Napoli shaded a five-goal thriller against RB Salzburg in Austria in the Champions League and can come out on top in another open encounter in Italy. Carlo Ancelotti’s side prevailed 3-0 when these teams met in the Europa League at Stadio San Paolo last term, but the visitors can grab a consolation this time.
Dortmund and Inter look to be battling it out for second place behind Barcelona in Group F of the Champions League and neither will want to give an inch here. They are level on four points after the Nerazzurri secured a solid 2-0 success in Italy a fortnight ago and a tight tussle is expected in Germany.
Arsenal just edged out Vitoria 3-2 in an entertaining Europa League encounter at Emirates Stadium and we’re expecting a similar outcome in Portugal. The Gunners are flying high at the top of the Group F table with nine points from three games, whereas their hosts have yet to get off the mark.
Steven Gerrard has done a sterling job in making Rangers a major force again, but the former Liverpool star knows he now needs a trophy to back up the progress made. That should ensure the Glasgow giants are fully focused on Sunday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final with a struggling Hearts outfit.
Celtic are worthy favourites to beat Hibs in Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final but the Edinburgh outfit do have a decent head-to-head record. The underdogs have secured two wins and four draws from the past 11 meetings, including a 1-1 stalemate at Easter Road this term.
Real Madrid have put themselves under plenty of pressure to qualify from Champions League Group A ahead of a tricky trip to Galatasaray. Both of these sides have picked up just one point from two games, each drawing with Club Brugge and losing to pool leaders PSG, so a win is badly needed.
Real Madrid made the worst possible start to their Champions League campaign but are firm favourites to bounce back with a victory on Matchday 2. Zinedine Zidane’s men crashed to a 3-0 defeat against Paris St Germain at Parc des Princes and are out to 12/1 in the outright winner odds.
Barcelona have had some horror shows on the road in Europe over the past couple of years and may settle for starting out with a draw at Borussia Dortmund. The Catalan giants are unbeaten in 14 Champions League pool-stage games, but will see this as a tough trip to make first up in Group F.
With this season’s Champions League group stage fast approaching, fans will no doubt be keen to see their team get off to a good start, but just how important is it and what else can you do to ensure a successful campaign? We’ve got a great infographic looking at all the past trends!
Torino played to Wolves’ strengths in the first leg of their Europa League tie and it may be a case of more of the same at Molineux. Wanderers returned from Italy with a 3-2 lead, despite only having 37 per cent of the possession, and can again catch their opponents out on the counter-attack.
Rangers returned from Poland with a satisfactory goalless stalemate against Legia Warsaw and will now be confident of reaching the Europa League group stage. Steven Gerrard’s side have rattled off four straight home wins this season, with 17 goals scored and just two conceded at Ibrox.
Celtic were good value for last week’s 2-0 Europa League win over AIK and are fancied to confirm their superiority with another success in Sweden. The Hoops had chances to increase that advantage when their opponents were forced to chase the game late on and can capitalise on a similar scenario.
Wolves can afford to ease off when hosting Pyunik in the second leg of their Europa League qualifier, having already come back from Armenia with a 4-0 advantage. Wanderers boss Nuno Espirito Santo could now be forgiven for having one eye on Monday’s Premier League clash with Man Utd.
Rangers were really impressive going forward when beating Midtjylland 4-2 away and can do the double over the Danes in this Europa League qualifier. Steven Gerrard’s side have been in rampant form up front so far this season and the manager will be keen to maintain that momentum at Ibrox.