Champions League Matchweek Two: What the stats say

Despite drawing their tournament opener (0-0 v Inter Milan), Manchester City remain the overall favourites to win this season’s Uefa Champions League (22.6 per cent chance).

Bayer Leverkusen – who won 4-0 away to Feyenoord on MD1 – now have the third-best chance of winning the competition this term (7.7 per cent), behind only Manchester City (22.6 per cent) and Real Madrid (18.6 per cent).

After winning their opener against Young Boys, Aston Villa now have a 48.2 per cent chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament (Last 16).

See what the stats say ahead of Champions League matchday two – catch all the action live only on SuperSport.

RB Salzburg v Brest

1 October 2024

This will be RB Salzburg’s first meeting with Brest in European competition, and just the second French opponent they’ve faced in the Uefa Champions League, after two games against Lille in the 2021-22 group stage (won 2-1 at home and lost 0-1 away).

RB Salzburg have won four of their five home games against French sides in European competition (L1), including each of the last three in a row. The only side to beat them on home soil was Nice, losing 0-1 in a Uefa Europa League group stage game back in October 2016.

This will be Brest’s first ever away game in European competition, while the last French team to win their first ever away match in the Uefa Champions League was Auxerre in 1996-97 (2-1 v Rangers). Indeed, none of the previous six sides from France have managed to win their first such road game (D3 L3).

RB Salzburg lost their first Uefa Champions League game under Pepijn Lijnders (0-3 v Sparta Prague), while their current winless run of six games (D1 L5) is their longest in the competition to date.

Stuttgart v Sparta Prague

1 October 2024

This will be the first meeting between Stuttgart and Sparta Prague in European competition, while the last time Stuttgart faced an opponent from Czechia (including Czechoslovakia) was in the 1997-98 Cup Winners’ Cup quarterfinal (won 3-1 on aggregate against Slavia Prague – 1-1 away, 2-0 at home).

Sparta Prague have only won one of their last nine games against German sides in European competition (D4 L4), going winless in five (D3 L2) since a 1-0 victory over Hertha Berlin in the Uefa Champions League in March 2000.

Stuttgart won three of their first four home games (D1) in the European Cup/Uefa Champions League between 1984 and 2003, but have won just two of their previous eight such matches since then (D2 L4).

Sparta Prague have lost each of their last seven away games in the Uefa Champions League, conceding 20 goals and only scoring three times across those. Their last win on the road in the competition dates back to December 2001 (1-0 v FC Porto), with the side from Czechia winless in 12 UCL away games since then (D2 L10).

Borussia Dortmund v Celtic

1 October 2024

This will be Borussia Dortmund’s fifth meeting in major European competition with Celtic (W3 L1), with the German outfit winning all of their last three against the Bhoys and with all four previous meetings coming in the Uefa Cup (1987/88 & 1992/93).

Celtic have never won a Uefa Champions League match against German opponents (P8 D2 L6), losing all of their last four such matches in the competition. Borussia Dortmund will be the fourth different German side Celtic have faced after FC Bayern München (P4 D1 L3), Borussia Mönchengladbach (P2 D1 L1) and RB Leipzig (P2 L2).

Borussia Dortmund come into this clash on an 11-match unbeaten streak at home in the Uefa Champions League (W7 D4), keeping eight clean sheets during this run. This is already Dortmund’s longest ever home unbeaten run in the competition.

Celtic have lost all of their last five away matches in the Uefa Champions League and failed to win any of their last eight such matches (D1 L7). In fact, the last time the Bhoys won their first away match of a Champions League campaign was back in September 2017 – beating RSC Anderlecht 3-0 in what was their only win of the 2017/18 campaign.

PSV Eindhoven v Sporting CP

1 October 2024

This will be the third meeting in major European competition between PSV Eindhoven and Sporting CP, with both sides recording a win each in the group stage of the 2019/20 Uefa Europa League (PSV 3-2 Sporting & Sporting 4-0 PSV).

Sporting have lost both of their previous two Uefa Champions League matches against Dutch opposition, losing both matches to Ajax (1-5 & 2-4) in the group stage of the 2021/22 campaign.

PSV are unbeaten in each of their last four home matches in the Uefa Champions League (W1 D3) and haven’t went 5+ unbeaten at the Philips Stadion in the competition since a run of 11 between November 2003 and December 2005 (W9 D2).

After losing eight of their nine Uefa Champions League away matches between October 2014 and September 2021 (W1), Sporting CP have since lost just two of their last six on the road in the competition (W2 D2), recording draws away at Tottenham Hotspur (1-1) and Manchester City (0-0) in this run, as well as 4-1 and 3-0 wins at Besiktas and Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively.

Slovan Bratislava v Manchester City

1 October 2024

This will be the first meeting in major European competition between Slovan Bratislava and Manchester City. The hosts have won just two of their 12 matches against English opposition (D2 L8), losing all of their last five in a row.

This is Manchester City’s first ever meeting with Slovakian opposition, with Slovakia becoming the 27th different nation that City have faced a club from in major European competition.

This is Slovan Bratislava’s first ever home match in the Uefa Champions League. The Slovakian outfit however did win all six of their European Cup home matches, with their last ever such match coming against English opposition – a 1-0 win against Derby County in September 1975.

Manchester City are unbeaten in each of their last 11 Uefa Champions League away matches (W5 D6), winning four of their last five such matches (D1). Indeed, this is already their longest ever unbeaten run on the road in the competition.

Barcelona v Young Boys

1 October 2024

Barcelona and Young Boys have never previously faced each other in European competition. Indeed, the last time Barcelona faced a Swiss opponent was in the group stage of the 2008-09 Uefa Champions League campaign against Basle (won 5-0 away, drew 1-1 at home).

The last team to win their first ever meeting with Barcelona in European competition was Rubin Kazan (2-1 in the Uefa Champions League in October 2009), with none of the last 19 sides facing them for the first time managing to pick up a victory (D3 L16).

Barcelona have only lost their opening home game of a Uefa Champions League campaign in one of their previous 28 tournament appearances (W25 D2), with that lone defeat coming in 2021-22 against Bayern Munich (0-3).

Young Boys’ last away victory in the European Cup/Uefa Champions League came all the way back in August 1960, in a 5-0 win at Irish side Limerick. They’ve played 11 away games across the two competitions since then, drawing three and losing eight of those trips.

Bayer Leverkusen v Milan

1 October 2024

Bayer Leverkusen and Milan have never previously met in European competition. In their previous 12 games against Italian sides in the Uefa Champions League, Leverkusen have only managed two victories (D4 L6), and lost each of the last three in a row.

Milan have only lost one of their last eight games against German sides in the Uefa Champions League (W3 D4), although that one defeat did come in the most recent such game – 1-3 v last season’s finalists Borussia Dortmund in November 2023.

Bayer Leverkusen are unbeaten in their last nine home games in major European competition (W6 D3), while they’ve never previously gone 10 in a row without defeat in such matches.

Milan have only won their first away game in one of their previous seven Uefa Champions League campaigns (D5 L1), failing to do so in each of the last four (D1) since beating Zenit St Petersburg in 2012-13 (3-2).

Inter Milan v Crvena Zvezda

1 October 2024

Inter Milan and Crvena Zvezda have faced on two previous occasions in European competition, with the Italian side progressing 2-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals of the 1980-81 European Cup (drew 1-1 at home and won 1-0 away).

Including qualifiers, Crvena Zvezda haven’t won any of their last eight matches against Italian sides in European competition (D4 L4). Indeed, their last such victory came back in December 2005, in a 3-1 win versus Roma in the Uefa Cup group stages.

This will be only the second time this century that an Italian and Serbian side have faced each other in a Uefa Champions League campaign, after Napoli and Crvena Zvezda’s two meetings in the group stage in 2018-19 (Napoli won 3-1 at home and drew 0-0 away).

Inter Milan are unbeaten in their last nine home games in the Uefa Champions League (W7 D2), while they last went 10 without defeat between February 2009 and November 2010 – a period within which they went on to lift the trophy in this competition (2-0 v Bayern Munich in the 2009-10 final).

Arsenal v Paris SG

1 October 2024

Arsenal are unbeaten in their previous four meetings with Paris SG in European competition (W1 D3). Indeed, the French side have played more games against the Gunners without winning (4) than against any other opponent in European competition.

Paris SG have lost each of their last three away games against English sides in the Uefa Champions League, losing twice to Manchester City (both in 2021). and once to Newcastle last season. Their 1-4 defeat at St. James’ Park last term was their heaviest away defeat to an English opponent in European competition.

Arsenal’s previous home game against a French side in the Uefa Champions League was a 6-0 victory over Lens in last season’s group stage. The Gunners were 4-0 up after 27 minutes in that game, while it remains the biggest ever win by an English team over a French opponent in European competition.

Mikel Arteta will be the sixth different Spanish manager that Luis Enrique has faced in the Uefa Champions League. The current Paris SG boss has won five of his last six such matches (L1), and beaten each of the previous five Spaniards he’s faced in the competition at least once (Pep Guardiola, Unai Emery, Xavi, Imanol Alguacil and Míchel).

Shakhtar Donetsk v Atalanta

2 October 2024

Shakhtar Donetsk and Atalanta have faced each other in the Uefa Champions League in one previous campaign (2019-20), with both sides winning away from home in their two group stage meetings (Shakhtar won 2-1 in Italy and Atalanta won 3-0 in Ukraine).

Since beating Atalanta in October 2019 (2-1), Shakhtar Donetsk have gone winless in each of their last eight matches against Italian sides in European competition (D3 L5), scoring just one goal across those eight games.

Atalanta won five consecutive away games in the Uefa Champions League between December 2019 and December 2020, but have failed to win each of their last four on the road in the competition (D2 L2). They conceded just three goals during their five-game win streak, while they’ve conceded 11 goals across the most recent four on the road.

Shakhtar Donetsk have kept three clean sheets in their last four Uefa Champions League matches (W2 D1 L1), losing 5-3 in the other against FC Porto. It’s as many clean sheets as they’d managed in their previous 19 games in the competition.

Girona v Feyenoord

2 October 2024

This will be the first ever European meeting between Girona and Feyenoord, with the Red and Whites being the Dutch side’s ninth different Spanish opponent in Europe.

Feyenoord have lost each of their last three European away games against Spanish sides, conceding 2+ goals each time.

Girona’s first Uefa Champions League match ended in a 1-0 defeat to Paris SG via a 90th-minute own goal by goalkeeper Paolo Gazzaniga. They were the third team to lose their debut match in the competition 1-0 via a last-minute goal, after Lille in 2001 and Union Berlin in 2023.

Feyenoord have lost each of their last eight Uefa Champions League away games (including all three last season), since a 1-0 win at Newcastle in September 2002.

Benfica v Atlético Madrid

2 October 2024

Benfica and Atlético Madrid’s only previous meetings came in the group stage of the 2015-16 Uefa Champions League. Both sides won their away game 2-1 against the other.

Atlético Madrid have won three of their last four Uefa Champions League away games against Portuguese opponents, although lost their most recent 2-1 at FC Porto in November 2022.

Benfica have won just one of their last 10 home games against Spanish sides in all European competition (D4 L5), a 3-0 win over Barcelona in September 2021 after two goals from Darwin Núñez and one from Rafa Silva.

Benfica are looking to win their opening two Uefa Champions League matches in a season for just a third time, also doing so in 2015-16 and 2022-23.

Liverpool v Bologna

2 October 2024

Liverpool and Bologna have never previously faced before, while Bologna will be the Reds’ ninth different Italian opponent in European competition, after Internazionale, Juventus, Roma, Genoa, Milan, Fiorentina, Napoli, Udinese, and Atalanta.

Bologna have faced three English sides previously in all European competitions, most recently Fulham in the 2002 Intertoto Cup. Their last in a major European competition came against Leeds United in the 1966-67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, losing via a coin toss after a 1-1 aggregate draw over two legs.

In European competition, sides from no other nation have beaten Liverpool at Anfield more times than Italian clubs (7 – level with Spanish). The Reds have lost three of their last five at home to Italian sides (W2).

Liverpool have won each of their last 10 group/league stage games at Anfield in major European competitions, scoring 2+ goals in their last nine in a row. Their last such defeat, though, was to an Italian side, losing 0-2 to Atalanta in November 2020.

RB Leipzig v Juventus

2 October 2024

Juventus will be RB Leipzig’s third Italian opponent in major European competition (after Napoli and Atalanta), and very first in the Uefa Champions League.

Juventus have won each of their last four meetings with German sides in major Uefa competitions while keeping a clean sheet each time (two v Bayer Leverkusen in the 2019-20 Uefa Champions League, two v SC Freiburg in the 2022-23 Uefa Europa League).

RB Leipzig lost 2-1 to Atlético Madrid on MD1 this season in the Uefa Champions League. They’ve lost their opening two matches in two of the previous three campaigns (2021-22 and 2022-23).

Juventus have lost four of their last five Uefa Champions League away games (D1), including each of their last three in a row – their longest losing run on their travels in the competition since October 2014 (4).

Lille v Real Madrid

2 October 2024

Lille and Real Madrid have never previously faced off in European competition; LOSC have only won one of their last nine major European meetings with Spanish sides (D3 L5), although that was their most recent, a 2-1 win at Sevilla in this competition in 2021-22.

Real Madrid have lost both of their last two Uefa Champions League away games against French sides without scoring, both against PSG in 2019 (0-3) and 2022 (0-1).

Lille have won seven of their eight home games in European competition since the start of last season, the only exception being a 1-1 draw with Sturm Graz in last season’s Uefa Conference League.

Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last 14 Uefa Champions League matches (W10 D4). They last had a longer unbeaten run between April 2016 and May 2017 (15 in a row).

Sturm Graz v Club Brugge

2 October 2024

This will be the first ever European meeting between Sturm Graz and Club Brugge; the Austrian club have lost their last three such games against Belgian opposition, all without scoring.

Club Brugge have won five of their last six European matches against Austrian opponents, losing the other 4-0 to FC Red Bull Salzburg in the 2018-19 Uefa Europa League.

Sturm Graz have now lost on MD1 of all five of their Uefa Champions League campaigns. They’ve also lost on MD2 in three of their previous four campaigns, winning the other 3-0 against Galatasaray in 2000-01.

Club Brugge won their opening two matches in their last Uefa Champions League season in 2022-23 but lost 3-0 to Borussia Dortmund on MD1 this season. They haven’t lost their first two games in a campaign since 2018-19 under Ivan Leko.

Aston Villa v Bayern Munich

2 October 2024

This will be the second ever meeting between Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, with Villa winning the 1982 European Cup final 1-0 against the German side to win their only ever major European title.

Bayern Munich have only lost one of their last 10 Uefa Champions League meetings with English sides (W7 D2), a 0-3 defeat to Manchester City in the 2022-23 quarterfinal first leg.

Aston Villa won their first Uefa Champions League game on MD1 (3-0 v Young Boys), while the only other English side to win their first two matches in the competition (since 1992-93) is Leicester City – 3-0 v Club Brugge and 1-0 v FC Porto in 2016-17.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has already beaten Bayern Munich in the Uefa Champions League on two previous occasions, winning 3-0 in September 2017 in charge of Paris SG and 1-0 in April 2022 with Villarreal. The only manager to beat Bayern Munich in the competition with as many as three different teams is José Mourinho (Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid).

Dinamo Zagreb v Monaco

2 October 2024

Dinamo Zagreb and Monaco have never previously faced before, while the Croatian club are winless in their last 12 meetings with French league opponents (D2 L10) in European competition, losing each of their last six in a row by an aggregate score of 19-1.

Monaco have never previously faced a Croatian side in any European competition before; French league clubs have won seven of their eight previous Uefa Champions League matches against Croatian opponents (D1) – all of which have been versus Dinamo Zagreb.

Dinamo Zagreb became the first team in Uefa Champions League history to concede nine goals in a game in their 9-2 defeat to Bayern Munich on MD1. Only one team has ever conceded 10+ goals in their first two games in a Champions League campaign – Celtic in 2016-17 (10).

Monaco have only won one of their last 11 Uefa Champions League away games (D4 L6), and are winless in their last seven (D3 L4) since a 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund in April 2017.