TNT Sports Goals Reload - Episode 8
Sep 25The second week of the Champions League group stage continues on Wednesday with nine games exclusively live on BT Sport.
Four British clubs, Man City, Chelsea, Celtic and Rangers, are all in action on an unmissable night of European action.
Read on, or jump to the game of your choice, for a match preview and broadcast details.
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Shakhtar Donetsk vs Celtic: 5pm (KO 5.45pm), BT Sport 4 - Live stream
Shakhtar Donetsk made an emotional return to European football on Tuesday night, little more than six months after the war in Ukraine threw sport – and everyday life – into jeopardy.
Now, with a new manager, Igor Jovicevic, at the helm, Shakhtar overwhelmed RB Leipzig in Germany.
Marian Shved capitalised on a calamitous miscontrol by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi to roll the ball into an empty net on 16 minutes.
Mohamed Simakan made it 1-1 on 57 minutes, but Shakhtar immediately re-established their advantage thanks to a deflected Shved strike, before Mykhaylo Mudryk finished off a swift counter-attack to make it three and Mudryk then supplied Lassina Traore for the fourth.
Celtic meanwhile gave as good as they got in the first half of their Champions League opener against holders Real Madrid, even rattling the woodwork through captain Callum McGregor and spurning a glorious opportunity just after the break as Daizen Maeda was unable to properly get the ball out of his feet from Josip Juranovic’s drilled cross.
The Hoops were ultimately made to pay for not getting on the scoresheet as Carlo Ancelotti’s men clinically picked apart their opponents, with Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard finding the back of the net.
Ange Postecoglou’s side may well be on cloud nine domestically after their crushing 4-0 Old Firm win earlier this month moved them five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, but defeat in Warsaw, where Shakhtar are playing their European matches this season, would leave the Glasgow giants’ hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage in peril.
AC Milan vs Dinamo Zagreb: 5.30pm (KO 5.45pm), BT Sport 1 - Live stream
Dinamo Zagreb face another European giant in AC Milan a week after stunning two-time winners Chelsea.
The Croatian champions scored through the dangerous Mislav Orsic and held out for a famous win that gives them hope of reaching the knockout stage for the first time.
They have failed to do so in all seven previous attempts, but Group E looks wide open after their memorable scalp and Milan’s opening draw with RB Salzburg.
Orsic was the hero again on Saturday, scoring a 92nd-minute winner against HNK Gorica to send them seven points clear in the league and extend their winning streak to six games.
Italian champions Milan are unbeaten in Serie A this season but they were held in their Champions League opener in Austria after Alexis Saelemaekers cancelled out a stunning opener from Noah Okafor.
Back-to-back league wins, including a comeback victory over Sampdoria on Saturday, will give Stefano Pioli’s men cause for optimism ahead of the visit of Zagreb.
Only goal difference is keeping them off the top of the Serie A table after four wins and two draws in the opening six league matches, but they will determined to progress in Europe after finishing rock bottom of their group last season.
Divock Origi, Rade Krunic and Ante Rebic are all expected to miss out, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic also sidelined. Veteran striker Olivier Giroud is likely to lead the line, with Rafael Leao in support.
Man City vs Borussia Dortmund: 7pm (KO 8pm), BT Sport 2 - Live stream
A double from Erling Haaland, along with further efforts from Phil Foden and Ruben Dias helped secure a 4-0 win at Sevilla.
Although Borussia Dortmund are likely to provide tougher opposition than a side yet to register a win this term, Pep Guardiola’s men look tough to stop right now and recently added Manuel Akanji to their ranks. The defender spent four-and-a-half years at the Westfalenstadion before arriving at the Etihad earlier this month.
Dortmund were shocked to the core when summer signing Sebastien Haller, the man they earmarked to replace the outgoing Haaland, was found to have a malignant testicular tumour, for which he is currently undergoing chemotherapy with a view to remarkably returning to action as early as next month.
Despite this awful news, the Black and Yellows have made a positive start to their Bundesliga campaign, sitting second to Freiburg in the table by virtue of goal difference.
Their Champions League opener was a 3-0 stroll against Copenhagen thanks to strikes from Marco Reus, Raphael Guerreiro and Jude Bellingham, with the 19-year-old, a potential England skipper in the making, donning the captain’s armband for the final stages of the contest.
Gio Reyna, whose father Claudio played for City, is also likely to start in Manchester after his eye-catching performance off the bench last Tuesday, with Thorgan Hazard limping off midway through the first half with a thigh problem.
Chelsea vs Red Bull Salzburg: 7.15pm (KO 8pm), BT Sport 3 - Live stream
Chelsea’s already poor start to the season took a further dive on Tuesday when they lost 1-0 to Dinamo Zagreb, with the sacking of Thomas Tuchel coming roughly 12 hours later.
Todd Boehly acted swiftly to replace the German with Graham Potter, who has worked wonders this season with Brighton, taking them to fourth in the Premier League.
The Blues have gone backwards despite more than £250m of summer spending and have struggled at both ends of the pitch.
But following the postponement of Saturday’s west London derby with Fulham, Potter will hope to get his tenure off to the perfect start when Red Bull Salzburg come to town.
The Austrian outfit secured a creditable draw in their Champions League opener against AC Milan at the Red Bull Arena.
Noah Okafor gave the hosts the lead after putting Pierre Kalulu on his backside, easing past the Frenchman and slotting home before Alexis Saelemaekers hammered in an equaliser five minutes before the break.
Salzburg, who have won the Austrian Bundesliga for the past nine seasons, are top of the tree this term after seven games, possessing the most potent attack and the stingiest defence, and have Bernardo in their ranks, the former Brighton full-back who enjoyed two seasons under Potter at the club.
Rangers vs Napoli: 7.45pm (KO 8pm), BT Sport 4 - Live stream
After a 12-year absence from the Champions League, Rangers suffered a 4-0 mauling at the hands of Ajax on Matchday 1. That came hot on the heels of another 4-0 defeat, that one to bitter rivals Celtic.
So it’s probably not the best time to be facing a Napoli team high on confidence after beating Liverpool 4-1 at home.
The Ibrox faithful may just give The Gers the impetus to put in the type of performance that got them here in the first place, but they’ll certainly need to defend better than they have been against a Napoli team full of goalscoring threat.
The hosts were relentless at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Piotr Zielinski, Victor Osimhen, Anguissa and Simeone carved open the Reds’ defence with sharp passing that Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk couldn’t deal with. Alisson came to Liverpool’s rescue on more than one occasion.
Luciano Spalletti has Napoli playing some great football despite a number of high-profile players leaving in the summer, such as Lorenzo Insigne, Kalidou Koulibaly and Dries Mertens. Defensively they’re looking sound and up top very exciting.
So having beaten last year’s finalists, Napoli will feel confident when they travel to Scotland and have the chance to cement their position in Group A.
Rangers will have to be at their very best to get a rocking Ibrox cheering come the final whistle.
Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig: 7.45pm (KO 8pm), BT Sport 5 - Live stream
Holders Real Madrid are in scintillating form. They came from behind to beat Mallorca and maintain their perfect start to the season on Sunday days after beating Celtic in Europe.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side outclassed the Scottish champions at a deafening Celtic Park, with second-half goals from Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard sealing the victory.
They lost Karim Benzema to injury in the first half and the Frenchman will be unavailable for the visit of RB Leipzig, with a return for Sunday’s derby against Atletico seeming more likely.
A sensational solo goal from the increasingly influential Federico Valverde sparked a rousing comeback at the Bernabeu at the weekend and spirits are high ahead of their first European home game of the season.
The 14-time European champions face RB Leipzig who dismissed manager Domenico Tedesco in the wake of a humiliating 4-1 defeat at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
The humbling result was the final straw for the club’s hierarchy after a patchy start to the Bundesliga season.
Former RB Salzburg, Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund boss Marco Rose was named as his successor the next day and he got off to the perfect start, with a morale-boosting 3-0 win over Dortmund.
It was a dream result for Rose who has changed the mood at the club ahead of the daunting trip to Madrid. Lukas Klostermann and Dani Olmo will be absent through injury, with Timo Werner set to lead the line.
Maccabi Haifa vs Paris Saint-Germain: 7.45pm (KO 8pm), BT Sport 6 - Live stream
Paris Saint-Germain will look to make it two wins from two and put one foot in the knockout stages with a routine win over Maccabi Haifa.
The Parisiens began their latest quest to lift the Champions League with an impressive victory over Juventus at Parc des Princes.
Kylian Mbappe scored two exquisite goals and he looks to have formed a real understanding with Lionel Messi and Neymar, who became the club’s fourth-top scorer of all time on Saturday.
The 1-0 win over Brest consolidated top spot in Ligue 1, but it is in Europe where the club are desperate to make inroads after so many near misses.
The Israeli champions are competing in the Champions League for the third time in their history and they got off to a poor start last week, losing 2-0 at Benfica.
It will be an historic occasion when PSG’s star-studded side come to town, but any hopes of a famous upset are remote.
Gianluigi Donnarumma produced a crucial penalty save at the weekend and should play ahead of Keylor Navas, but centre-back Presnel Kimpembe has been ruled out after picking up a hamstring injury.
Juventus vs Benfica: 7.45pm (KO 8pm), BT Sport 7 - Live stream
Juventus entertain Group H rivals Benfica looking to kickstart their season after a run of one win in six matches.
They were denied victory after an incredible finish to their draw with Salernitana days after their Champions League campaign began with a defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
Substitute Weston McKennie’s thumping header reduced the deficit in Paris after Kylian Mbappe’s stunning double, but they were unable to find an equaliser.
The Bianconeri are eighth in the Serie A table after drawing four of their opening six matches and are still without a number of influential players.
Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa are long-term absentees, while Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Angel Di Maria and Wojciech Szczesny are all doubts after missing out at the weekend.
Opponents Benfica eased to a 2-0 win over Maccabi Haifa in their opening Champions League fixture and have won all of the competitive matches they have played this season.
A rasping long-range strike from Alejandro Grimaldo lifted them to victory over their Israeli visitors and last season’s quarter-finalists will put themselves in pole position to qualify with a win in Turin.
Julian Draxler could feature for Roger Schmidt’s side after making his debut at the weekend in what should be a captivating contest.
Copenhagen vs Sevilla: 7.45pm (KO 8pm), BT Sport 8 - Live stream
Two clubs who endured heavy opening-day defeats meet in Denmark as Copenhagen welcome Spanish visitors Sevilla.
The Danish champions were comfortably beaten by a Dortmund side missing a number of key players, with goals from Marco Reus, Raphael Guerreiro and Jude Bellingham condemning them to the dispiriting defeat.
Jess Thorup’s side, who competed in the inaugural Europa Conference League last season, are sixth in the Danish Superliga and have lost two of their last three league games, including a 2-1 defeat to Odense Boldklub on Saturday.
Former Cardiff City striker Andreas Cornelius is expected to lead the line as they look to rediscover their winning habit. Kamil Grabara and Akinkunmi Amoo are both ruled out.
Sevilla earned their first win of the season at Espanyol at the weekend despite Erik Lamela’s late red card to ease the pressure on manager Julen Lopetegui after a torrid run of form.
Three straight defeats to Almeria, Barcelona and Man City, and one point from their first four league games, put the former Spain and Real Madrid boss on the brink.
He will be hoping the Espanyol victory is a turning point in a season that was going nowhere. A victory over Copenhagen will give them hope that their early season form is behind them.
Jesus Manuel Corona and Marcao are unavavile for the Spaniards, but Lamela can play despite his dismissal on Saturday.
