Champions League matchday 4 preview: Barcelona host Aston Villa, Atlético meet Bayern and PSG visit Villarreal

Five clubs have won all three matches, and all five play away from home this week. On Tuesday Aston Villa, second on nine points, go to Barcelona, who lost 4–2 in Paris, and leaders Paris Saint-Germain visit Villarreal. Atlético Madrid and Bayern München, neither of them beaten in their last two, meet at the Metropolitano. On Wednesday Real Madrid go to Athens, Liverpool to Istanbul, and Real Betis, fifth on nine, to Dortmund.

Tuesday

Galatasaray v VfB Stuttgart (17:45 UTC). At Rams Park. Galatasaray won 4–2 in Lille after two defeats and are 23rd on three points; VfB Stuttgart, sixth on seven, drew 1–1 with Atlético and have conceded twice in three matches. No meetings on record.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Sporting CP (17:45 UTC). Shakhtar Donetsk lost 1–0 at Inter and are 17th on four points; Sporting CP, 12th on six, lost 3–2 at home to LASK. No meetings on record.

Atlético Madrid v Bayern München (20:00 UTC). At the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Atlético are 16th on four points after a 1–1 in Stuttgart; Bayern, 14th on five, drew 2–2 with Arsenal and have yet to lose. The last meetings were in the 2020/21 group, 4–0 to Bayern in Munich and 1–1 in Madrid; in the 2016/17 group each side won 1–0 at home, and Atlético went through on away goals in the 2015/16 semi-final after losing 2–1 in Munich. Sportsmole reports that Bayern will be without Luis Díaz with a hamstring injury and that Michael Olise is a doubt after hurting his knee against Dortmund, while Atlético have concerns over Johnny Cardoso and Koke, both back in training.

Barcelona v Aston Villa (20:00 UTC). At the Spotify Camp Nou. Barcelona are eighth on six points after losing 4–2 to PSG; Villa have won all three and are level with PSG on points and goal difference, having scored 12 and conceded three. No meetings on record. Sportsmole lists Dani Olmo, Xavi Espart, Andreas Christensen, Roony Bardghji, Eric García and Jules Koundé as unavailable for Barcelona, and Amadou Onana, Matteo Ruggeri and Aaron Wan-Bissaka for Villa.

Bodø/Glimt v Lille (20:00 UTC). At the Aspmyra Stadion. Bodø/Glimt lost 4–3 in Naples and are 28th on three points; Lille, 35th, have lost all three, the last 4–2 at home to Galatasaray. No meetings on record.

Feyenoord v Inter (20:00 UTC). At the Stadion Feijenoord. Feyenoord lost 1–0 at Betis and are 26th on three points; Inter beat Shakhtar 1–0 for their first win and are 20th, also on three. Inter won both legs of the 2024/25 round of 16, 2–0 in Rotterdam and 2–1 in Milan in March 2025.

LASK v Slovan Bratislava (20:00 UTC). At the Raiffeisen Arena. LASK won 3–2 in Lisbon for their first win and are 24th; Slovan Bratislava are bottom without a point, a goal scored or a draw since the opening 6–1 in Paris, and have conceded 13. No meetings on record.

Manchester United v AS Roma (20:00 UTC). At Old Trafford. Manchester United, 21st on three points, lost 4–1 at Como; AS Roma, 15th on four, beat Slovan 4–0. United won the 2020/21 Europa League semi-final, 6–2 at Old Trafford and 3–2 down in Rome in May 2021. Sportsmole reports that Patrick Dorgu, Luke Shaw and Benjamin Sesko will miss out for United, with Marcus Rashford and Amad to be assessed, and that Paulo Dybala, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Manu Koné, Mile Svilar and Muhammed Bah remain out for Roma.

Villarreal v Paris Saint-Germain (20:00 UTC). At the Estadio de la Cerámica. Villarreal, 19th on three points, lost 4–3 at Anfield; PSG top the table with 14 goals, the most of any club, after beating Barcelona 4–2. No meetings on record. Sportsmole lists Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (cruciate ligament), Marquinhos and Ousmane Dembélé (hamstrings), Nuno Mendes and Alessandro Longoni as injured for PSG, and Nathan Saliba, Alassane Diatta, Juan Foyth and Ilias Akhomach as doubts for Villarreal.

Wednesday

AEK Athens v Real Madrid (17:45 UTC). At the Allwyn Arena. AEK Athens lost 5–1 in Manchester and are 29th on three points; Real Madrid, fourth, beat RB Leipzig 4–1 for a third win. No meetings on record.

Fenerbahçe v Liverpool (17:45 UTC). At the Chobani Stadium. Fenerbahçe drew 2–2 with Slavia and are 31st on two points, having conceded nine; Liverpool, third, beat Villarreal 4–3 and have scored 12. No meetings on record.

Borussia Dortmund v Real Betis (20:00 UTC). At the Signal Iduna Park. Borussia Dortmund won 2–1 in Baku and are 13th on six points; Betis have won all three by a goal, 3–2, 3–2 and 1–0. No meetings on record.

FC Porto v Napoli (20:00 UTC). At the Estádio do Dragão. FC Porto are 34th, without a point after a 1–0 at home to PSV, and have scored twice; Napoli beat Bodø/Glimt 4–3 for their first win. No meetings on record.

Lens v Como (20:00 UTC). At the Stade Bollaert-Delelis. Lens lost 3–0 in Bruges and are 27th on three points; Como, ninth on six, beat United 4–1. No meetings on record.

PSV Eindhoven v Club Brugge (20:00 UTC). At the Philips Stadion. PSV Eindhoven won 1–0 in Porto and are 18th on four points, with two goals scored and two conceded; Club Brugge, 11th on six, beat Lens 3–0. The only meetings on record are friendlies.

RB Leipzig v Manchester City (20:00 UTC). At the Red Bull Arena. RB Leipzig lost 4–1 in Madrid and are 30th on three points; Manchester City, tenth on six, beat AEK 5–1. City won the 2022/23 round of 16, 1–1 in Leipzig and 7–0 at home, and both 2023/24 group matches, 3–1 in Leipzig and 3–2 in Manchester; Leipzig won 2–1 at home in December 2021.

Slavia Praha v Arsenal (20:00 UTC). At the Sinobo Stadium. Slavia Praha drew 2–2 in Istanbul and are 32nd on one point; Arsenal, seventh on seven, drew 2–2 in Munich and have conceded twice. Arsenal won 3–0 in Prague in the league phase in November 2025, and in the 2020/21 Europa League quarter-final drew 1–1 at home before winning 4–0 in Prague.

Viking v Sabah (20:00 UTC). At the SR-Bank Arena. Viking lost 3–1 at Villa Park and are 33rd on one point; Sabah, 25th on three, lost 2–1 at home to Dortmund. No meetings on record.

The table after matchday 3

PSG and Aston Villa lead on nine points and +9, PSG ahead on goals scored, followed by Liverpool, Real Madrid and Real Betis, also on nine. Stuttgart and Arsenal have seven, and six clubs have six, from Barcelona in eighth to Dortmund in 13th. Porto, Lille and Slovan Bratislava have no points, Slovan bottom on −12. 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 17:45 UTC and fourteen at 20:00 UTC.
• Matchday 3 produced 74 goals in 18 matches, 4.1 a match.
• Five clubs have won all three: PSG, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Real Betis.
• Eight players share the scoring lead on four goals, among them Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Serhou Guirassy and Sabah's Joy-Lance Mickels.
• Stuttgart, Arsenal and PSV have conceded two goals each, the fewest; Slovan Bratislava 13, the most.

Matchday 5 follows on 24 and 25 November. The full round with kick-off times in your time zone is on the Champions League page.

Sources for the context: Sportsmole, Sportsmole, Sportsmole, Sportsmole.