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Wednesday Champions League action: Game-by-game previews

football13 September 2022 13:05
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The Uefa Champions League continues with 16 games spread across Tuesday and Wednesday. We pick out some key talking points ahead of the second round of fixtures. Catch all the action live on SuperSport.

Here is a look at what to expect in Wednesday’s Champions League action.

AC Milan v Dinamo Zagreb

AC Milan and Dinamo Zagreb will meet for the fifth time in European competition, with the Italian side coming into this game with a 100 per cent record across the previous fixtures (4/4). This will be the first meeting between the sides since the 2000-01 season, however, when AC Milan won both games during a Uefa Champions League qualifying tie (3-1 H, 3-0 A).

This is the third time Dinamo Zagreb have been drawn in a Uefa Champions League group stage with an Italian side, having previously lost both games against Juventus in 2016-17 (0-4 H, 0-2 A) and winning one and losing one against Atalanta in 2019-20 (4-0 H, 0-2 A).

After winning their first five games against Croatian sides in European competition, AC Milan were beaten in the most recent fixture – 0-2 v HNK Rijeka in the Uefa Europa League in December 2017. That defeat did come away from home, however, with the Italian side winning all three matches against Croatian opposition on home soil.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Celtic

This will be the fifth time Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic have faced each other in the group stage of a Uefa Champions League campaign, following 2004-05 (one win each) and 2007-08 (one win each).

Celtic have lost both of their previous away games against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Uefa Champions League, while failing to score on both occasions – 0-3 in October 2004 and 0-2 in September 2007.

Shakhtar Donetsk will be looking to win three consecutive home games against an opponent in European competition for the third time, having previously done so against Roma in 2018 and Sporting Braga in 2016 (both runs of three).

Chelsea v FC Red Bull Salzburg

This will be the first meeting between Chelsea and RB Salzburg – the Blues have only lost one of their previous four games against Austrian sides in European competition (W1 D2), although the most recent of those matches came against FK Austria Wien in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994.

RB Salzburg have never beaten an English side in European competition in six attempts (D1 L5). Since drawing against Blackburn in the Uefa Cup back in September 2006, they have lost all five of their meetings with English opposition.

Chelsea were beaten by Dinamo Zagreb in their opening game of this Uefa Champions League campaign, while they have never previously lost their opening two games in an edition of the tournament. The last time they lost consecutive games in the competition was in 2019-20, losing both legs against Bayern Munich in the Last 16.

Real Madrid v RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig will be the 14th different German side that Real Madrid have faced in European competition. Los Blancos lost their previous first-time meeting with a German opponent, going down 0-2 against Wolfsburg in April 2016.

RB Leipzig are unbeaten in their three games against Spanish sides in European competition to date (W2 D1), with one of those coming in the Uefa Champions League against Atlético Madrid – 2-1 in the 2019-20 quarterfinal (single game tie in Lisbon’s Estádio José Alvalade).

Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last 11 games against German sides in the Uefa Champions League (W7 D4), while they’ve scored at least two goals in all 11 of these matches (27 in total). The last German team to beat them was Wolfsburg in the quarterfinals in April 2016 (2-0 in Wolfsburg), although Real Madrid would later win the second leg to progress from that tie (3-0 in Madrid).

Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund

This will be the third Uefa Champions League campaign in which Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund have met – after failing to win either of their games in the 2012-13 group stage (D1 L1), the Citizens won both legs of the quarterfinal against them in 2020-21 (both by a 2-1 scoreline).

Borussia Dortmund will be looking for their first away win against an English side in the Uefa Champions League since October 2013, when they won 2-1 at Arsenal. They have lost each of their four such games in the competition since then, losing against three different sides (Arsenal, Spurs x2 and Manchester City).

Manchester City have won their last eight home games against German sides in the Uefa Champions League by an aggregate score of 30-9. Indeed, the last German side to win at the Etihad Stadium in the competition was Bayern Munich in October 2013 (3-1), who were then managed by current Man City boss Pep Guardiola.

FC Copenhagen v Sevilla

This will be the first meeting between FC Copenhagen and Sevilla in European competition, with Julen Lopetegui’s side being the seventh different Spanish opponent that Copenhagen have faced (after Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Betis, Atlético Madrid, Valencia and Mallorca).

Sevilla’s only previous meetings with Danish opposition came in the last 16 of the European Cup in 1957-58, where they progressed with a 4-2 aggregate win over AGF Aarhus (4-0 at home, 0-2 away).

FC Copenhagen have failed to win all 12 of their previous meetings with Spanish opponents in European competition, drawing four times and losing eight. They’ve lost each of the most recent four – twice against both Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid – while failing to score in three of those games.

Juventus v Benfica

Juventus have only won one of their six meetings with Benfica in European competition to date (D1 L4), with that coming in a 3-0 win in a Uefa Cup quarterfinal in 1992-93. The Old Lady have lost both of their previous meetings with Benfica in the European Cup/Uefa Champions League, both of which came across two legs in the 1967-68 semifinals.

The last meeting between Juventus and Benfica in European competition came in the 2013-14 Uefa Europa League semifinals, where the Portuguese side won 2-1 on aggregate (2-1 at home and 0-0 away in Turin).

Juventus have only lost one of their nine home games against Portuguese sides in European competition (W7 D1), although that defeat did come against Benfica (0-1 in May 1968). They are unbeaten in the last seven such games since that loss against Benfica, winning six of them (D1), including one over FC Porto in the Uefa Champions League last term (3-2).

Maccabi Haifa v Paris Saint-Germain

Maccabi Haifa and Paris Saint-Germain have only met twice before in European competition, with both of those meetings coming in the Cup Winners’ Cup first round in 1998-99. The side from Israel progressed from the tie with a 4-3 aggregate win over two legs (1-1 away and 3-2 at home).

Paris Saint-Germain have only won one of their previous five meetings with Israeli opposition (D1 L3), however they haven’t faced a side from Israel in a major European competition since November 2006 (excl. qualification) – a 2-4 defeat to Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Uefa Cup.

Maccabi Haifa faced French opposition in their previous Uefa Champions League campaign back in 2009-10, although they lost both games against Bordeaux in the group stage (0-1 on both occasions).

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