With some of Europe’s titans playing on the continent once more, Wednesday will offer nine more enticing Champions League matches. The highlight of another incredible night of world-class football is Bayern Munich’s journey to Barcelona, a match that ended 8-2 in the 2019–20 quarterfinals. This matchup is one of the biggest amongst continental aristocracy. A few minnows are trying to cause an upset, but the other clubs playing are Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter, Atletico Madrid, and Bayer Leverkusen. These are the 90-minute predictions for the Champions League action on Wednesday.
Wednesday 23 October
The Europa League finalists from the previous season will take up Wednesday’s early kickoff slots. Champions Scottish powerhouse Celtic, the 1967 European Cup winners, will play Atalanta. Following a 7-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in their most recent European match, the Italians, who have already preserved two clean sheets and amassed four points in the competition, should have little issue defeating Brendan Rodgers’ team.
As they go to Champions League debutants Brest, Bundesliga champions and Europa League runners-up Bayer Leverkusen also take the pitch before many of their European competitors. Even though the French underdogs defeated Salzburg 4-0 in their most recent European match, they will have a difficult time against Xabi Alonso’s prolific team.
Atletico Madrid should defeat Lille, a French team, on Wednesday after suffering a shocking 4-0 loss to Benfica on Matchday 2. However, in their most recent Champions League match, Les Dogues defeated Real Madrid, the current European champions and Atletico’s city rivals.
Barcelona will want to get rid of some demons when the Bavarians visit Catalonia because they have had some tough times against Bayern Munich in previous years. La Blaugrana has lost four straight games against the German team since the humbling 8-2 setback four years ago, and they haven’t scored in any of those games. On Wednesday, they might make amends.
Benfica, and who have won back-to-back games, will take on Feyenoord of the Netherlands on Matchday 3. The Eredivisie team reacted to a 4-0 loss to Leverkusen in their first game by defeating Girona 3-2 in their second match.
Manchester City should have a more comfortable evening at home against Sparta Prague in Europe, although they had to wait until stoppage time to win the Premier League against Wolverhampton Wanderers over the weekend. On Matchday 2, they thrashed Slovan Bratislava 4-0 after a draw with Inter in the 2023 final rematch. Against a team that lost to Liverpool 11-2 overall in the Europa League last season, Pep Guardiola could be eager to rest a few players.
Speaking of Liverpool, Wednesday night is their game as well. They travel to eastern Germany to play RB Leipzig, whom they have defeated 2-0 in both of their prior encounters. The Reds may win by the same score at the Red Bull Arena, but Leipzig’s dynamic attacking line will put their defence to the test.
On Wednesday, Red Bull Arena in Austria will also be used. Under Pep Lijnders, Salzburg has lost both of its Champions League opening games and is looking for their first win against Dinamo Zagreb. The Croatian team is still getting over a 9-2 loss to Bayern in their first league game. With crushing losses to Aston Villa and Barcelona, Young Boys have had a disastrous start to the 2024–25 season both at home and in Europe. When they host Serie A champions Inter, who will be looking to improve on their 4-0 thumping of Red Star Belgrade, their schedule doesn’t get any easier.
