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We’re not yet at table-taking-shape territory, but the wheat will slowly start to separate itself from the chaff after the Champions League’s third matchday.
The upcoming slate has a lot to live up to after last week’s goal-fest, as the back-to-back champions sparkled in Manchester and Real Madrid triumphed in a manner that only the 15-time winners seemingly can.
A record 78 goals were scored on Matchday 2 to take the season tally up to 147 from 36 matches—an average of 4.08 goals per game. The scoring boom is taking us back to a bygone era and the formative years of the European Cup, with teams perhaps capitalizing on the lack of jeopardy facilitated by the format switch of three years ago.
Here’s how Sports Illustrated predicts Tuesday’s Matchday 3 fixtures will pan out.
Prediction: Fenerbahçe 3–1 Slavia Prague
Fenerbahçe were subject to a West Midlands beatdown on Matchday 2, as Aston Villa enjoyed a record-breaking victory over the Turkish side. Fener are celebrating their first Champions League appearance since 2008–09, seemingly boasting a roster capable of at least competing with Europe’s sub-elite.
A draw with Roma to kickstart the league phase was by no means a disaster, and they’ve got a great chance to notch their first win in this competition since beating Chelsea in the first leg of their round of 16 tie 18 years ago.
Czech giants Slavia Prague were one of the poorest league phase performers last season, and 2026–27 has started with a dramatic collapse against Lens and a defeat at debutants Sabah. There’s unlikely to be much of an improvement on their three-point showing from last term.
Prediction: Sabah 1–2 Borussia Dortmund
Fresh off securing their maiden Champions League victory, debutants Sabah welcome a perennial participant to Baku’s Olympic Stadium.
One-time winners Borussia Dortmund were surprise finalists just three seasons ago, and are seemingly always there or thereabouts in Europe no matter the extent of their indifference on the domestic front.
BVB enter Tuesday’s game without a win in three, having succumbed in the Arctic last week. They were merely the latest to fall to Kjetil Knutsen’s Bodø/Glimt, with their Bundesliga draws to Werder Bremen and Union Berlin on either side raising more concerns at Signal Iduna Park.
Niko Kovač is desperate for three points here, but the spritely and excited hosts are unlikely to roll over.
Prediction: Liverpool 2–0 Villarreal
Liverpool are continuing to find their feet at the start of Andoni Iraola’s reign, with the results perhaps more impressive than their level of performance through the first two months of the season.
The Reds aren’t yet pressing like an Iraola-led outfit, with the Spaniard needing more time to hone his team into a juggernaut without the ball. As a result, Liverpool are still relatively easy to play against, and Brentford had their way with them at the weekend until they were reduced to 10 men.
That triumph followed their six-goal outing in Linz, as Bradley Barcola scored his first senior career hat trick. Liverpool are more likely to see the best from their rookie and sophomore stars in Europe as opposed to the Premier League for now, although Villarreal did claim a long-awaited Champions League triumph last week.
Iñigo Pérez faces up against his former boss on the Anfield touchline, as these two teams meet for the first time since the 2021–22 semifinals.
Prediction: Man City 3–0 AEK Athens
Manchester City extended their winning run to start the Premier League season to seven games at the weekend, meaning they’re now just two wins adrift of Chelsea’s record.
However, their perfect start to the new campaign was compromised by the back-to-back champions at Etihad Stadium on Matchday 2. Paris Saint-Germain showcased their finest work in Manchester last Wednesday, racing into a 3–0 halftime lead that they threatened to relinquish,
City pushed after the restart and eventually felt they were harshly beaten 4–2. It was a remarkable fixture between two state-owned clubs that have artificially facilitated their rise to the summit of European soccer.
Enzo Maresca will have the chance to rest key players when AEK Athens, beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk last time out, make the trip to a banana-laden Etihad.
Prediction: Porto 1–1 PSV
PSV Eindhoven’s stranglehold over Dutch soccer really is under threat. Peter Bosz’s side, defending their crown for the third successive season in 2026–27, were beaten for the second time in the Eredivisie at the weekend.
Sven Mijnans’s sending off after opening the scoring proved decisive, as ADO Den Haag came from behind to stun the perennial champions. PSV slipped down to third as a result, placing more pressure on Bosz’s side to sparkle in Europe.
However, they’ve made an inauspicious start to the league phase. After drawing at home to Shakhtar on Matchday 1, PSV lost 1–0 at RB Leipzig in a forgettable encounter last week. Now, they’re heading to Porto in a bid to ignite their campaign and the hosts, too, are desperate for a result.
The Portuguese champions have so far fallen to Man City and Real Betis in a cracking matchup last week. On a positive note, star striker Samu Aghehowa is back scoring goals and they remain without a blemish domestically.
Prediction: PSG 4–3 Barcelona
Bayern Munich and Arsenal may want a word, but the majority would suggest that this is a clash between the two finest and certainly most watchable teams in European soccer right now.
The previous meeting arrived early in last season’s league phase, as Paris Saint-Germain overcame an early setback to win 2–1 in Montjuïc thanks to Gonçalo Ramos’s late strike. The Parisians are playing host this time around, and although both teams have injury concerns at fullback, expectations are sky-high for the quality of soccer that’ll be produced at a fervent Parc des Princes.
Barcelona are breaking records left, right and center in La Liga, threatening to romp to a third-straight title. Like their hosts, they’re playing soccer from a utopian future, but Tuesday’s trip to Paris represents a challenge unlike anything they’ve encountered this term—and Hansi Flick’s side went to “Hell” last week.
PSG had endured a subdued opening to their domestic campaign, but last week’s opening 35 minutes in Manchester was a reminder of just how special Luis Enrique’s side is.
Forget the absence of jeopardy, you can’t miss this.
Prediction: Roma 4–0 Slovan Bratislava
Gian Piero Gasperini said his team “froze” in the final 10 minutes of last week’s chaotic duel with Real Madrid. Roma conceded three set-piece goals in the closing stages to surrender a 3–1 lead and ensure José Mourinho’s return to the Eternal City was a successful one.
They at least got back on track in Serie A by beating Genoa 2–0, and now they have the chance to put a minnow to the sword. Slovan Bratislava lost all eight of their league phase matches two seasons ago, and this campaign has started with emphatic defeats to PSG and Stuttgart.
There should only be one winner at the Stadio Olimpico.
Prediction: Napoli 1–1 Bodø/Glimt
While the idiosyncrasies of an Arctic Circle away day have often been seized upon by a cohesive Bodø/Glimt outfit, the Norwegians proved last season that they’re not exclusively reliant on their home form in this competition.
Knutsen’s team claimed victories at Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan on their way to the round of 16, having also earned a valiant point at Borussia Dortmund. Vaunted stadia, yet Bodø were undeterred.
The Stadio Diego Armando Maradona is laden with heritage, but Napoli are no European heavyweights. They’ve struggled to assert themselves on this stage as of late, with Antonio Conte’s wretched Champions League record continuing last season. Massimiliano Allegri’s ideals remain antiquated, and the two-time Scudetto winners this decade look set to toil in the league phase again.
Back-to-back defeats mean they’re already on the back foot, so victory is imperative here if they’re to avoid another early elimination.
Prediction: Stuttgart 0–1 Atlético Madrid
Stuttgart have cashed in on the kindest of starts to their league phase campaign, with wins over Viking and Slovan Bratislava meaning they’re one of nine perfect teams after two gameweeks.
Their early struggles in the Bundesliga suggests Sebastian Hoeneß’s side won’t be able to compete with the continent’s elite, and Atlético Madrid have achieved enough under Diego Simeone to place them in that bracket.
Atléti responded to their defeat at Anfield by beating Manchester United on Matchday 2, and a 1–0 win over Espanyol at the weekend, courtesy of a late Álex Baena strike, means Simeone’s side have now won six games on the bounce.
It’s a bad time to run into Atléti.
Kickoff Time |
Fixture |
Prediction |
|---|---|---|
5:45 p.m. BST / 12:45 p.m. ET |
Fenerbahçe vs. Slavia Prague |
3–1 |
5:45 p.m. BST / 12:45 p.m. ET |
Sabah vs. Borussia Dortmund |
1–2 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Liverpool vs. Villarreal |
2–0 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Man City vs. AEK Athens |
3–0 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Porto vs. PSV Eindhoven |
1–1 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
PSG vs. Barcelona |
4–3 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Roma vs. Slovan Bratislava |
4–0 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Napoli vs. Bodø/Glimt |
1–1 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Stuttgart vs. Atlético Madrid |
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