The new-look Champions League league phase has reached the halfway stage with 18 Matchday Four ties taking place across Tuesday and Wednesday.
Only two teams - Premier League pair Aston Villa and Liverpool - have won their first three games, while at the bottom, six clubs are yet to register a point.
With those who finish in the top eight places of the 36-team table qualifying automatically for the last 16, several sides will be after important victories.
Among the eye-catching games taking place this week, reigning champions Real Madrid host Italian giants AC Milan, Liverpool entertain German champions Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City go to Sporting Lisbon, who still have Ruben Amorim in charge before he takes up his new job at Manchester United.
- BORUSSIA DORTMUND TO WIN TO NIL VS STURM GRAZ
- LIVERPOOL TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE VS BAYER LEVERKUSEN
- REAL MADRID TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE VS AC MILAN
- SPORTING LISBON TO BEAT MANCHESTER CITY
- BREST TO BEAT SPARTA PRAGUE
Borussia Dortmund vs Sturm Graz
Last season’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund started their campaign with two comfortable victories over Club Brugge and Celtic before being brought down to earth by the side who beat them at Wembley in the 2024 showpiece - Real Madrid - who triumphed 5-2 in the Spanish capital.
BVB can bounce back with a routine victory over Sturm Graz, who have found the Champions League tough to deal with so far, losing all three games.
The Austrian outfit have failed to score in their last two European outings, going down 1-0 at home to Club Brugge and 2-0 in front of their own fans against Sporting Lisbon, and they could be on the end of a similar result in Dortmund.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND TO WIN TO NIL
Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen
Liverpool are already well on their way to sealing a top-eight place thanks to victories over AC Milan, Bologna and RB Leipzig.
Arne Slot’s side have only conceded one goal across those three matches, but their defence may be breached at Anfield by Leverkusen, who have former Reds star Xabi Alonso in charge.
Liverpool have been in fine form overall, but they have only kept one clean sheet in their last five games and this could end up being another victory for the Premier League leaders where they allow the opposition to score.
The Reds were particularly sloppy in the first half against Brighton on Saturday and, if there’s a repeat on Tuesday, then their defence will be seriously tested by the dangerous Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Victor Boniface.
German champions Leverkusen are also on course for the top eight in the Champions League after wins over Feyenoord, Milan and a draw with Brest, and they have only failed to score in one of their 15 matches in all competitions this season.
LIVERPOOL TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
Real Madrid vs AC Milan
Two European heavyweights meet at the Bernabeu when reigning champions Real Madrid host seven-time European kings AC Milan.
Real have so far beaten Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart, but they slipped up at Lille when suffering a shock 1-0 defeat in France.
Los Blancos will want to bounce back after being humbled 4-0 at home by domestic rivals Barcelona in El Clasico in their most recent outing and they should have too much quality for a Milan side who lost 3-1 to Liverpool and 1-0 to Leverkusen before beating Club Brugge 3-1 on Matchday Three.
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior are Real’s fearsome front two and they should have plenty of joy against the Rossoneri defence as they both look to improve on their goal tally of eight already this season.
Both of Real’s wins in the Champions League have come at home with the opposition also scoring and this big clash could follow that trend.
Milan have only failed to find the back of the net in two of their 13 outings in all competitions this season and have plenty of threat on the counter-attack, particularly from Chrsitian Pulisic, who has seven goals to his name this term.
REAL MADRID TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City
Outgoing Sporting boss Ruben Amorim will have extra incentive to beat Manchester City as he looks to earn a statement win that would impress his new employers, Manchester United.
City have plenty of injury problems to contend with at the minute and were way short of their devastating best when losing 2-1 at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
That was their second defeat on the spin after also going down to Tottenham by the same scoreline in the Carabao Cup and there could be more pain ahead for them in Portugal.
Sporting are on a six-game winning streak in all competitions and can make it seven when an out-of-sorts City visit.
Pep Guardiola’s team have already cruised to victories over Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava after being held to a goalless draw by Inter Milan on Matchday One, so they will be aware a defeat at Sporting is unlikely to derail their bid for European glory this season too much.
SPORTING LISBON TO WIN
Sparta Prague vs Brest
Sparta Prague have beaten Salzburg, drawn with Stuttgart and been hammered by Manchester City in the Champions League so far and they could be in for a tough evening when they host French side Brest.
The Ligue 1 team kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 success over Sturm Graz before securing a 4-0 win at Salzburg to make it six points from six.
A 1-1 home draw with Leverkusen on Matchday Three was another impressive result and Champions League debutants Brest can stay well on course for a top-eight place with victory in the Czech capital.
BREST TO WIN
