Real Madrid welcome Real Sociedad to the Bernabeu
Real Madrid will be aiming to make it successive wins at the start of their 2026-27 La Liga campaign when they welcome Real Sociedad to Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
Los Blancos started their season with a 2-1 success over Espanyol on Sunday, while Real Sociedad opened up with a 1-0 defeat to Real Betis in Seville.
Jose Mourinho‘s side will now play what is technically a gameweek one fixture against Real Sociedad, with the match, scheduled for the opening set of fixtures, being postponed due to the fact that Real Madrid had a number of players involved in the latter stages of the 2026 World Cup.
Real Madrid will know that the room for error this season is small if they are to finish above a Barcelona team that thumped Elche 5-0 in their campaign opener.
It has been an impressive summer transfer window from Real Madrid, with the club adding Yan Diomande, Marc Cucurella, Espi, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva to their squad.
Cucurella is likely to be introduced into the starting side, but fellow new signing Diomande is again expected to feature among the substitutes for the first whistle.
Kylian Mbappe will be aiming to get off the mark for the new season on Wednesday night.
Real Sociedad are capable of making this a tricky match for Real Madrid, but we are finding it difficult to back against Los Blancos given the home team’s quality in the final third of the field.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Lyon, Fenerbahce Champs League playoff go down to the wire
Following a tense draw in last week’s first leg, Lyon and Fenerbahce will meet again on Wednesday evening, when their Champions League playoff concludes in France.
Qualification for this season’s league phase will go down to the wire, with the loser dropping into the Europa League. Lyon’s last appearance in the Champions League came back in 2019, when they went all the way to the semi-finals and lost to eventual winners Bayern Munich, but they have recently shown signs of a revival.
Though much has changed since they dominated French football, history will be on their side in midweek, having won five of their last six two-legged ties in Champions League qualifying.
Lyon also defeated Fenerbahce four times in the now-defunct group stage, before the pair played out a goalless draw in the 2024-25 Europa League.
Having lost nine times in qualifying since making their sixth appearance in 2008, Fenerbahce are simply desperate to reach the Champions League’s main phase.
The Turkish giants were dumped out by Benfica at this time last year, which prompted Jose Mourinho’s dramatic exit and the arrival of Domenico Tedesco.
There will be more heartbreak for Fener, who have assembled an impressive squad but looked vulnerable in the first leg.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
AEK Athens and Levski Sofia fight for Champs League ticket
A place in the league phase of this season’s Champions League is up for grabs in Athens on Wednesday as AEK Athens welcome Levski Sofia to AEK Arena for the second leg of their playoff tie.
While Luka Jovic‘s half-volley clipped the bar for AEK, they could not break the deadlock in Sofia, and Marko Nikolic‘s men head back to their home, aiming to finish the job against opponents who have not been beaten in 19 matches heading into this week’s showdown.
AEK’s pre-season and first competitive match of the new campaign had been goal-laden until they met the brick wall that the Levski defence presented a week ago.
Enosi had netted two or more goals in five of their last six matches across all competitions heading into the fixture in Bulgaria, only to fail to beat Svetoslav Vutsov in the home team’s goal, despite twice going close in the encounter.
The statistics showed that the Greek champions edged the match on clear-cut chances created, perhaps offering some encouragement for Nikolic, who has since lamented his side’s inability to claim a narrow win ahead of the return leg.
Nonetheless, the Serbian manager’s optimism was palpable heading into this week’s tussle, as the Greek heavyweights bid to return to the Champions League proper for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Although Levski boast an imperious 19-match unbeaten run and a formidable streak of clean sheets, navigating the hostile atmosphere in Athens represents their sternest continental test yet.
With Jovic in lethal form after his weekend brace and Nikolic’s men desperate to end an eight-year absence from Europe’s premier competition, the Greek heavyweights should have the extra quality in the final third to break down the stubborn Bulgarian rearguard.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Viking within touching distance of history as they host Dinamo Zagreb
Within touching distance of history, Viking FK will welcome Dinamo Zagreb to Stavanger on Wednesday evening, when the pair complete their Champions League playoff.
All square after last week’s first leg, the hosts have never reached the group or league phase of Europe’s top competition, while Dinamo aim to qualify for the second time in three seasons.
Viking’s first Champions League campaign since 1992 – when they were beaten by Barcelona in the first round – got off to a terrible start, as they trailed by two goals inside 10 minutes last week.
The Norwegian side had lost all seven of their previous two-legged UEFA ties – including last year’s defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir in the Conference League qualifiers – and they were left staring at another early exit.
Yet they came roaring back, stunning Stadion Maksimir with a sublime strike from Peter Christiansen before captain Zlatko Tripic hauled them level as half time approached.
So, the Stavanger club are still very much in contention for one of seven spots left in this season’s league phase; even defeat would see them take a consolation place in the Europa League.
Led by sporting director Erik Nevland and joint head coaches Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim and Morten Jensen, Viking earned their shot at the big time by halting Bodo/Glimt’s domestic dominance last term.
Undefeated this season, Dinamo are an experienced outfit, having played in the Champions League’s inaugural league phase, then reached the Europa League’s knockout rounds last term.
The Croatian champions may have let Viking off the hook in Zagreb, but they will not make the same mistake again.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
FIXTURES
Real Madrid 20:00 Real Sociedad
UEFA Champions League Play-offs
Olympique Lyonnais 20:00 Fenerbahçe
