It is Matchday 3 of the new-look Champions League and there are crucial points up for grabs as the League Phase takes shape.
Seven teams have maximum points, which include the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Juventus, but with eight games to play before the knockout stages instead of six in the previous format, there is still so much to play for.
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Champions League Matchday 3
*Odds are subject to change
Juventus to beat Stuttgart @ 1.84
The Old Lady of Italian football have started life under new head coach Thiago Motta in solid fashion, going unbeaten in their first eight Serie A games, leaving them three points off the top of the table in third.
This solid start also includes two wins from two in the Champions League, where they defeated PSV 3-1 in the opening fixture, before overcoming the odds when a man down to beat RB Leipzig in Germany 3-2 on the second matchday.
After a mightily impressive campaign last season which saw them finish second in the Bundesliga, Stuttgart have fallen back down to earth somewhat. They are midtable in the league after seven played, and are still without a Champions League win after a defeat to Real Madrid and a draw with Sparta Prague.
We think Juventus will make it three wins from three.
Real Madrid to beat Borussia Dortmund @ 1.45
Last time out, Lille caused the first shock of this year’s competition by beating Los Blancos 1-0 in France. Now, the 15-time Champions League winners face Dortmund, who have two wins from two so far in this campaign, in a repeat of the 2024 final.
Madrid will be keen not to lose any more ground in the race for the top eight automatic qualifying positions for the Round of 16, so a win at home against last year’s beaten finalists will be important.
We think Carlo Ancelotti’s side will be too strong again for their German opponents.
Paris Saint-Germain to beat PSV Eindhoven @ 1.43
Life after Kylian Mbappe was also going to be interesting, but so far, PSG have coped quite well. Unsurprisingly, they still sit top of Ligue 1, but the Champions League has proved more difficult, with a narrow 1-0 win against Girona and a comprehensive 2-0 defeat versus Arsenal to their name.
Meanwhile, PSV have won all nine games in the Eredivisie, creating a five-point lead over second place, but are yet to win in the Champions League, losing to Juventus (3-1) and taking a point against Sporting Lisbon (1-1).
This disparity between league form and European form means we fancy PSG to grab the three points in this matchup.
Arsenal to beat Shakhtar @ 1.09
We think Arsenal will bounce back from the weekend’s setback with a return to winning ways in the Champions League. Their campaign began with a point away from home against Atalanta (0-0), before a 2-0 win versus PSG got their first three points on the board.
Shakhtar also started their League Phase with a 0-0 draw, this time against Bologna, but were then beaten easily by Atalanta in a game that ended 3-0.
These two teams first met back in the 2000-01 Champions League season, and again 10 years later in 2010-11, sharing two wins each, with the home team winning every match. We expect that run to continue.
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