Tuesday Champions League action: Game-by-game previews

Viktoria Plzen v Inter Milan

Viktoria Plzen last faced Italian opposition in European competition in 2018-19 in the UEFA Champions League group stage, losing 5-0 away but winning 2-1 at home against Roma. It’s their first ever meeting with Inter Milan in any competition.

Inter Milan’s only previous UEFA Champions League meetings with Czech opponents came during the 2019-20 group stage, drawing 1-1 at home and winning 3-1 away against Slavia Prague.

Viktoria Plzen have won their last eight home European matches (incl. qualifiers), scoring at least twice in every win (21 in total). They have only lost one of their last 19 on home soil in European football (W16 D2), a 5-0 reverse against Real Madrid during their last UEFA Champions League campaign in November 2018.

Sporting CP v Tottenham Hotspur

This is the first ever competitive meeting between Sporting CP and Tottenham Hotspur in any competition.

Sporting CP are winless in all six of their UEFA Champions League matches against English sides, drawing one and losing five against Man Utd (L2), Chelsea (L2) and Man City (D1 L1). They’ve lost all three home games without scoring a single goal.

Tottenham Hotspur last faced Portuguese opponents in August 2021, winning 3-1 on aggregate against Paços de Ferreira in the Europa Conference League qualifying phases. They have not faced a Portuguese team in the European Cup for 60 years, since losing 4-3 on aggregate to Benfica in the 1961-62 semi-final.

Sporting conceded 11 home goals in the UEFA Champions League last season, the most they’ve ever shipped on home soil in a season in major European football. They conceded five times in two games at Estádio José Alvalade, as many times as they had in their first 154 home games in major European competition.

Liverpool v Ajax

Liverpool and Ajax have faced in one previous UEFA Champions League campaign in 2020-21, with the Reds winning both games 1-0 home and away in the group stage.

Ajax are looking for their first win over Liverpool since December 1966, beating them 5-1 in the European Cup. However, the Amsterdam side are winless in their last five UEFA Champions League games against English opponents (D1 L4).

Liverpool have only lost their first home match in two of their previous 46 major European campaigns (W35 D9), losing 1-0 to Marseille in 2007-08 in the UEFA Champions League and 3-2 to Udinese in the 2012-13 UEFA Europa League.

In all European competition, Ajax have only lost two of their last 25 away matches (W13 D10), losing 2-0 to Getafe in February 2020 in the UEFA Europa League and 1-0 to Liverpool in December 2020 in the UEFA Champions League.

Rangers v Napoli

This is the first ever competitive meeting between Rangers and Napoli in any competition.

Rangers last faced an Italian side in European competition back in 2007-08 in the UEFA Cup semi-final against Fiorentina: after a 0-0 draw on aggregate, the Gers won 4-2 on penalties to reach the final.

Napoli have only faced a Scottish side in European competition once before, losing 4-6 on aggregate to Hibernian in the Fairs Cup in November 1967. They lost 5-0 in the away game in Edinburgh after winning the first leg 4-1.

Rangers lost 4-0 on MD1 of this season’s UEFA Champions League against Ajax. However, despite going out in nine of their previous 10 group stages in the competition, they’ve only suffered defeat in their first two group matches once before, in 1996-97 under Walter Smith.

FC Porto v Club Brugge

FC Porto have won both of their UEFA Champions League matches against Club Brugge, winning both matches in the 2016-17 group stages (2-1 away, 1-0 home).

Club Brugge have won one of their four European matches against FC Porto (L3), a 3-2 home win in the UEFA Cup in November 1972.

In all European competitions including qualifiers, FC Porto have won six and drawn two of their eight home matches against Belgian opponents. They’ve won both in the UEFA Champions League (2-0 vs Anderlecht in 1994 and 1-0 vs Club Brugge in 2016).

In major European competition, Club Brugge have lost five of their six away matches in Portugal (W1), their one win coming against Sporting Braga in September 2011 in the UEFA Europa League.

Bayer Leverkusen v Atlético Madrid

This is the fourth different UEFA Champions League season to see Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético Madrid face, doing so in the last 16 in 2014-15 (Atlético progressed on pens) and 2016-17 (Atlético won 4-2 on aggregate) and in the 2019-20 group stage, both home wins (1-0 Atlético, 2-1 Leverkusen).

Atlético Madrid have won one of their four away European matches against Bayer Leverkusen (D1 L2), a 4-2 victory in February 2017 in the UEFA Champions League.

Atlético Madrid have lost six of their last seven away UEFA Champions League matches in Germany, but their other was a win over Bayer Leverkusen in 2017. They have kept one clean sheet in 21 away major UEFA European matches in Germany, a 1-0 win over FC Carl Zeiss Jena in March 1962 in the Cup Winners’ Cup.

Bayern Munich v Barcelona

Bayern Munich have won eight of their 11 UEFA Champions League games against Barcelona (D1 L2), including each of the last four in a row. Against no side have they won more games (also eight vs Real Madrid).

Barcelona’s eight UEFA Champions League defeats against Bayern Munich are twice as many as they have lost against any other opponent (four vs AC Milan, PSG and Chelsea).

Bayern Munich have won all four of their UEFA Champions League group stage matches against Barcelona, winning twice in 1998-99 and 2021-22. The Spanish side have not lost more than twice against any other opponent in the group stages of the competition.

Bayern Munich have won 35 of their last 37 home UEFA Champions League group stage matches (D1 L1), with the exceptions a 3-2 defeat to Man City in December 2013 and 1-1 draw with Ajax in October 2018.

Marseille v Eintracht Frankfurt

Marseille and Eintracht Frankfurt will face in European competition for only the second time, also meeting in the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League group stages. Frankfurt won both matches (2-1 away, 4-0 home).

Marseille have lost eight of their last 10 European matches against German teams (across the UEFA Champions League and Europa League), with their only win in this sequence a 5-2 home victory over RB Leipzig in April 2018.

Marseille have lost 15 of their last 16 UEFA Champions League matches (W1), with the exception coming in their last home game in the competition in December 2020 against Olympiakos.