Juventus has finally started winning matches in their league and head into this game against Chelsea on a run of consecutive league wins. They also opened their Champions League campaign with a win at Malmo, but they know it would be harder for them to get another win against Chelsea. They beat Sampdoria 3-2 at the weekend, but that win came at a cost as they also lost Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata to injuries. Both players will miss this match and that would be a significant blow to Juve’s chances of winning it. Massimiliano Allegri has played down the importance of this game, but he would still not want his team to lose at home against the European champions. Chelsea has finally lost their unbeaten start to this season with the Blues losing 1-0 to Manchester City at the weekend. That match saw Pep Guardiola teach other managers how to beat the well organized Chelsea and Allegri might borrow some lessons from it to deal with them in this match. The Blues have top quality players and Romelu Lukaku knows Juventus well from playing for Inter Milan before this season and he could be the key player for the English club in this game.

Manchester United will look to put their recent poor run of form behind them when they host Villarreal for this game. Both clubs have a recent history with the Spanish club beating United to win the Europa League last season. Aston Villa beat United 1-0 at their home at the weekend and that result means they have lost three of their last four competitive matches, having also lost to West Ham in the League Cup and Young Boys in the Champions League. The Red Devils have added Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho to their squad in the last transfer window and they are expected to be doing better and to win trophies in this campaign. Villarreal has built on defeating United in the Europa League final by impressing in La Liga. They held Real Madrid to a goalless draw at the weekend and would be inspired to get a win against this poor United side in this match. Unai Emery’s side remains unbeaten in their league, although they have won just one of their six league games so far. They started their Champions League campaign in impressive fashion after picking a 2-2 draw against Atalanta on matchday one and will look to do better in this match.

AC Milan and Atletico Madrid will square up against each other in this second group game with both defensively strong sides set to play a boring match. Milan lost their opening group game 3-2 to Liverpool in a game that saw the English club surprisingly open them up more than expected. They will play against an Atletico Madrid side that hardly tries to be too adventurous and they will probably be the more attacking team in the game. Despite winning La Liga last season, this campaign has been a poor one for Atletico in their league. Their last game before this match ended in a shock defeat in the league against bottom-of-the-table Alaves. That is hardly a good way to prepare for a game of this nature, but Diego Simeone will drill his team to go for the win in this match. Atleti drew their first Champions League group game against FC Porto and would be keen to avoid a defeat in this match as that could set them back in their bid to be one of the two teams that reach the next round from the group. These teams met in the Champions League in 2014 and Atleti won Milan home and away.

PSG will host Manchester City in this Champions League encounter hoping to earn the first bragging right in their group. Both clubs have been the latest teams to try to win the competition after money helped them attain the status of two of the biggest clubs in Europe. However, the Champions League has eluded them even though they have reached the final separately in the last two seasons. This campaign offers them the chance to win it again and now that PSG has Lionel Messi in their squad, it would be an interesting game. The French giants have won all their league matches this season, although some of them have been by very close margins. They will look to impress in Europe as well and beating City will boost their confidence. City started their league season with a 1-0 loss to Tottenham, but they have remained unbeaten since then and they come into this match after beating European champions, Chelsea 1-0 at the weekend. Pep Guardiola’s side needs a goalscorer, but they would be confident of getting goals from the likes of Raheem Sterling in this game.

Tottenham worked lots of miracles before they can reach the final of the Champions League here and it would be even sweeter if they can beat Liverpool and win this competition despite this being their first ever appearance in the competition’s final. The Lilywhites may not have won any trophy under Mauricio Pochettino yet, but they remain a better side under the Argentine and have secured 4 consecutive top-four finish under the former Southampton manager despite not signing a single player last summer. They struggled early on the competition and even needed to wait until the last match day to qualify from the group stage, before staging a miraculous comeback against Ajax in the semifinals to reach here, they would play their hearts out in this game. Liverpool have a more illustrious history in this competition having won it 5 times and also reached the finals in the last two seasons. The Reds have made themselves kings of two-legged clashes and Jurgen Klopp would be hoping to end his hard luck in cup finals when he takes on Spurs in this game. While Spurs were struggling for form towards the end of the season, Liverpool won all but one of their last 13 games in all competitions and their fans would be hoping they can make it 13 wins from 14 after this game.

Liverpool would be looking to replicate their heroics in the Champions League last season when they reached the final of the competition, however, their away form this term leaves a lot to be desired. Liverpool have a small squad and they have been ravaged by injuries, yet Jurgen Klopp has been able to have them competing for both the Premier League and Champions League. The Reds come into this game 2nd on the Premier League table and just 1 points behind Manchester City who are top and they would be looking to get back to the top at the weekend, but first there is the big matter of this second leg. The first leg of this game ended in a goalless draw and leaves it all to play for, but Liverpool have lost all their away games in the Champions League this season and they come into this game having won just one away games in all competitions this year. Bayern Munich have returned to the summit if the German league after a 6-0 drubbing of Bayern Monchengladbach last weekend, that result is the perfect way to prepare for a game of this magnitude, but Liverpool should be ready for their assault.

Barcelona would be looking to finally down Olympique Lyon when they meet for the return leg of this game but the visitors would feel that the game is still very open and they can get through as well. The Catalans were kept at bay for much of the game when both sides met in France the last time out. Lyon also did well on the break and it took some good goalkeeping from the Barca goalkeeper to shut them out some times. Barcelona have gone on to record some good results after that game including beating Real Madrid twice in the Spanish Cup and Spanish league, so their fans would feel that they can see off Lyon here. Lyon should have also won at the weekend, but they let their 2 goals lead slip by conceding two goals in as many minutes against Strasbourg. That 2-2 wouldn’t have done their confidence any much good but they would feel this is the Champions League and they should come confident that a scoring draw would see them go through.

Real Madrid would be looking to get back to winning ways after back to back defeats at the hands of Barcelona as they look to retain the Champions League title they won in the past 3 seasons. Los Merengues have significantly been weakened by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane last summer and that has shown more in their domestic form as they are currently 12 points behind Barcelona. Madrid were beaten by Barcelona at the weekend, but they would hope that their Champions League form would lead them to the next round here. They won the first leg of this game but they have lost 3 and won 1 of the last 4 games that has followed that win at Amsterdam. Ajax have done better since the last time these teams met. The Dutch side have played 3 games since that time and they have won all of them, scoring 13 times and conceding just one goal. This game is still open after the 2-1 first leg score line and both sides would fancy their chances.  

Tottenham would be happy to turn their attention away from the Premier League that they have done very badly this season and turn it towards the Champions League as they seek to make progress to the quarterfinals. The Lillywhites hold a 3-0 advantage from the first leg and their fans would feel that they already have one leg in the next round. They come into this game after another poor showing in their 1-1 draw against Arsenal but this game gives them the chance to put things right. Dortmund have looked like they would be running away with the German league title for much of the season, but their season threatens to implode at the moment. They are currently level on points with Bayern Munich and only top on goal difference. They come into this game after a disappointing 2-1 loss at Augsburg so their fans would be expecting a response here.

Schalke 04 would have their hands full when Pep Guardiola takes his Manchester City team to play the Germans in this game. The Germans were very impressive last season as they finished second on the German league table behind Bayern Munchen, however, this season has been a terrible one for them and they would be looking to get out of the Champions League and concentrate on their league form. They are currently just 2 points away from the relegation zone and come into this game with no win and one draw from their last 3 games. Manchester City are looking to win four trophies this season and Pep Guardiola’s men have the chance to do that as they remain in all the competitions. The Cityzens are currently top of the Premier League table by goal difference and have reached the Carabao Cup final as well as the FA Cup quarterfinals. Pep Guardiola has the squad to win this competition, but Manchester City lack experience at this stage. While that inexperience could work against them in the latter stages, we expect them to win this game.