Real Madrid, Dortmund renew hostilities at the Bernabeu
A rematch of the 2023-24 Champions League final, holders Real Madrid and hopefuls Borussia Dortmund renew hostilities in Tuesday’s league phase encounter at the Bernabeu.
It has been almost five months since Carlo Ancelotti‘s men broke BVB hearts to win European Cup number 15, as the German giants were left to lament missed chance after missed chance at Wembley.
The reigning champions had at least got the better of Dortmund’s Bundesliga rivals Stuttgart 3-1 in their opening match of the tournament, but their three-point haul is currently not even good enough for a seeded knockout place; they sit 17th in the 36-team table at this fledgling stage.
Dortmund’s European excellence has come in contrast to their mixed domestic results; the visitors just about managed to scrape a nervy 2-1 win over St Pauli at the weekend, but they have lost their last two away games in the Bundesliga to Stuttgart (5-1) and Union Berlin (2-1).
An unwanted road record could now be set by Dortmund in the Champions League, as they have visited the Bernabeu seven times without ever managing to win, losing five times and drawing twice.
Borussia Dortmund learned a harsh lesson about what happens if you do not take your chances against Real Madrid, and they have more than made up for those deficiencies in the Champions League so far this term, even if Club Brugge and Celtic do not quite stack up to Los Blancos’ mastery.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Arsenal welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to the Emirates
Having seen their Premier League unbeaten run come to a painful end, Arsenal hope to avoid suffering the same fate in the Champions League at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night.
The Gunners have taken four points from their opening two matches in this year’s new-look edition, while their Ukrainian counterparts currently sit outside the coveted top 24 places in the league phase table.
While Arsenal just about managed to keep Atalanta at bay on the opening matchday of the Champions League – thanks in no small part to the goalkeeping heroics of David Raya – Shakhtar were powerless to quell the Europa League holders in their last European affair.
Bukayo Saka did not make the cut at the weekend, and the 23-year-old remains a serious doubt for the visit of Shakhtar.
Jurrien Timber – who performed exceptionally against PSG – is in the same boat with his muscular problem, while Martin Odegaard (ankle), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) are definitely missing, although the former has the slimmest chance of coming back for the Liverpool game.
A Gunners XI without Saka or Odegaard is one missing significant ingenuity, but even a rotated Arsenal side should have no problems sweeping aside Shakhtar, as long as their own indiscipline does not let them down again.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Juve face another German opposition as they meet Stuttgart
Aiming to extend their perfect start in this season’s Champions League, Italian giants Juventus will meet Stuttgart for the first time ever on Tuesday evening.
Having won in Leipzig last time out, Juve now face more German opposition back on home turf; meanwhile, their struggling visitors have picked up just one point so far.
This week, Thiago Motta could become just the third Juventus coach to win his first three Champions League matches, after legendary duo Fabio Capello (2004) and Marcelo Lippi (1995), which would further highlight his arrival as one of Europe’s elite managers.
Dating back to Max Allegri‘s ill-fated second spell in charge, which concluded with a Coppa Italia triumph last season, Juve are unbeaten in their last 16 games across all competitions – but they left it late to beat 10-man Lazio at the weekend.
Ahead of Sunday’s Derby d’Italia against reigning champions Inter Milan, Motta’s men must now tackle Stuttgart.
Stuttgart have won just one of 11 games against Italian opposition to date, and none since beating Juve’s city rivals Torino in the UEFA Cup, way back in 1979.
As Stuttgart have won only twice on the road in 2024-25 – and one was against lower-level opponents in the DFB-Pokal – they have little hope of taking anything away from Turin.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Monaco 17:45 Red Star Belgrade
Arsenal 20:00 Shakhtar Donetsk
Girona 20:00 Slovan Bratislava
