Champions League Wednesday match preview

2024-09-18 16:31 © AFP

On Wednesday, the battles in the renewed format of the Champions League will continue.

The portal "EuroFootball.lt” looked into the upcoming matches and interesting facts about them.

19:45 Prague "Sparta” – "Salzburg”

The Czech champions have waited a long time for the moment to return to the prestigious tournament – the last time they competed in the Champions League was in the 2005–2006 season. Meanwhile, the "Salzburg” team will seek to spoil the celebration for their opponents, filled with determination to rehabilitate after last season's failures and to regain the champion title they lost after a decade of dominance.

Interesting fact: the "Sparta” team has not reached the knockout stages of the Champions League since the 2003–2004 season – they lost to the "Milan” team in the round of 16 back then.

19:45 "Bologna” – Donetsk "Shakhtar”

The failures of "Sparta” trying to break into the desired tournament seem laughable compared to "Bologna's” attempts. The Serie A representatives will play in the Champions League for the first time since the 1964–1965 season, when they participated in the qualifying round. The challenge for the Italians will be the Ukrainian club, which narrowly missed out on the knockout stages last year.

Interesting fact: "Shakhtar” has failed to reach the Champions League knockout stages for six consecutive seasons.

22:00 Glasgow "Celtic” – Bratislava "Slovan”

"Celtic” sets its goal to reach the decisive stage of the tournament – the last time they competed there was in the 2012–2013 season. "Slovan” will try to surprise the Scots – the Slovaks will play as if on wings, having finally broken an 11-match unsuccessful attempt to enter the Champions League series.

Interesting fact: the "Celtic” club will play in the Champions League for the third consecutive season after having four consecutive unsuccessful attempts prior to that.

22:00 "Brugge” – Dortmund "Borussia”

The Belgian team's leader Bart Verhaeghe tried to realistically evaluate his team’s chances of performing well in the tournament and stated that in order to reach the desired top 24, they need to collect about eight points. "It's very difficult, but that's our goal,” explained B. Verhaeghe. Last season’s finalists "Borussia” will strive to show that the results of the 2023–2024 season were not a coincidence.

Interesting fact: last season, "Borussia” held the most clean sheets of all clubs (6).

Nothing like a UCL night 🔥🤩 pic.twitter.com/qdBHhC18Yl

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) September 18, 2024

22:00 "Man City” – "Inter”

The "Citizens” vividly remember the 2022–2023 final, when they defeated the Serie A representatives 1-0. Meanwhile, the "Inter” team and its manager Simone Inzaghi will have their first chance to rehabilitate against the English champions.

Interesting fact: "Man City” has amassed a 31-match unbeaten home streak in the Champions League.

Tomorrow night 😤

⏳ #UCL pic.twitter.com/2zN06Nxn5k

— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 17, 2024

22:00 Paris "Saint Germain” – "Girona”

Last season, the "Girona” team surprised all football fans, finishing third in the Spanish championship, only behind Madrid’s "Real” and "Barcelona.” Meanwhile, PSG must not waste points as they face a difficult group schedule.

Interesting fact: PSG will try to extend their streak of 50 matches in the Champions League group stage where they have scored at least one goal per match. The last time the French were unable to score was in a match against Madrid's "Real” back in November 2015.