Lokomotiv Moscow vs Atletico Madrid
RZD Arena, Moscow
Tuesday, 03-11-2020 @8:55pm
Ref: Benoit Bastien (FRA)
Atletico Madrid travel to Lokomotiv Moscow hoping to bag their second win of the Champions League 2020-21 campaign.
Last week saw Diego Simeone’s team engaged in a thrilling contest at the Wanda Metropolitano against the RB Salzburg. Joao Felix rescued the day and three points and the 3-2 win helped them to move up to second in the table behind Bayern who thrashed them 4-0 on matchday 1.
Lokomotiv, with 1 point are joined at the bottom by Salzburg and they must secure at least a point on Tuesday to remain in contention for knockout phase qualification.
The teams did well against Bayern last week, but undone by a brace from Joshua Kimmich. The 1-2 defeat came on the back of a 2-2 draw at Salzburg on matchday 1.
The overall form of Lokomotiv does look bad and they are without a win in 4 games across all competition, 3 losses and 1 draw.
The teams have met 5 times so far and Madrid are unbeaten with 4 wins and 1 draw. It is important to note that they were in the same group of last season’s Champions League and the matches saw a pair of 2-0 wins for the Spaniards with Joao Felix scoring 3 of those 4 goals. Lokomotiv overall record vs Spanish teams, 18 matches – 2 wins, 3 draws and 13 losses. At home – 2 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses from 10. Atletico Madrid v Russian teams: 13 overall meetings – 9 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses; unbeaten as an away team in 7 matches with 5 wins and 2 draws.
Shakhter Donetsk vs Borussia Monchengladbach
NSK Olimpijy’kyj, Kiev
Tuesday, 03-11-2020 @8:55pm
Ref: Serdar Gozubuyuk (NED)
The Group B of UEFA Champions League is on fire and Shakhtar Donetsk welcome Borussia Monchengladbach in one of the most important fixtures of matchday 3.
Real Madrid play hosts to Inter Milan in the other, scheduled to kick-off after the completion of this match.
The team from Donetsk are top of the group with a win and a draw while Gladbach are second with back-to-back draws.
And without a doubt, these two teams were the least favourite to qualify for knockouts from this group, but so far they managed to prove everyone wrong in some style.
Even so, I like to see some improvements from Monchengladbach who conceded late goals in both games so far. And the hard work those players put on the field for those 180 odd minutes were undone in 5 minutes by a tactical blunder of sitting deep with 11 players to defend.
At Inter Milan they were 2-1 up and conceded in the injury time while conceded 2 in the home fixture against Real Madrid after giving nothing away in the first 87 minutes of the game.
Meantime, Shakhtar did look convincing and solid in both their games and deserve to have won against Real Madrid. They were a tad lucky against Inter, but also had chances to score on their own.
The team managed by Luis Castro is young, but they have a fearless attitude as well as discipline to unlock the best sides in the world. But we have to wait and see if they have the consistency to do the same in the coming weeks and topple one of the big teams to progress to the round of 16.
Tuesday will be their first ever meeting in a UEFA competition. Meantime, we can confirm that they played against each other in a friendly in 2009, the Ukrainians won 3-0 on that occasion. This will be Shakhtar’s 25th meeting with a German Bundesliga side in UEFA competitions and they won 9, drew 8 and lost 7 of the previous 24. Their home record is poor having won just 3 of the 11 games, but drew 7 of them and lost just once.
RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich
Red Bull Arena, Salzburg
Tuesday, 03-11-2020 @11pm
Ref: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Bayern Munich travel to Salzburg aiming to stretch their winning streak in UEFA Champions League to 14 games.
The Bavarians were troubled by Lokomotiv last week, but a moment of brilliance from the feet of Joshua Kimmich handed them a much needed 2-1 win and sent them to top of the table.
The team managed by Hans-Dieter Flick have now won 13 Champions League games on the bounce having thrashed Atletico Madrid 4-0 on matchday 1.
Salzburg on the other hand were unlucky to lose to Atletico Madrid 2-3 and at one point looked better than the Spaniards. However, Joao Felix was the player who weathered the storm and struck twice in the second half to undo the Austrians.
The team managed by Jesse Marsch remains a constant threat on the attacking front, at the same time they tend to concede a lot of goals. This is the reason why they cannot win against teams with quality players. They will start Tuesday’s match from the foot of the table with 1 point from 2 games.
This will be the first ever head-to-head meeting between the two teams. Yet, Salzburg have the experience of playing against German Bundesliga teams, the latest in the Europa League round of 32 last season, but lost 3-6 on aggregate, 2-2 home and 1-4 away. Overall there have been 14 meetings and they have a moderate record of 5 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses. The record at home is strong with 3 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Bayern’s overall record against Austrian clubs is 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss from 8, but only 1 of those wins came from 4 trips to the country, drew 2 and lost 1.
Real Madrid vs Inter Milan
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Tuesday, 03-11-2020 @11pm
Ref: Clement Turpin (FRA)
Real Madrid lock horns with Inter Milan for the Champions League clash on Tuesday, both teams aiming for their first win of the season in the competition.
It took late goals from Casemiro and Benzema for the Los Blancos to rescue a humiliating defeat at Gladbach, yet they remain without a win in 4 Champions League games. Having lost 2-3 to Shakhtar on matchday 1, Zidane’s men remain at the foot of the table with 1 point from 2 games.
On the other hand, Inter were probably the better side in their away match at Shakhtar, yet rue several missed chances by Lukaku and settled for a goalless draw. They too drew Gladbach 2-2 in the previous game with a very late goal.
Real had a similar start to their group stage campaign last season, but picked up 3 wins and a draw to finish second behind PSG.
Antonio Conte’s men were eliminated from the competition last term, falling behind Dortmund and Barcelona. Yet they went on to make it as far as the finals of Europa League.
A draw will be good for both teams depending on the result of Shakhtar Donetsk vs Monchengladbach. But regardless of that result, the loser here will be staring at group stage elimination.
This will be the first competitive h2h meeting between Real Madrid and Inter Milan since 1998, a gap of 22 years. Inter are slightly ahead in their overall stats from previous 15 meetings with 7 wins as against 6 losses while there were 2 draws. But Madrid’s home record against the Nerazzurri is impeccable after winning in 6 of the 7 games and losing the other.
Man City vs Olympiakos
Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Tuesday, 03-11-2020 @11pm
Ref: Carlos Del Cerro (SPA)
The Citizens are one of the best teams in the world, and they are a contender to lift the European title at the end of the season.
Especially with their unexpected failures in the CL against underdogs in recent times in crucial games, they are determined to put an end to their unlucky streak. They are currently the toppers of Group C, and will be aiming to finish the Group Stage as champions.
One more win this Tuesday, and they almost could ensure safe passage into the knockouts. Incidentally they are pitted against the worst team in the group this game week – and that too at home.
Not only are Thrylos from the Greek Super League – one of the weaker competitions in Europe, but they also have been underperforming lately on the road.
Manchester City have welcomed a few key players back from injury over the past week, with Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte returning to the fold.
Fernandinho and Gabriel Jesus are still ruled out and will have to be sidelined for this game. Sergio Aguero picked up yet another injury last week and will not be available against Olympiakos.
Not once have these two sides locked horns in official encounters. However, Pep Guardiola’s men do have a 100% unbeaten record in European fixtures against Greek teams. They also do have a 100% winning record in such games at this venue. Pedro Martins’s men have had some success in continental games against English teams. But it needs to be noted that most of those had come against Arsenal, and that too at home. Last season, the European campaign of Thrylos came to an end in the Round of 16 of CL, against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Porto vs Olympique Lyon
Estadio Do Dragao, Porto
Tuesday, 03-11-2020 @11pm
Ref: Antonio Mateu (SPA)
The Dragons opened their European campaign against Manchester City, and obviously lost. However, they made a comeback with a win over Olympiacos, and now are placed second in the table.
The toppers are most probably going to be the Citizens, and thus the race for the second spot is expected to be between this Portuguese squad and the Phocaeans. And if Sergio Conceicao’s men are able to secure a win this Tuesday, they could almost ensure progression to the knockouts.
They do have a 100% unbeaten record in h2h clashes, and a perfect winning record at home against this rival.
Moreover, Andre Villas-Boas’s men have put themselves under huge pressure with losses in both their opening two games. One more defeat this Tuesday, and it’s most probably goodbye for them from Europe.
The last time these two locked horns, Conceicao’s men recorded a 2-1 win at home. Not once have they failed to score against this opponent. They have a 100% unbeaten record against this rival. At this stadium, they have a 100% winning record. They are also on a four-fixture winning run against other teams from France in European competitions.
Midtjylland vs Ajax
MCH Arena, Herning
Tuesday, 03-11-2020 @11pm
Ref: Bobby Madden (SCO)
The Champions League group stages will witness Midtjylland lock horns with the Dutch superpower Ajax in yet another fixture in the schedule. The host has averaged 3.00 unanswered goals across their first two Champions League group stage games this term. They will host after a 2-0 loss on the road to Liverpool in the previous CL clash.
Ajax is known for their stellar form outside their domestic league, especially against stronger teams in the tournament. After their opening loss to Liverpool, the Jews will visit on the back of a 2-2 draw on the road with Atalanta last time out in the Champions League.
It will be the first encounter for Midtjylland against a team from Netherland. The visitor has recorded three of the last five overall wins against other Danish teams. Both teams have scored in three of Ajax’s last five meetings with Danish clubs. The last time the Jews met a Danish side was in 2017 and defeated Copenhagen with a 2-0 scoreline.
Atalanta vs Liverpool
Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo
Tuesday, 03-11-2020 @11pm
Ref: Ovidiu Hategan (ROM)
Atalanta has stayed unbeaten in Group D for the first two matches, but defeating Liverpool is easier said than done.
They have scored 6 goals while conceding 2 in the process. They will host after a 2-2 draw at home with Ajax in the previous Champions League clash.
Two consecutive clean sheet wins have kept Liverpool at the top with 6 points in it.
The visitor is two points ahead of the home team in the Champions League group table.
They will visit on the back of a 2-0 win at home against the likes of Midtjylland in the CL group stage schedule.
Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini will be unable to call upon the services of Italian goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi and centre-back Mattia Caldara, who are both out injured. There remain doubts over the availability of German left-back Robin Gosens and Netherlands international Marten de Roon.
Meanwhile, Liverpool will be without key centre-back Virgil van Dijk as well as Brazil international Fabinho, as both are injured. Other than that, there are no known issues and manager Jurgen Klopp is expected to have a large squad at his disposal.
Both teams have scored in all two Champions League meetings when the host has faced another team from England. The host has been unbeaten in three of their four fixtures against teams from England across major competitions but has won none in the Champions League fixtures. The Reds have recorded three of the last five overall wins in the Champions League clashes when they have faced teams from Italy. Liverpool’s previous encounter with an Italian side was in 2019 against Napoli, which ended in a 1-1 draw at Anfield in the Champions League group stages.
Champions League games on Wednesday, 04-11-2020
-Zenit St. Petersburg vs Lazio @8:55pm
-Istanbul BB vs Man United @8:55pm
-Sevilla vs Krasnodar @11pm
-Chelsea vs Rennes @11pm
-Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund @11pm
-Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev @11pm
-Ferencvaros vs Juventus @11pm
-RB Leipzig vs PSG @11pm
