Copyright thechronicle
Manchester City play host to German giants Dortmund Sixth meets Seventh in Wednesday’s Champions League encounter at the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City play host to German giants Borussia Dortmund. Both sides have collected a praiseworthy seven points from three matches so far, but Dortmund sit one place higher in the 36-team league-phase standings by virtue of a marginally superior goal difference. Calmly going about their continental business in the early stages of the 2025-26 season, Pep Guardiola‘s Man City have already faced three revered European teams in Napoli, Monaco and Villarreal, and a haul of seven points is nothing to be scoffed at. The Sky Blues took down Napoli and Villarreal 2-0 either side of an enthralling four-goal stalemate with Monaco. Nevertheless, City’s seventh-placed ranking would suffice for direct entry to the last 16, and Guardiola’s men have been busy righting some domestic wrongs over the past week, securing successive 3-1 triumphs over Swansea City and Bournemouth after an agonising away defeat to Aston Villa. The electrifying Erling Haaland joined two Liverpool greats in an exclusive goalscoring club with his brace against the latter in Sunday’s Premier League win, which lifted the Citizens back into the top two of the table, albeit still six points behind leaders Arsenal. Putting their domestic duties to one side for a minute, Guardiola’s troops have an exceptional European record to maintain on Wednesday night – the Citizens have won each of their last 11 competitive home matches against German teams and have never been beaten by Dortmund on their own patch. Manchester City can always fight fire with fire when Haaland is in such unstoppable form, and we can envisage a third straight 2-1 win for the Sky Blues against their German counterparts. Credit: sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle, Athletic Bilbao face off at St James’ Park Both bidding to bounce back from demoralising domestic defeats, Newcastle United and Athletic Bilbao face off in the Champions League league phase at St James’ Park on Tuesday evening. The Magpies were slain 3-1 by West Ham United in Sunday’s Premier League showdown, while their La Liga counterparts fell to a 3-2 loss to Basque rivals Real Sociedad in the Spanish top flight. Finding their feet in the Champions League after a valiant yet inconsequential effort against Barcelona first up, Newcastle have been close to flawless in their last two European affairs, registering six points, seven goals and two clean sheets against a pair of beleaguered foes. Eddie Howe masterminded a 4-0 beatdown of Union SG in Belgium before overseeing a 3-0 success over Jose Mourinho’s Benfica on matchday three, leaving the Magpies just inside the automatic last-16 places thanks to a superior goal difference over the six other teams on six points. The Magpies are doing their utmost to turn their home ground into a fortress in 2025-26 too, and they enter Wednesday’s game on a four-match winning run on their own turf, scoring nine goals and conceding just one in that hot streak. As pitiful as Newcastle were on the road on Sunday, Champions League nights at St James’ Park are a different kettle of fish, and Howe is also not short of players starved of starts and desperate to make an impression in midweek. The Magpies therefore have our backing to get the better of a consistently inconsistent Athletic side, who are missing their wily skipper and arrive in England with a torrid record on their travels. Credit: sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona travel away to face Club Brugge Barcelona will be aiming to move onto nine points from four matches in the Champions League this season when they continue their league phase campaign with a clash against Club Brugge on Wednesday night. The Catalan giants have six points to show from their first three games, which has left them in ninth spot in the overall table, while the Belgian side are down in 20th, boasting three points from their opening three matches. Club Brugge will enter Wednesday’s game off the back of a 2-1 victory over Dender, with the result leaving them second in the Belgian Pro League table, three points behind the leaders Union SG. Blauw-Zwart are on a run of three straight wins in all competitions, with their last defeat coming in the Champions League – a 4-0 reverse to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on October 22. Club Brugge will face Sporting Lisbon, Arsenal, Kairat and Marseille in their final four Champions League matches in this particular stage, and they will certainly be targeting a playoff spot. Club Brugge thumped Monaco in their only home fixture in the Champions League this season, so we are expecting this to be a tricky match for Barcelona, but the La Liga champions have enough quality in their side to navigate their way to an important three points on Wednesday night. Credit: sportsmole.co.uk Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen search for first wins Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen go in search of their first wins in the Champions League league phase campaign as both teams square up at Estadio da Luz on Wednesday. The Portuguese giants are without a point from their opening three matches to sit second from bottom, while the German visitors are not far off, currently 30th in the standings after drawing two of their three outings in the competition. Benfica’s Champions League adventure could scarcely have begun in worse fashion, having surrendered a two-goal lead to finish on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline against Qarabag in their opening fixture under Bruno Lage. A managerial change offered little respite on the continental stage, as Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge ended in a 1-0 defeat on matchday two, while the Portuguese manager also watched his side crumble at St James’ Park in round three. That 3-0 reverse against Newcastle was an uncharacteristic result for a Mourinho-led team, though the two-time Champions League winner has bigger problems to solve in the final third, with only three sides registering fewer shots on target than Benfica’s eight in the competition. Both sides have endured difficult starts to their Champions League journey, but Benfica appear better placed to claim all three points, fuelled by their strong domestic rhythm and the visitors’ growing list of absentees, particularly in midfield. Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
