The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League continues on Matchday 2 with some intriguing games to look forward to. As Europe’s top clubs continue their quest for supremacy in the group stages, here are some key fixtures to look out for on Matchday 2.
Arsenal vs PSG (October 1, 2024)
A mouth-watering clash between two European heavyweights. Both teams, who have never won Europe’s most prestigious competition, will be eager to give a good account of themselves and send warnings to other top European clubs about their intentions. The clash at the Emirates gives Arsenal the opportunity to extend their unbeaten run at home in all competitions to 15 since January 2024 (W12, D2), following a 0-0 result against Atalanta in the first match of the group stage. Mikel Arteta knows he needs all three points if his side is to qualify as one of the top eight teams from the group stage.
On the other hand, PSG are a formidable opponent, unbeaten so far this season and coming off a late win over Girona in the first round of matches. Luis Enrique’s team will be hoping to make it two wins in two in the group stage. A major cause for concern for Enrique is the fact that PSG have never won against Arsenal in four attempts; they have drawn three and lost once, making it the worst head-to-head record they have against any European opposition. Enrique will be hoping his men can breach Arsenal’s tight defense, which has conceded two goals in each of their last two league games.
Key Players: Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice (Arsenal); Ousmane Dembélé, Nuno Mendes (PSG)
Bayer Leverkusen vs AC Milan (October 1, 2024)
Bayer Leverkusen hosts AC Milan in one of the most exciting contests of Matchday 2 in the UEFA Champions League. Bayer under Xabi Alonso, have continued from where they left off last season, scoring last-minute winners and displaying a never-say-die attitude. Bayer started this year’s campaign with an impressive 4-0 win over Feyenoord and will be looking to build on that performance against AC Milan. However, a major concern for Alonso’s side is that they have been winless at home in five attempts against Italian opponents (D3, L2). Coupled with the fact that they lost last year’s Europa League finals to Atalanta another Italian team, Alonso will surely be eager to get the three points in this encounter.
AC Milan, who fell to Liverpool 3-1 in the opening encounter of the UCL, will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways. A trip to Germany is never easy and Milan under Paulo Fonseca, have been unpredictable this season. However, the Rossoneri come into this on the back of two impressive domestic performances after seeing off arch-rivals Inter Milan and Lecce with ease. They will be hoping to extend their impressive run on German soil, remaining unbeaten in seven away matches against German sides since 2002 (W4, D3).
Key Players: Florian Wirtz, Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen); Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao (AC Milan)
PSV vs Sporting CP (October 1, 2024)
Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven were thumped 3-1 by Juventus in the first round of matches and they will be out to pick their first points of the campaign if they are to qualify for the next round of the competition. Hosting Sporting at home, Peter Bosz’s men will be hoping to continue their good form at home in the competition, going ten games unbeaten at home in Europe (W6, D4). They also have a good recent head-to-head record against Portuguese opponents at home (W2, D2). This encounter should give them a perfect opportunity to get three points and kick off their campaign.
Rúben Amorim’s Sporting won their first match of the UCL campaign 2-0 against Lille and will be hoping to continue their winning streak of eight games in all competitions this season. With Arsenal and Manchester City still to play in their UCL fixtures, Sporting knows that a result here away to PSV will be crucial to their chances of qualifying from the group stage this season.
Key Players: Ricardo Pepi, Guus Til (PSV); Viktor Gyökeres, Geny Catamo (Sporting CP)
Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich (October 2, 2024)
Aston Villa welcomes six-time European champions Bayern Munich in their first-ever UCL home game and it’s a game most fans will be relishing. Unai Emery’s men are looking very formidable and have continued where they left off last season. Bayern, as tough as they come, gives Emery an opportunity to see if his men can match up with one of the best European teams. Villa comes into this game on an impressive run of form (W6, D1), winning six of their opening eight games in all competitions, drawing newly promoted Ipswich 2-2 on Sunday and losing just once, which was a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal. The one-time European champions also won their first group stage encounter, winning 3-0 against Young Boys.
Bayern Munich, on the other hand, have started brilliantly under new manager Vincent Kompany, who is no stranger to English football. Coming off an impressive display in the 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern will be looking to lay down a marker here and make their intentions known that they will be one of the major challengers to Real Madrid’s crown. They come into this encounter on the back of a record-breaking Matchday 1 victory, where they thumped Dinamo Zagreb 9-2, becoming the first team to score nine goals in a single encounter in the UCL.
Key Players: Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa); Michael Olise, Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
RB Leipzig vs Juventus (October 2, 2024)
Leipzig returns to the Champions League with a challenging home fixture against Juventus. Marco Rose’s side has been in poor form lately, with only the 4-0 win over Augsburg on Sunday in their Bundesliga match being their only win in four games in all competitions (D2, L1). They also lost 2-1 to Atlético Madrid in their UCL opener. However, Leipzig is unbeaten in their last nine home games in 2024 in all competitions (W6, D3) and are yet to concede a goal at home this season.
Juventus will look to break Leipzig’s impressive home form, coming off a 3-0 win over Genoa on Saturday in Serie A after three consecutive domestic draws. Juventus remains the only European side in the top five leagues yet to concede a goal in the league this season and they remain unbeaten across all competitions this season. They won their UCL opener 3-1 against PSV. One concern for Thiago Motta is Juventus’s inability to win away in the UCL in their last five encounters (D1, L4). Their defensive dominance might come in handy in this encounter and if they are to take anything away from this game, they will need to be at their best.
Key Players: Loïs Openda, Benjamin Šeško (RB Leipzig); Dušan Vlahović, Kenan Yildiz (Juventus)
Benfica vs Atletico Madrid (October 2, 2024)
Benfica enters this encounter on the back of an impressive run of form, a four-game winning streak that includes their UCL opening game 2-1 win against Red Star Belgrade. Bruno Lage’s men will be hoping to secure only the club’s third win in 21 attempts against Spanish opposition, a dire statistic (D8, L11). Another cause for concern is that they are winless at home in their last four UCL encounters (D1, L3). If they are to take all three points in this encounter, they will have to be at their absolute best and will be counting on their red-hot Turkish winger Kerem Aktürkoğlu to produce some magic.
Diego Simeone’s men will be relishing this encounter, having started this season unbeaten in all competitions (W5, D4). The last-minute equalizer on Sunday against arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Madrid derby will also boost their confidence. They have a knack for scoring late goals this season; however, Simeone will be aware of his team’s poor form away in the UCL. They have only one win in their last nine away matches (D2, L6). However, if there’s any place they can get an away win, it’s in Portugal. They have won three of their last four visits with only one defeat against Porto.
Key Players: Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Ángel Di María (Benfica); Antoine Griezmann, Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid)