Matchday 6 was once the concluding point of the first phase in the typical modern Champions League campaign.
However, the competition’s expansion combined with the arrival of a new format means we’ve only just started talking about business ends and tables taking shape.
There are three matchdays remaining in the maiden league phase and this is where the competition should burst into life. Teams are competing not only extend their stay in Europe this term, but progress automatically into the round of 16. No one wants to play two extra games in the new year.
Tuesday’s Matchday 6 encounters are pretty tough to top, but don’t fear, there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding Wednesday’s fixtures, too. Here’s how 90min projects the contests to play out.
Slovan Bratislava are one of just three point-less teams remaining in the competition and they’ve hardly got a simple task on Wednesday as they face Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital.
Atleti are starting to click into gear with big-money summer arrival Julian Alvarez finding his feet and Antoine Griezmann continuing to purr. They came from 3-1 down to beat Sevilla at the weekend having put six past Sparta Prague on Matchday 5.
The other early kick-off sees an impressive Lille team face Austrian outfit Sturm Graz. The visitors secured their first points of the league phase last time out as they edged past Girona on home soil.
Lille are unbeaten since Matchday 1 and have picked up a couple of major scalps in the Champions League this term. They haven’t been beaten since 17 September in all competitions.
|
Kick-off Time (GMT) |
Fixture |
Prediction |
|---|---|---|
|
17:45 |
Lille vs Sturm Graz |
2-0 |
|
17:45 |
Atletico Madrid vs Slovan Bratislava |
4-1 |
|
20:00 |
Milan vs Red Star Belgrade |
3-1 |
|
20:00 |
Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona |
3-2 |
|
20:00 |
Feyenoord vs Sparta Prague |
1-0 |
|
20:00 |
Juventus vs Man City |
1-2 |
|
20:00 |
Benfica vs Bologna |
2-0 |
|
20:00 |
Arsenal vs Monaco |
2-1 |
|
20:00 |
Stuttgart vs Young Boys |
1-1 |
The best of Wednesday’s action is expected to arrive later in the evening. There are a couple of standout fixtures, including Barcelona‘s trip to Borussia Dortmund and Juventus‘ clash with Manchester City.
The meeting in Dortmund should be a belter between two teams currently sitting in the top four, while City’s clash with Juve will likelier be cagier and split by the finest of margins. Both teams could do with three points in Turin.
Arsenal are also in action as they host fellow top-eight outfit Monaco. The Ligue 1 side’s position in the table would have been much stronger had they not blown a 2-0 lead against Benfica last time out. Speaking of, the Portuguese team have been fairly up and down in Europe so far, but they returned to winning ways in Monaco and could veer towards the top eight with a triumph against Bologna.
Milan are searching for their fourth-straight win in the competition when they take on a Red Star Belgrade team that secured a rare Champions League win last time out at San Siro. The Rossoneri are up to 16th in the table after losing their first two league phase games.
Feyenoord should be buoyed by their dramatic result at the Etihad on Matchday 5 and will know that three points are required to boost their play-off chances on Wednesday. The Dutch side face Sparta Prague at De Kuip.
Sparta are on the outside of the top 24 looking in with Stuttgart, who have also mustered four points. The Bundesliga team take on Young Boys at home on Matchday 6, with the Swiss side hunting their first points of the league phase. They’ve been hindered by a tough schedule so far.