Key events
A notable name on the Atlético scoresheet: Júlian Álvarez, who left Manchester City in the summer but has had a slow start to life in Madrid. He’s certainly been missed by Pep Guardiola’s side, who are bidding to end a run of five (!) straight defeats at home to Feyenoord:
It’s half-time in the 5.45pm (GMT) kick-offs, taking place in Czechia and Slovakia. Atlético Madrid lead Sparta Prague 2-0, while Slovan Bratislava are holding Milan to a 1-1 draw.
Preamble
Arsenal’s last eight away games in Europe have produced one win, three draws and four defeats; in their last four trips to the continent, they haven’t scored a single goal. As one of their most celebrated alumni might say: Problem!
Big problem? Not yet. Arsenal have seven points and sit 12th in the giant Champions League table; they will surely advance, but this game will help decide whether they do so via the playoffs, incurring more tricky away trips. As you might have heard, Sporting have lost manager Ruben Amorim, but they are still a free-scoring threat and have previous. The first of those eight Arsenal away games came in Lisbon, a 2-2 Europa League draw which led to defeat on penalties back at the Emirates.
It may be high entertainment and relatively low stakes in Portugal, but Bayern Munich v PSG is a different story. The Parisians have been the weakest of Ligue 1’s quartet so far and sit below the red line in 25th (!) place with tough games still to come. Bayern aren’t faring much better, that opening 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb followed by back-to-back defeats, meaning the Croatian side are now above them in mid-table. Oh Vinnie!
But wait, there’s more. Barcelona host Brest in a top-six battle nobody expected, while Leverkusen look to rediscover their fizz against Red Bull Salzburg. Italian outfits Inter and Atalanta – playing to type by not conceding one goal between them so far – look to keep that going against pointless opponents RB Leipzig and Young Boys. Kick-off is 8pm in those games, but two early matches have already started. Eat my goal!
