UCL Matchday 5: Tuesday game-by-game previews

Expect more drama as the UEFA Champions League matchday five as Europe’s elite clubs battle it out for places in the next round. Catch all the action live on SuperSport.

FC Red Bull Salzburg v Chelsea

The only previous European meeting between FC Red Bull Salzburg and Chelsea came in this season’s reverse fixture on MD2, a 1-1 draw.

Chelsea have only played two away European matches in Austria before, losing 1-0 at Weiner Sport-Club in November 1965 in the Fairs Cup and drawing 1-1 against FK Austria Wien in November 1994 in the Cup Winners’ Cup.

DID YOU KNOW? RB Salzburg are winless in all seven of their European matches against English teams (D2 L5), failing to beat Blackburn Rovers (D1 L1), Manchester City (L2), Liverpool (L2) and Chelsea (D1). It is the most they’ve faced teams from a single nation without defeating in major European competition.

Sevilla v FC Copenhagen

The only previous European meeting between Sevilla and FC Copenhagen was on MD2 of this season’s UEFA Champions League, a goalless draw.

FC Copenhagen are winless in all 13 of their major European matches against Spanish teams (D5 L8), losing their last three on Spanish soil. Their six away games in Spain have all been against different teams: Real Betis (lost 2-0), Mallorca (drew 1-1), Valencia (drew 1-1), Barcelona (lost 2-0), Real Madrid (lost 4-0) and Atletico Madrid (lost 1-0).

DID YOU KNOW? This will be FC Copenhagen’s sixth match against a Spanish side in the UEFA Champions League (D2 L3), while the Danish side have only scored one goal across the previous five – in a 1-1 draw versus Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in November 2010.

Dinamo Zagreb v Milan

Dinamo Zagreb have lost all five of their matches against Milan in European competition (including qualifiers). Against no side have lost more games in their European history (also five vs Ajax).

Milan have won their two away European games against Dinamo Zagreb, beating them 3-1 in the Cup Winners’ Cup in September 1973 and 3-0 in a Champions League qualifier in August 2000.

DID YOU KNOW? Milan’s 100% record against Dinamo Zagreb – winning five out of five games against them – is their best against any side in their European history, with Zagreb the only side they’ve faced five times and won every game.

Celtic v Shakhtar Donetsk

Celtic have won both of their previous home European matches against Shakhtar Donetsk, winning 1-0 and 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League group stages in 2004-05 and 2007-08 respectively.

There has never been an away win in five previous UEFA Champions League meetings between Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk, with four home wins and one draw in the most recent meeting on MD2 this season, drawing 1-1 in Poland.

In the previous five meetings between Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League group stage, both teams have shared two wins apiece. The one draw came in this season’s reverse fixture, with Celtic drawing 1-1 away from home.

DID YOU KNOW? Shakhtar Donetsk have never won a UEFA Champions League away match against a British team, losing on eight of their nine total trips (D1). They did avoid defeat in the most recent one, however, drawing 1-1 against Manchester City in November 2019.

RB Leipzig v Real Madrid

The only previous European match between RB Leipzig and Real Madrid was on MD2 of this season’s UEFA Champions League, a 2-0 win for Madrid.

Real Madrid have lost just one of their last eight away UEFA Champions League matches in Germany (W5 D2). They had lost 11 of their first 17 visits to Germany in the competition (W2 D4).

Following back-to-back wins across MD3 and MD4, RB Leipzig will be looking to win three consecutive games in the UEFA Champions League for just the second time – they previously did three in a row between February and August 2020, beating Spurs twice and Atlético Madrid once.

DID YOU KNOW? Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last 13 games against German sides in European competition overall (W9 D4), with los Blancos scoring at least two goals in every game in this run (31 in total).

Borussia Dortmund v Manchester City

Borussia Dortmund have won just one of their five UEFA Champions League matches against Manchester City (D1 L3), a 1-0 home win in the 2012-13 group stage.

Manchester City have won their last three UEFA Champions League games against Borussia Dortmund, winning every game 2-1. No side has ever beaten another by the same score in four consecutive games in the Champions League (Bayern Munich beat Arsenal 5-1 three in a row between 2015 and 2017).

Manchester City have won 14 of their last 16 UEFA Champions League matches against German teams (D1 L1) but did lose their last away game there 2-1 against RB Leipzig. City have won 16 games against German opponents in the competition, six more than against any other nation.

DID YOU KNOW? Borussia Dortmund have only lost two of their last 14 home games in the UEFA Champions League (W8 D4), although one of those defeats came against Manchester City in April 2021 (1-2 in the quarter-final second leg).

Paris Saint-Germain v Maccabi Haifa

Paris Saint-Germain and Maccabi Haifa have faced three times previously, with both sides winning one game apiece and one drawn game. PSG registered their first win over Haifa on MD2 of this season’s UEFA Champions League, a 3-1 away win.

Maccabi Haifa are winless in three away European games (including qualifiers) in France (D1 L2), only avoiding defeat in their one previous visit to PSG back in September 1998 in the Cup Winners’ Cup. PSG took the lead through Marco Simone before Yossi Benayoun equalised with three minutes remaining.

Paris Saint-Germain have only lost one of their last 32 group stage games at the Parc des Princes in the UEFA Champions League (W25 D6), with their lone defeat in this run coming against Manchester United in October 2020 (1-2). The French side have averaged 2.7 goals per game across this period of 32 fixtures, netting 86 times in total.

DID YOU KNOW? Following their victory over Juventus last time out, Maccabi Haifa could become the first ever Israeli side to win consecutive matches in the UEFA Champions League.

Benfica v Juventus

Benfica have won all three of their home European matches against Juventus, a 2-0 win in the European Cup semi-final in 1968, 2-1 win in the UEFA Cup in 1993 and 2-1 victory in the Europa League in 2014.

Juventus have won just one of their seven European games against Benfica (D1 L5), a 3-0 victory in the UEFA Cup in March 1993 with goals from Jurgen Kohler, Dino Baggio and Fabrizio Ravanelli.

Benfica are looking to qualify for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for a second consecutive season. Only once previously have they emerged from the group stages in back-to-back editions, doing so in 2015-16 and 2016-17 under Rui Vitória.

DID YOU KNOW? Juventus have only won on two of their previous eight trips away to Portuguese sides (D2 L4), while they’re without a win on either of their last two trips – 1-1 v Sporting CP in October 2017 and 1-2 v FC Porto in February 2021, both in the UEFA Champions League.