Champions League Matchday 4 Preview

For the third time in four weeks, UEFA Champions League action will take place. The fourth round of the league phase is here, and now the pressure is truly on. While five teams remain perfect from the opening three matchweeks, three have yet to get off the mark. Another three sides are without a win, and will hope to turn things around this time.

Here is a preview of what is to come this week.

Inter Try to Bounce Back

After getting their first win of the league phase last time out, Galatasaray will look for back-to-back successes at home to Stuttgart. The Turkish champions will play their 12th different German opponent in European play. Since knocking Schalke out in the 2012/13 edition, Gala have not beaten a Bundesliga side. Stuttgart beat Fenerbahçe in the Europa League last term as they progressed from a group phase for the first time in 13 years. A win in Türkiye on Tuesday will almost surely see Die Roten move on - something they have not done in the Champions League since 2009/10.

The other early kickoff on Tuesday will see Shakhtar Donetsk welcome Sporting CP. The Pitmen have four points to their name so far, and with another victory, they will match their performance from two years ago. While Shakhtar lost both previous games to Sporting in the 2008/09 group stage, the Ukrainians have positive memories of that campaign, where they went on to lift the UEFA Cup. For Leões, they will be quite confident to come out on top in London. After all, they are 7-1-0 versus Ukrainian teams in continental play.

Atlético Madrid play at home to Bayern Munich in one of Tuesday's standout fixtures. This is the fifth meeting between the pair in a UCL group phase. Atleti have a strong home record versus German teams in the competition, having not lost in 12. Of the eight teams entering the round with an unbeaten record thus far, Bayern are the only ones not in the top eight after drawing their last two. Should the Bavarians fail to win, it would be the first time since 2009 that they went three straight group stage/league phase matches without victory.

Norway's Bodø/Glimt are up versus LOSC Lille as both sides in their clash. Currently on a six-game winning streak at home in the UCL, Glimt will aim to keep the run going. However, they were beaten by AS Monaco last fall at Aspmyra. That remains their only home game in Europe with a Ligue 1 club. It has been 14 years since Lille last suffered four consecutive reverses in the UCL proper in the same season. Les Dogues, who have successfully negotiated a group phase in each of their last five European campaigns, will desperately need to get up and running.

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Two seasons on from facing each other in the last 16, Feyenoord and Internazionale square off once more. While the Dutch side fell on that occasion, they did knock off Inter in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup semifinals en route to winning the trophy. Having already beaten Como back on matchday 2, Feyenoord will fancy their chances to make it two-for-two versus Italian sides this fall. The Nerazzurri ended a four-match losing streak last time out, but are desperate to move further up the standings before things get even more difficult.

It will be a massive opportunity for LASK Linz and Slovan Bratislava, who do battle in Austria. LASK, who pulled off a stunning result two weeks ago, topped DAC Dunajská Streda in Europa League qualifying six years ago. Their challenge against Slovan will be more difficult though, with the former Cup Winners Cup winners desperate to finally claim a result in the Champions League proper. Some may see this as their best opportunity, though they have not prevailed in a group phase away match in Europe since 2023.

Manchester United will try to maintain their strong record against AS Roma when the pair meet at Old Trafford. Having lost to Como last time out, the Red Devils can seldom afford another misstep. They can, however, take comfort in their strong record with Roma, winning five of eight previous meetings. The Giallorossi have yet to come out on top in an away European Cup/Champions League match an English team in 10 attempts. United are responsible for Roma's largest continental beating, having suffered a 7-1 reverse in 2006/07.

Villarreal are up for a stern test at home as they face the holders Paris Saint-Germain. The Yellow Submarine were victorious in their last two at home to French clubs, with both wins occurring in the 2023/24 Europa League. Since making the UCL semifinals in 2021/22, they have yet to go farther than the round of 16 of a UEFA club competition. PSG already beat Barcelona last matchday to remain top of the league phase. With three victories already, Les Parisiens would be well on track to claim 10 or more continental wins for the third season running if they can claim all three points in Spain.

Match of the Round: Barcelona vs Aston Villa

For the match of the round, Barcelona are back at home as they take on Aston Villa.

The defeat to PSG two weeks prior was Barca's first competitive loss of the season, and ended a five-game winning streak in the league phase. Their last reverse at this point of the UCL came against Chelsea a little less than a year ago. Yet, no English side have ever won a group match away to Barca. The Catalans also have the head-to-head advantage over Villa, winning two of four previous meetings (2-1-1).

Last season's Europa League winners have a perfect start to their league phase campaign thus far, with their goal difference of +9 being the joint-best at this point. Villa's clash with Barca will come exactly 28 years to the day they last took on a Spanish team in Europe, when Celta Vigo knocked them out of the UEFA Cup. All seven of the Villans' previous trips to Spain were decided by one goal or a draw.

Liverpool, Spanish Duo Look to Stay Perfect

One of Wednesday's early kickoffs will see AEK Athens host Real Madrid. It has been 24 years since the sides played to two stalemates in the group stage. Despite having just three wins in 20 against Spanish sides, AEK's first such victory came at the hands of Real in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup first round, though they went on to lose the tie. Real are 7-6-2 versus Greek clubs, with this being the second year running they make the trip to Greece. They edged Olympiakos Piraeus a little less than a year ago.

Fenerbahçe are involved in the other early kickoff as they welcome Liverpool. Both of Fener's points thus far have come at home, though they have not prevailed at home against an English side in a decade. Sarı-Lacivertliler are without a win in the UCL proper in their last 10 attempts. Since beating Trabzsonpor in a Europa League qualifier in 2010, Liverpool have not tasted victory on Turkish soil (against a Turkish team), losing all three subsequent games. That includes two defeats to Galatasaray last term.

In Germany, Borussia Dortmund will strive to keep their home winning streak versus Spanish sides going against Villarreal. Die Schwarzgelben have won their last four such games, including a matchday 1 success over Villarreal. This is their first-ever meeting with Betis in UEFA club competition play. Los Verdiblancos have already bettered their point total from their other UCL appearance 21 years ago. It has been 31 years since their only win on German soil, which came against Kaiserslautern in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup.

Porto and Napoli meet for the fifth time in European play, though this will be their first battle in the UCL. With four defeats on the spin in the Champions League, Dragões are one of three clubs without a point thus far. The last group phase match Porto played against an Italian team came in the 2005/06 edition against Inter. As for Napoli, they will look to keep up their perfect home record against Portuguese sides, having topped Benfica, Sporting Braga, and Sporting CP in the past.

After two straight losses, RC Lens are back at home to take on Como. This is just the third match in the UCL for Lens against Italian opposition. They met AC Milan 24 years ago, with both clubs winning 2-1 at home. Les Sang et Or had went unbeaten in their UCL home games in their last two appearances, but were defeated by Sporting on matchday 2. Como, on the other hand, have had a rather strong start to the league phase, winning two of three. Their sole reverse did come on their travels. They will surely be motivated to grab their maiden away victory in continental play.

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The Dutch and Belgian champions will do battle as PSV Eindhoven meet Club Brugge in a UEFA club competition for the very first time. PSV lost to Union Saint-Gilloise to begin their league phase last fall. In fact, four of their last six home games in Europe have ended in defeat, with a sole victory during that stretch. Surprisingly, this is just Club's sixth match versus a Dutch club. All three of their wins, however, have come at home. They have never scored in either of their trips across the border.

RB Leipzig and Manchester City square off in Germany for their seventh clash. The only Leipzig win in this head-to-head came five years ago at this stage, with the Cityzens responsible for their largest continental loss. The two are set to meet for the fourth time in Leipzig's last five European seasons. City have not lost in Germany since that aforementioned Leipzig victory in the 2021/22. They have also scored in their last six road matches in the group phase.

Slavia Praha, who nearly ended a lengthy winless run in the UCL proper two weeks ago, host last season's finalists Arsenal. This is the second season in a row where the two sides will meet in Czechia, with the Gunners coming out on top 3-0 last campaign. Slavia have never beaten Arsenal in five attempts (0-2-3), with the Czech champions heading into the clash on an 18-match winless run in European action. The North London club saw their 14-game winning streak in the league phase end last round. It has been 11 years since Arsenal failed to win consecutive UCL group matches in the same season.

Norway's Viking will fancy their chances for a second win this fall as they take on Sabah Baku. De Mørkeblå have scored in each of their last 10 continental matches stretching back to 2023/24. This is their maiden clash with a team from Azerbaijan. All six of Sabah's results on the road in Europe - five of which they won - saw them score at least twice. That includes two qualifying round successes this summer. They have lost the other six matches, where they scored no more than once.