Wednesday will serve up nine more tantalising Champions League fixtures with some of Europe’s behemoths in action on the continent once again.
There is one particularly mammoth clash between continental royalty, with Bayern Munich’s trip to Barcelona – a fixture that finished 8-2 at the 2019/20 quarter-final stage – the highlight of another bumper evening of world-class football.
But Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter, Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen are among the other teams in action, with a few minnows hoping to cause an upset.
Here are 90min’s predictions for Wednesday’s Champions League action.
Wednesday 23 October
Wednesday’s early kick-off slots are filled by last season’s Europa League finalists. Champions Atalanta host Scottish giants Celtic, who won the European Cup in 1967. The Italians have kept two clean sheets and accumulated four points in the competition thus far and should have little trouble beating Brendan Rodgers’ side after they tasted a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in their last European outing.
Europa League runners-up and Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen also take to the field earlier than many of their continental rivals, travelling to Champions League debutants Brest. While the French underdogs beat Salzburg 4-0 last time out in Europe, they will struggle to overcome Xabi Alonso’s free-scoring outfit.
Atletico Madrid tasted a shock 4-0 defeat to Benfica on Matchday 2 but should bounce back with victory against French side Lille on Wednesday. Having said that, Les Dogues did beat Atletico’s city rivals and reigning European champions Real Madrid in their most recent Champions League game.
Barcelona have endured some difficult moments against Bayern Munich in recent years and will want to exorcise some demons when the Bavarians travel to Catalonia. Following the humiliating 8-2 loss four years ago, La Blaugrana have fallen to four straight defeats against the German side, failing to score in any of those clashes. They may make amends on Wednesday.
Benfica have impressed with back-to-back victories and will face Dutch outfit Feyenoord on Matchday 3. After tasting a 4-0 defeat to Leverkusen in their opener, the Eredivisie side responded with a riveting 3-2 win over Girona in their second outing.
Manchester City left their weekend Premier League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers until stoppage time but they should enjoy a more comfortable evening at home to Sparta Prague in Europe. A draw with Inter in the repeat of the 2023 final was followed by a 4-0 thrashing of Slovan Bratislava on Matchday 2. Pep Guardiola may be keen to rest some players up against a side that was beaten 11-2 on aggregate by Liverpool in the Europa League last term.
Speaking of Liverpool, they are also in action on Wednesday night. They make the trip to eastern Germany to face RB Leipzig, who they have beaten 2-0 in both previous meetings. The Reds could well win by the same margin at the Red Bull Arena but will be tested defensively by an exciting Leipzig forward line.
Austria’s Red Bull Arena will be in use on Wednesday, too. Salzburg have tasted defeat in their opening two Champions League matches under Pep Lijnders and are searching for a first victory in their battle with Dinamo Zagreb. The Croatian side are still recovering from a 9-2 defeat to Bayern in their league phase opener.
Young Boys have made a terrible start to the 2024/25 season both domestically and in Europe, with big defeats to Aston Villa and Barcelona leaving them in crisis. Their fixture list doesn’t get any simpler when they host Serie A champions Inter, who will be keen to build on their 4-0 demolition of Red Star Belgrade.
