting hard for those first eight places because it means playing two fewer matches later on.
Arsenal‘s clash with Paris Saint-Germain is perhaps the headline fixture on Tuesday night. It will see Mikel Arteta facing his former club, while Ousmane Dembele has been dropped after a falling out with coach Luis Enrique.
Looking to get off the mark for the season, Manchester City travel to Slovakia to face Slovan Bratislava, while another heavyweight in Barcelona are home to Young Boys of Bern.
Celtic will have their work cut out maintaining their fast start with a difficult away game against 2024 finalists Borussia Dortmund. Fellow Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen welcome AC Milan.
Sporting CP‘s trip to PSV Eindhoven promises goals but it’s difficult to call a winner. Expect even more goals as Stuttgart entertain Sparta Prague. Elsewhere, Brest travel to Red Bull Salzburg.
Inter, who made a huge statement on matchday one by stifling Man City at the Etihad Stadium, will expect to kick on and consolidate with Red Star Belgrade at home.
