Tuesday Champions League MD3: Game-by-game previews

Brace yourself for some mouth-watering action in the Uefa Champions League group stage matchday three. Here is all you need to know about Tuesday’s matches.

Bayern Munich v Viktoria Plzen

Bayern Munich have won all four of their Uefa European matches against Viktoria Plzen, beating them twice in the 1971-72 Cup Winners’ Cup and 2013-14 Uefa Champions League.

Viktoria Plzen’s two away European matches against Bayern Munich have seen them concede at least five goals on each occasion, losing 6-1 in September 1971 in the Cup Winners’ Cup and 5-0 in October 2013 in the Uefa Champions League.

Marseille v Sporting CP

This is the first-ever European meeting between Marseille and Sporting in any competition. Marseille have lost six of their eight European Cup/Champions League matches against Portuguese opponents (W1 D1), with their only win coming in the home leg of the 1989-90 semifinal, beating Benfica 2-1.

Liverpool v Rangers

This is the first-ever European meeting between Liverpool and Rangers in any competition. In all European competition, Rangers have only won one of their seven away games in England (D2 L4), beating Leeds United 2-1 in the Uefa Champions League qualifying phase in November 1992 with goals from Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist.

Liverpool’s last meeting with Scottish opponents in the European Cup was back in 1980-81, winning 5-0 on aggregate against Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen (1-0 away, 4-0 home). The Reds went on to win the competition that year.

Ajax v Napoli

Ajax and Napoli have only faced off in one previous European competition, meeting in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969-70 in the third round. Ajax won 4-1 on aggregate (0-1 away, 4-0 home).

Napoli have never won away from home in the Netherlands (D2 L3) in any European competition. Their only previous away match in the Uefa Champions League was a 2-1 defeat at Feyenoord in December 2017.

FC Porto v Bayer Leverkusen

FC Porto have lost each of their two European matches against Bayer Leverkusen, losing 2-1 away and 3-1 at home in the 2019-20 Uefa Europa League. Bayer Leverkusen have never lost against Portuguese opposition in the Uefa Champions League in six previous matches against Sporting (P4 W3 D1) and Benfica (W1 D1).

Club Brugge v Atlético Madrid

Club Brugge are unbeaten in all three home meetings with Atlético Madrid in European competition (W2 D1).

Atlético Madrid were unbeaten in both Uefa Champions League meetings against Club Brugge in the 2018-19 group stages (W1 D1), with the match in Belgium ending goalless.

Club Brugge have won just one of their last 18 Uefa European matches against Spanish opposition (D7 L10), a 1-0 home win over Valencia in the Europa League in February 2010.

Inter Milan v Barcelona

Inter Milan have won just two of their 14 European matches against Barcelona (D4 L8), a 2-1 win in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in January 1970 and 3-1 win in the Uefa Champions League in April 2010.

Barcelona’s two away wins against Inter Milan have been separated by 60 years, winning 4-2 in the Fairs Cup in September 1959 and 2-1 in the Uefa Champions League in December 2019.

Inter Milan have lost six Uefa Champions League matches against Barcelona, their most against a single opponent. Barcelona, meanwhile, have only beaten Celtic (8) more often in the competition.

Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham Hotspur

This is the first European meeting between Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham Hotspur since the quarterfinal of the 1981-82 Cup Winners’ Cup, with the English side winning 3-2 on aggregate.

Tottenham Hotspur have lost their last four Uefa Champions League matches against German opposition by an aggregate score of 14-3, losing twice to Bayern Munich (2-7 and 1-3) and twice to RB Leipzig (0-1 and 0-3).