Once again the teams in the European competitions start a new day of play. Antwerp, Union, Club Brugge, Ghent and Genk, all Belgian teams may once again take a gamble in European football.
But we will also be able to watch interesting matches outside Belgium: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona, all are resounding names that have more than earned their fame. All will put their best foot forward again this week.
Champions League
Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United, who just went down against Bayern Munich last matchday, will face Galatasaray this time. With Bayern now top of the table, it will have to prove itself especially well against the other teams. Galatasaray and Copenhagen drew last time out, but the two will have to compete against perennial European footballers.
In Group C, we get one of the most interesting matches of this matchday: SSC Napoli will face Carlo Ancelotti’s team Real Madrid at home. These two teams both won their previous match, putting them together at the top with 3 points. Napoli scored just one more goal. Nevertheless, the team that wins at the Italian ground automatically becomes the leader in the group.
We also get an interesting fixture in Group F, which, like Napoli-Real Madrid, will be played on Italian soil: AC Milan and BVB Dortmund will play each other. Although Dortmund lost 2-0 to PSG last time out, they are not a weak opponent. The German team has long been a strong force in international club football, and AC Milan is also in a strong position. The Italian team is even in second place in Serie A. Dortmund is currently in fourth place in the Bundesliga.
Antwerp gets Shachtar Donetsk on the floor at the Bosuilstadion this time. The Flemish city is currently doing well in the Jupiler Pro League and is in 5th place, but in the Champions League it only found a superior in Barcelona. “Den Antwerp” therefore has all the more motivation to do better this time. Against Shachtar Donetsk, they should succeed.
Barcelona that Antwerp played against last time now has to prove itself again against Porto, which won 3-1 against Shachtar. But that should not be a problem for the Spanish top club either.
Europa League
Union fell short of a 1-1 draw against Toulouse last time out. And it will be hard to get points this time too. They face English side Liverpool, ranked fourth in the Premier League.
Marseille and Ajax drew 3-3 last time out, leaving AEK Athens currently in first place. Perhaps Ajax can change that when they play at Greek ground on Thursday night. Marseille plays against Brighton, which is actually not doing too badly and is currently in 6th place in England. It did lose last time out against AEK Athens 3-2.
Furthermore, Leverkusen, Slavia Prague, AS Roma, Atalanta and Sporting CP also play important matches, which will determine who will be the leader in their group.
Europa Conference League
In Group B, Gent might be able to get more points this time if it can win against Maccabi Tel Aviv FC. It played a draw against Zorja last time out, leaving it 2 points behind Tel Aviv. That team, however, is in first place in the national league. So it will not be a simple task for Gent, but one they could overcome in principle.
Club Brugge will also need to pick up more than the one point. They played a draw against Besiktas last time out, but should do better against Bodo/Glimt now. Club Brugge, currently in fourth place in the Jupiler Pro League, just gave away the three-pointer at the end, putting them in the same spot as the other teams in their group. A win could already give them a small lead.
In Group F, Genk played a draw against Fiorentina, but now they have to face Cucaricki, the team in last place. Fiorentina will take on Ferencvaros this time. So it will be an interesting match that will determine who will be in first place.
Further in the Conference League, Lille OSC, Dinamo Zagreb and Eintracht Frankfurt are also playing in this group stage. These teams are all in first or second place in their groups, and thus immediately play for leadership as well. So interesting matches, which will make the difference between who can join and who cannot.
