Champions League matchday 2 preview: Manchester City host PSG, United go to Atlético, and Real Madrid visit Roma

The league phase returns after a month, with nine matches on Tuesday and nine on Wednesday, and the fixture to watch first is on Wednesday at the Etihad: Manchester City, who won 2–0 at Porto, host Paris Saint-Germain, top of the table after their 6–1 against Slovan Bratislava. On Tuesday Atlético Madrid, beaten at Liverpool, host Manchester United, who opened with a 4–0 against Sabah, and Barcelona go to Galatasaray. On Wednesday Real Madrid visit AS Roma. Sixteen clubs won on matchday 1; nine of them meet a side that lost.

Tuesday

Lens v Sporting CP (16:45 UTC). Two winners: Lens won 3–2 at Slavia Praha, Sporting CP beat Galatasaray 3–1 in Lisbon. No meetings on record.

Sabah v Slavia Praha (16:45 UTC). In Baku. Sabah lost 4–0 at Manchester United; Slavia Praha lost 3–2 at home to Lens. No meetings on record.

Arsenal v Lille (19:00 UTC). Arsenal won 1–0 at Napoli on matchday 1; Lille lost 3–2 at home to Real Betis after leading at half-time. No meetings on record. Sportsmole lists William Saliba as out for Arsenal and Piero Hincapié as a doubt, and reports that Lille's Ethan Mbappé is suspended.

Atlético Madrid v Manchester United (19:00 UTC). At the Metropolitano. Atlético lost 2–1 at Liverpool; United, fourth on +4, beat Sabah 4–0. They met in the 2021/22 round of 16: 1–1 in Madrid in February 2022 and 1–0 to Atlético at Old Trafford in March. United won a friendly 2–1 on 1 August this year. UEFA notes that Atlético have never won a Champions League group or league-phase match against English opposition. Sportsmole reports Matthijs de Ligt still sidelined for United and Benjamin Šeško carrying a lower-leg injury.

Galatasaray v Barcelona (19:00 UTC). At Rams Park. Galatasaray lost 3–1 at Sporting; Barcelona beat Feyenoord 5–1 and are third. They last met in the 2021/22 Europa League round of 16: 0–0 in Barcelona, then 2–1 to Barcelona in Istanbul in March 2022. Hansi Flick has said Raphinha will not be available, the club reports, and UEFA notes that Lamine Yamal is one goal short of Kylian Mbappé's record for Champions League goals as a teenager.

Inter v Club Brugge (19:00 UTC). At San Siro. Inter lost 2–1 at Real Madrid; Club Brugge lost 3–2 at home to Aston Villa after trailing 3–1 at half-time. No meetings on record. Brugge's goalkeeper Yann Sommer made 139 appearances for Inter between 2023 and 2026, UEFA notes, and Inter say Curtis Jones has an adductor strain and will be reassessed.

RB Leipzig v PSV Eindhoven (19:00 UTC). RB Leipzig lost 4–1 at Como; PSV Eindhoven drew 1–1 with Shakhtar Donetsk. No meetings on record.

Viking v Bayern München (19:00 UTC). In Stavanger. Viking lost 3–1 at Stuttgart on matchday 1; Bayern München beat Bodø/Glimt 5–0 and are second. No meetings on record. ESPN notes that Bayern play on Viking's artificial pitch, with Jamal Musiala out injured, and UEFA that Harry Kane has scored in eight successive Champions League matches.

Villarreal v Napoli (19:00 UTC). At La Cerámica. Villarreal lost 3–2 at Dortmund, Napoli 1–0 at home to Arsenal. In the 2011/12 group stage Napoli won 2–0 at home and 2–0 in Villarreal; in the 2015/16 Europa League round of 32 Villarreal won 1–0 at home and drew 1–1 in Naples.

Wednesday

Feyenoord v Como (16:45 UTC). In Rotterdam. Feyenoord lost 5–1 at Barcelona; Como beat RB Leipzig 4–1 and are fifth. No meetings on record.

LASK v Liverpool (16:45 UTC). In Linz. LASK lost 1–0 at AEK Athens; Liverpool came from behind to beat Atlético 2–1. UEFA says it is LASK's first appearance in the Champions League proper. Liverpool won both 2023/24 Europa League group matches, 3–1 in Linz in September 2023 and 4–0 at Anfield in November.

AS Roma v Real Madrid (19:00 UTC). At the Stadio Olimpico. Roma drew 1–1 at Fenerbahçe; Real Madrid beat Inter 2–1. Madrid have won the last five meetings on record, among them both 2018/19 group matches, 3–0 in Madrid and 2–0 in Rome, and both legs of the 2015/16 round of 16 by 2–0. Madrid's coach, José Mourinho, was Roma's coach from 2021 to 2024, UEFA recalls; Sportsmole lists Rodrygo, Éder Militão, Ferland Mendy and Raúl Asencio as out for Madrid.

Aston Villa v Fenerbahçe (19:00 UTC). At Villa Park. Aston Villa won 3–2 at Club Brugge; Fenerbahçe drew 1–1 with Roma. Villa won 1–0 in Istanbul in the Europa League in January 2026, the only meeting on record. UEFA notes that Romelu Lukaku has scored eight goals in his last seven games against Villa.

Real Betis v FC Porto (19:00 UTC). At La Cartuja in Seville. Real Betis won 3–2 at Lille; FC Porto lost 2–0 at home to Manchester City without a shot on target. No meetings on record.

Bodø/Glimt v Borussia Dortmund (19:00 UTC). At the Aspmyra Stadion. Bodø/Glimt lost 5–0 at Bayern and are bottom; Borussia Dortmund beat Villarreal 3–2. They drew 2–2 in Dortmund in the league phase in December 2025.

Manchester City v Paris Saint-Germain (19:00 UTC). City are eighth after the 2–0 at Porto, PSG first. PSG won 4–2 in Paris in the league phase in January 2025; before that, City won both legs of the 2020/21 semi-final, 2–1 in Paris and 2–0 in Manchester, and the two split their 2021/22 group matches, 2–0 to PSG in Paris and 2–1 to City in Manchester. Sky Sports reports that Pep Guardiola is expected to attend, his first return to the Etihad since leaving last summer; Enzo Maresca is now City's manager. UEFA notes that Erling Haaland has 59 goals in 59 Champions League matches.

Shakhtar Donetsk v AEK Athens (19:00 UTC). Shakhtar Donetsk drew 1–1 at PSV; AEK Athens beat LASK 1–0. The match is at Stamford Bridge in London, where Shakhtar have arranged with Chelsea to stage their league-phase home matches, the club says; Sky Sports notes they have been unable to play in Donetsk since 2014. Their only meeting on record is a friendly, 5–0 to AEK in July 2023.

Slovan Bratislava v VfB Stuttgart (19:00 UTC). In Bratislava. Slovan Bratislava lost 6–1 in Paris; VfB Stuttgart beat Viking 3–1, with all three goals from E. Demirović. Stuttgart won 3–1 in Bratislava in the league phase in January 2025.

The table after matchday 1

With one match each, the table is mostly goal difference. PSG and Bayern lead on +5, Barcelona and Manchester United follow on +4, and Como are fifth on +3. Sixteen clubs won; Roma, Shakhtar, PSV and Fenerbahçe have a point each; sixteen have none. Bodø/Glimt and Slovan Bratislava (−5), Sabah and Feyenoord (−4) are at the bottom. After eight matches the top eight go to the round of 16 and ninth to 24th to the knockout play-offs.

Numbers to know

• Eighteen matches: four at 16:45 UTC and fourteen at 19:00 UTC.
• Nine matches pair a matchday 1 winner with a loser; Lens v Sporting CP and Manchester City v PSG are the only meetings of two winners.
• Matchday 1 produced 69 goals, 3.8 a match.
• PSG scored six on matchday 1, the most of any club; Bodø/Glimt, Porto, Napoli, LASK and Sabah did not score.

Matchday 3 follows on 20 and 21 October. The full round with kick-off times in your time zone is on the Champions League page.

Sources for the context: UEFA, UEFA, FC Barcelona, Inter, Shakhtar Donetsk, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sky Sports, Sky Sports, ESPN, Sportsmole, Sportsmole, Sportsmole, Sportsmole.