Inter Milan travel away to face Mourinho’s Real Madrid
Sixteen years after inspiring Inter Milan to Champions League glory, Jose Mourinho‘s mission to lead Real Madrid to European Cup number 16 commences on Tuesday, when the Nerazzurri visit the Bernabeu in the league phase.
Neither continental colossus lived up to expectations in the 2025-26 tournament, in which Real were eliminated by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, after Inter’s shock playoff exit to Bodo/Glimt.
Losing their status as Europe’s top dogs to Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid’s run to the latter phase of the competition will not be a cakewalk; Arsenal, RB Leipzig, Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk, all lie in wait in the league phase too.
Mourinho’s men also kicked off their La Liga season with three straight wins against Espanyol, Real Sociedad and Malaga, but ongoing fragilities were exposed in Friday’s 1-0 loss to Real Betis.
Despite closer than Real Madrid to lifting Europe’s premier prize since Los Blancos’ 2024 coronation, Inter have been yet to replicate their 2010 triumph, collecting two pairs of runners-up medals in the last four tournaments.
The visitors have shown few signs of weakness in their title defence thus far too, taking nine points from nine against Monza, Cagliari and Napoli, albeit while needing an injury-time Lautaro Martinez winner to seal a dramatic 3-2 comeback win against the latter.
However, Inter are still searching for their first win over Real Madrid in the current millennium, having lost four in a row – including their last three without scoring – to Los Blancos since a 3-1 triumph in late 1998.
Inter have failed to win their last 13 away games against Spanish teams – last triumphing over Valencia in the 2004-05 group stage – but Chivu’s men should sense a golden opportunity against a depleted Real Madrid midfield.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Porto, Manchester City lock horns in the Champions League
A blue-on-blue battle takes place on the first night of the 2026-27 Champions League league phase, as Porto and Manchester City scrap it out at the Estadio Do Dragao on Tuesday evening.
Both clubs have made 100% starts to their domestic campaigns, but something must give in the fifth competitive meeting between the two European hopefuls.
Not since the 2015-16 season have Man City embarked on a Champions League adventure without Pep Guardiola at the helm, but Tuesday night’s fixture marks the next maiden milestone for Enzo Maresca, who has already conquered the continent in the tertiary sense.
Maresca inspired Chelsea to Conference League glory in 2024-25, before overseeing three wins, one draw and two defeats during his six Champions League games in charge of the Blues in the second half of 2025, including the unforgettable 3-0 beating of Barcelona.
Back among the European elite after a two-year absence, Porto prepare to play their first Champions League game since the 2023-24 season, in which they were eliminated by Arsenal on penalties in the last 16.
Porto have never beaten Man City in a competitive setting, losing three of their previous four head-to-heads in European competition, the only semi-positive result being a goalless Champions League draw in a December 2020 group-stage game.
Porto’s stellar start to the season appears exceptional at face value, but Farioli’s side are yet to experience any true tests of their mettle, and Manchester City could be that team.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Aston Villa and Club Brugge reconvene in Belgium today
Meeting for the fourth time in two years, Aston Villa and Club Brugge will reconvene in Belgium on Tuesday evening, when both clubs kick off their Champions League campaign.
While Brugge reached the first knockout round last season, Villa lifted the Europa League trophy in Istanbul – but so much has changed since then.
Having collected their first major silverware for a generation, Aston Villa are now looking forward to more Champions League football, following a brief taste of the big time two years ago.
After reaching the 2024-25 quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain, the Villans then won 13 out of 15 games en route to glory in last term’s Europa League.
While that competition’s undisputed ‘king’, Unai Emery, is still at the helm – and is now set for his ninth Champions League campaign – many heroes of their success have now left the club.
A protracted, and sometimes painful, summer rebuild has left Emery with an unfamiliar squad, albeit one with a much lower age profile and boasting plenty of raw talent.
Emery’s new-look team were thumped 4-0 by Brighton on the Premier League‘s opening matchday, before narrowly losing at home to his old club Arsenal; the goal drought then continued with a 0-0 draw at newly promoted Hull City.
Understandably lacking cohesion following so much churn in personnel, Villa have put just one point on the board before making a familiar trip to Belgium.
Traditionally slow starters under Emery, Villa usually step up a gear in Europe: they have kept nine clean sheets across their last 16 UEFA matches and have scored in all but one of the last 21.
Meanwhile, Club Brugge conceded at a rate of nearly two goals per game over the past couple of Champions League seasons; so, the hosts may have to settle for one point on opening night.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Borussia Dortmund welcome Spain’s Villarreal
Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund will kick off their 2026-27 Champions League campaign on Tuesday, when they welcome La Liga’s Villarreal to Signal Iduna Park for their first league-phase clash.
BVB could make it four wins on the bounce in midweek, while the Yellow Submarine are looking for their first victory of the season.
Niko Kovac‘s Dortmund come into this showdown in excellent form, and anything other than triumph will be seen as a failure for the Black and Yellow.
That strong start to the season will fill Kovac’s side with confidence, as they set out on their continental journey, hoping to better their finish in the Champions League’s knockout round playoffs in 2025-26.
Dortmund will also be buoyed by facing a familiar opponent on Tuesday, recalling memories of thrashing Villarreal 4-0 in November 2025 on their way to progressing from last term’s league phase.
Six of the starting XI from that day have made the predicted lineup for this clash at Signal Iduna Park, where the hosts have won three of their last four competitive outings, scoring 10 goals and keeping two clean sheets in the process.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
