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The Champions League is really starting to find its groove after a slow start.
A three-week international break meant there was plenty of distance between Matchdays 1 and 2 of this season’s league phase, but we’re getting into the swing of things before national teams reconvene in November.
After Tuesday’s action threw up a barnstorming encounter between two of the favorites, Wednesday is supplying another heavyweight duel. Moreover, plenty of intrigue surrounds Vinícius Júnior‘s return to Real Madrid’s starting lineup amid a lengthy domestic suspension, as well as Manchester United’s trip to the idyllic Como.
The lack of jeopardy at this early juncture seems to liberate those competing, so expect another night of goalscoring mayhem as Matchday 3 concludes.
Here’s how Sports Illustrated predicts Wednesday’s action to pan out.
Prediction: Como 2–1 Man Utd
A “dream” night beckons for Cesc Fàbregas‘s Como on Wednesday evening, as the Champions League debutants welcome the mighty Manchester United to the Giuseppe Sinigaglia.
Michael Carrick’s Red Devils are hardly the imperious force they once were, and the visitors are set to be without a litany of players for this encounter. It’s a fixture Carrick can ill-afford to lose, given that United are six games without a win, yet he described Sunday’s draw at Leeds United as a "fresh start" after a week of several flashpoints.
Lisandro Martínez, who remained in the starting lineup at Elland Road despite his public outburst after last week’s defeat to Atlético Madrid, is among those unlikely to travel to Italy due to injury, as a depleted United aim to build on their gritty showing in West Yorkshire.
The burgeoning Como are seemingly everything their visitors are not in terms of alignment, and their Champions League bow on home soil last month was quite the occasion under the lights.
Prediction: Lille 1–1 Galatasaray
Barcelona were at least made to work for their eventual emphatic victory in Istanbul last week. At one point, it looked like Victor Osimhen had given Galatasaray a 2–0 lead, but the striker’s effort was ruled out for offside. Then came the onslaught.
The Turkish champions have exclusively relied on their home form for any success in this competition as of late, and will have to find a way of making themselves much harder to beat on their travels if they’re to show any signs of discernible progress on the continent.
A trip to Lille is hardly the most intimidating of away days, and Davide Ancelotti’s side hit a couple of stumbling blocks last week. After succumbing to a second-half Arsenal blitz on Matchday 2, Lille were held at home by Brest in Ligue 1 at the weekend.
Prediction: Aston Villa 3–1 Viking
Aston Villa had themselves a record-breaking night on their previous Champions League outing, thrashing Fenerbahçe 6–0.
After a poor opening month, Unai Emery’s new-look Villans are starting to click. They’ve won two of their previous three Premier League games, and the fresh additions are coming to the fore. Nicolas Jackson scored twice in last week’s rout, and Johan Manzambi was Villa’s match-winner at Newcastle United on Saturday.
Another kind home fixture on paper awaits, although Viking head into the bout off the back of their hugely admirable showing against Bayern Munich on Matchday 2. After losing comfortably at Stuttgart, Viking rallied after allowing a 2–0 lead to slip. Michael Olise’s red card aided their late revival, as Herman Haugen headed home a 90th-minute equalizer.
Bayern are unlikely to be the last team to suffer in Stavanger, but Viking will find it tough throughout the league phase to earn points on their travels.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 1–1 Arsenal
It’s the matchday of blockbusters. The Champions League’s ‘Barbenheimer.’
After Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona locked horns on Tuesday, another two contenders face off in Munich. Bayern and Arsenal have grown rather familiar with one another as of late, and the pair duked it out in last season’s league phase. The Gunners ran out 3–1 victors in north London amid a perfect campaign, but they’ve won away at Bayern just once in their history.
The hosts are without Olise, but have Harry Kane to lean on in front of goal. The England international takes to the field for the penultimate time before the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, and will be out to continue his excellent record against Arsenal. Only against Leicester City (20) and Everton (16) has Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer scored more goals (15 vs. the Gunners).
Luis Díaz enters this bout off the back of a weekend hat trick, as Bayern’s high-powered offense encounters a stubborn Arsenal defense undeterred by William Saliba’s absence.
Prediction: Club Brugge 2–1 Lens
Club Brugge are a good bet to bloody the nose of at least one heavyweight during the league phase, and the Belgian club notched a huge victory at San Siro last week. Nicolò Tresoldi is the new hero in Bruges after back-to-back summer exoduses, and those watching on in Milan last week will hope that Brugge’s hat trick hero commits his international future to Italy.
Ivan Leko’s outfit are back at home on Wednesday after stunning Inter Milan, and they’ll hope to build on the momentum gained to potentially push for not merely a playoff berth, but a top-eight finish. Two of their three toughest fixtures are out of the way.
Lens are struggling for consistency at the start of the new season, unaided by Dino Toppmöller’s surprise departure last month. However, they have recorded back-to-back wins in Ligue 1 on either side of last week’s home defeat to Sporting CP.
Prediction: Inter 3–1 Shakhtar Donetsk
An Inter Milan defeat in the Champions League tends to provoke great introspection across the country regarding the state of Italian soccer, but panic hasn’t yet set in regarding Serie A’s competitiveness relative to the rest of the continent.
It undoubtedly will, though, if the Scudetto holders lose back-to-back league phase games at home to inferior opponents. Shakhtar Donetsk are the next team to visit the iconic amphitheatre hoping to secure an all-time great result.
And this is a fun Shakhtar team. Typically Brazilian with the token Ukrainians stationed in defense and holding midfield, there’s a vibrancy about them that Inter may struggle to stymie. After earning a point at PSV Eindhoven, Shakhtar beat AEK Athens 3–1 at Stamford Bridge last week.
Prediction: Real Betis 2–2 Feyenoord
Feyenoord are determined to knock PSV off their perch in the Eredivisie this season, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team still unbeaten on the domestic front. They sit top of the table with 23 points from nine outings, already four better off than the reigning champions.
The Rotterdamers claimed a big result in the league phase last week, too, coming from behind to defeat Como at De Kuip.
They won’t have home comforts on Matchday 3, making their way back to Spain. Feyenoord at least don’t have another run-in with Barcelona, and are instead facing Real Betis in Seville. Betis were the latest team to be put to the sword by Hansi Flick’s Blaugrana, having edged a five-goal thriller with Porto beforehand.
This has the makings of another back-and-forth affair at the Estadio de La Cartuja, with Betis currently playing away from home due to stadium renovations.
Prediction: Real Madrid 4–0 RB Leipzig
Three set-piece goals in the closing stages didn’t exactly point toward sustainability for Real Madrid in Rome, but they produced their most impressive showing of the season off the back of it against Sevilla.
No Vinícius Júnior may well have helped, as Kylian Mbappé combined with Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande scored in back-to-back La Liga games. Viní Jr is available for RB Leipzig’s visit, however, and José Mourinho has already confirmed that the Brazilian winger will return to his starting lineup.
They’re unlikely to encounter many difficulties on home soil against a Leipzig team that surrendered six goals at Bayern Munich for the second consecutive season. While the visitors are blessed with a dynamic star or two in attack, there’s no way they’ll be able to contain Madrid‘s gálacticos.
Martín Demichelis, who oversaw a victory over Madrid while in charge of Mallorca earlier this year, is a managerial casualty waiting to happen.
Prediction: Sporting CP 3–0 LASK
Sporting CP are out to prove that last season’s ascent to the quarterfinals was no fluke. They’re one of nine teams to go two from two, impressively winning away at Lens last time out.
Luis Suárez couldn’t hit a barn door for Colombia at the World Cup, but he certainly knows where the goal is in Lisbon. The 28-year-old has nine in 10 games to start the new season, scoring in each of Sporting’s league phase victories.
They’re a tough team to beat on home soil, as Paris Saint-Germain found out last year, and LASK will do well not to succumb to a beatdown in the Portuguese capital.
The visitors are just happy to be here after their miraculous playoff victory over Celtic.
Kickoff Time |
Fixture |
Prediction |
|---|---|---|
5:45 p.m. BST / 12:45 p.m. ET |
Como vs. Man Utd |
2–1 |
5:45 p.m. BST / 12:45 p.m. ET |
Lille vs. Galatasaray |
1–1 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Aston Villa vs. Viking |
3–1 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal |
1–1 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Club Brugge vs. Lens |
2–1 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Inter vs. Shakhtar Donetsk |
3–1 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Real Betis vs. Feyenoord |
2–2 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig |
4–0 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Sporting CP vs. LASK |
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