2024/25 UEFA Champions League Matchday Four Preview

We have now reached the halfway point of the League Phase in this season’s UEFA Champions League, and here we will be taking a look at the enthralling games to come on Matchday Four.

The first-ever League Phase of the UEFA Champions League has seen some enthralling matches take place at a plethora of stadiums across the continent of Europe, and this week will see clubs compete for the win which are becoming increasingly vital as we approach the business end of this stage of the competition.

So far, the Premier League clubs have enjoyed their respective campaigns in this competition to date. As of the time of writing, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa lead the way in the League Phase at present after beating BSC Young Boys, Bayern Munich, and Bologna in their first three matches.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool sits just behind the Villans on goal difference alone, following triumphs against AC Milan, Bologna, and RB Leipzig. As for Manchester City, they are third with 7 points from their three games to date after a home draw against Inter Milan, as well as two wins against Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague respectively.

As for Arsenal, they also have 7 points to their name and are in 9th place solely on goal difference. They drew in a goalless stalemate against Italian Serie A outfit Atalanta away from home, before home victories against French Champions Paris Saint-Germain and Ukrainian heavyweights Shakhtar Donetsk.

Here, we will focus on the next games in this season’s UEFA Champions League’s League Phase, whilst also taking a look at the rest of the fixtures to come on Matchday Four this week.

Liverpool (England) vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) – Tuesday 5^th November, Anfield, 20:00 KO

We start this preview with Liverpool’s game against Bayer Leverkusen, the reigning German Bundesliga Champions, at Anfield on Tuesday 5th November in a 20:00 Kick-Off on Merseyside. This game will see Leverkusen Head Coach Xabi Alonso return to face the Reds, who he played for with distinction between 2004 and 2009, making almost 150 appearances for the club.

Over the years, these two clubs have gone head to head in the UEFA Champions League on a total of 4 occasions, with the Reds having the superior record of three victories compared with Bayer Leverkusen’s 1 so far.

They most recently faced each other in this competition back in the Round of 16 in the 2004/05 season. Liverpool won 3 – 1 away from home in the second leg thanks to goals from Luis Garcia (28’, 32’) and Milan Baros (67’). This sent them through to the Quarter Final after this concluded a 6 – 2 win on aggregate. The Reds did of course win that year’s Final in very memorable fashion against Italian Serie A heavyweights AC Milan in Istanbul.

Victory for Arne Slot’s Liverpool would see them climb to the summit of the UEFA Champions League’s League Phase table should other results also go their way.

Sporting CP (Portugal) vs. Manchester City (England) – Tuesday 5^th November, Estadio Jose Alvalade, 20:00 KO

Moving on to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, they will be going toe to toe with Portuguese heavyweights and reigning league Champions Sporting CP at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday 5th November 2024, with the game getting underway that evening at 20:00 in the Capital of Portugal, Lisbon.

These two teams have played against each other just twice, and City has the only win in this fixture so far, to date. Their most recent match against each other in the UEFA Champions League was in the 2021/22 Round Of 16 Second Leg at the Etihad Stadium, which was a 0 – 0 draw. This did not matter in the end for the Cityzens, who went through on aggregate.

This was as a result of their emphatic and ruthless 5 – 0 victory away from home in the first leg when they were able to score those all important goals thanks to Riyad Mahrez (7’), Bernardo Silva (17’, 44’), Phil Foden (32’), and Raheem Sterling (58’).

With other results also going their way, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team will be able to climb to the top of the League Phase table at this stage of the 2024/25 Champions League.

Club Brugge (Belgium) vs. Aston Villa (England) – Wednesday 6^th November, Jan Breydelstadion, 17:45 KO

Next up we move on to Aston Villa, they will be travelling to Bruges in Belgium to face Club Brugge in their fourth game of the League Phase in this season’s UEFA Champions League on Wednesday 6th November 2024 in what is going to be a 17:45 Kick-Off in the evening.

This will be the inaugural fixture between these two clubs, as they both look to bring themselves a step closer to realising their respective objectives in the Champions League this season. For Unai Emery’s Villa, they will be looking to reach the play-offs for the Round of 16, or even to qualify for the next round automatically.

Victory for Aston Villa would see them remain at the top of the League Phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, which would see them move onto 12 points. This would increase their chances of reaching the next round of this season’s competition considerably.

Inter Milan (Italy) vs. Arsenal (England) – Wednesday 6^th November, San Siro, 20:00 KO

This week, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal faces a very tough UEFA Champions League assignment against Italian Heavyweights Inter Milan in the League Phase of this season’s competition at the historic San Siro on Wednesday 6th November in what is set to be a 20:00 Kick-Off.

These two giants of European Football will meet in what is one of the standout fixtures from this week’s round of League Phase matches in this competition. They have met twice, with one each, with both matches coming in the Group Stages of the 2003/04 season.

The Gunners lost 3 – 0 at the Emirates Stadium on Matchday 1, before getting their revenge at the San Siro by beating the Nerazzurri 5 – 1 on Matchday 5, thanks to goals coming from Thierry Henry (25’, 85’), Freddie Ljungberg (49’), Edu (88’), and Robert Pires (89’).

If Arsenal win, they can go top of the League Phase’s table, but only if other results elsewhere also go their way.

Other Matches

Below are the other 2024/25 League Phase Matchday Four Fixtures taking place in the UEFA Champions League this week.

• PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) vs. Girona (Spain) – Tuesday 5^th November, Philips Stadion, 17:45 KO.
• Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) vs. Dynamo Zagreb (Croatia) – Tuesday 5^th November, Narodny Futbalovy Stadion, 17:45 KO.
• Real Madrid (Spain) vs. AC Milan (Italy) – Tuesday 5^th November, Santiago Bernabeu, 20:00 KO.
• Borussia Dortmund (Germany) vs. Sturm Graz (Austria) – Tuesday 5^th November, Signal Iduna Park, 20:00 KO.
• LOSC Lille (France) vs. Juventus (Italy) – Tuesday 5^th November, Stade Pierre Mauroy, 20:00 KO.
• Celtic (Scotland) vs. RB Leipzig (Germany) – Tuesday 5^th November, Celtic Park, 20:00 KO.
• Bologna (Italy) vs. AS Monaco (France) – Tuesday 5^th November, Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, 20:00 KO.
• Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) vs. BSC Young Boys (Switzerland) – Wednesday 6^th November, Veltins Arena, 17:45 KO.
• Bayern Munich (Germany) vs. Benfica (Portugal) – Wednesday 6^th November, Allianz Arena, 20:00 KO.
• Paris Saint-Germain (France) vs. Atletico Madrid (Spain) – Wednesday 6^th November, Parc des Princes, 20:00 KO.
• Feyenoord (Netherlands) vs. RB Salzburg (Austria) – Wednesday 6^th November, De Kuip, 20:00 KO.
• Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) vs. FC Barcelona (Spain) – Wednesday 6^th November, Stadion Rajko Mitic, 20:00 KO.
• Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) vs. Brest (France) – Wednesday 6^th November, Stadion Letna, 20:00 KO.
• Stuttgart (Germany) vs. Atalanta (Italy) – Wednesday 6^th November, MHPArena, 20:00 KO.

Excitement and anticipation are already building for the fourth round of action to finally get underway in the League Phase of the 2024/25 Champions League.

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