5 Tips for Tuesday's Champions League Games - 28/09/21

This is the third time in the last four seasons Liverpool will face Porto home and away in the Champions League, and their two trips to Portugal (last 16 in 2017/18 and quarter-finals in 2018/19) saw them win both games with ease with an aggregate score of 9-1. Not a great deal has changed since those fixtures, with Liverpool’s team remaining identical and many of Porto’s players still around too.

Even though they were held by Brentford at the weekend, it was the fifth game in a row in all competitions where Liverpool have scored three goals, including their matchday one win against AC Milan at Anfield. Porto, meanwhile, have made a decent enough start domestically, but sit four points adrift of Benfica already. Their opening day draw with Atletico Madrid may give them some encouragement here, but they have failed to tame Liverpool miserably in their recent head-to-heads.

With Liverpool in scintillating attacking form, a win looks likely on a ground they know well, with a few goals to boot.

A repeat of one of last season’s Champions League semi-finals sees Paris Saint-Germain host Manchester City in the French capital, with both sides seeking a maiden European crown this time around after both falling short in recent years.

Even though it seems that PSG are cruising to an easy Ligue 1 title, their performances in recent weeks have not matched the hype they were given pre-season, as injury-time winners were needed to see off both Lyon and Metz last week, following on from their surprise draw in Belgium to Club Brugge on matchday one. Lionel Messi has failed to register a goal or assist in his three appearances yet, and may well miss this tie with a knee problem too.

A win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday has kept Man City’s doubters quiet for now, but following up with a win in Paris before going to Anfield next Sunday will be the perfect preparation for the match which will finish off a crucial week so early in their season. Dominant displays away at Chelsea and Leicester City have proved they are still capable of playing the very best teams off the park.

Defeats and sendings off in both semi-final ties last season shows PSG have a lot of maturing still to do at this level, and if City can produce a similar performance to the one at the weekend, they should have enough to edge this one.

AC Milan’s first Champions League match at San Siro in seven years sees them face the same side they played in their last match in 2014, La Liga winners Atletico Madrid.

The Spaniards comfortably saw off their Italian counterparts 5-1 on aggregate in that Last 16 tie on route to the final that season, but much has changed from the veteran Milan side humbled on that occasion. While eight of their starters that day were 28 or older, their side now has a very youthful look to it. Even though some naivety crept in at Anfield, there was enough to be excited about, and 16 points from a possible 18 in Serie A this season represents a superb start for Stefano Pioli’s Rossoneri.

Atletico entered this group as top seeds thanks to their La Liga success last season, but they have not started as strongly this time around. 90th, 95th and 99th-minute goals have been needed already to salvage points for them in the league, but there was no late drama as they fell to defeat against Alaves on Saturday, leaving three points adrift.

One of the early kick-offs on Tuesday takes place in Kiev, as Shakhtar Donetsk look to recover from a shock opening day defeat to Sheriff Tiraspol, when they welcome Inter Milan to Ukraine.

Shakhtar held their own in last season’s group stage, winning home and away against Real Madrid, and drawing home and away with their next opponents Inter. That defeat in Moldova was a shock to the system though, and with the big two in the group expecting to take six points off Sheriff, they will need to upset them themselves if they are to have any chance of progressing to the knockout round.

Inter under Simone Inzaghi have been impressive so far, if not always getting the results to show for it, especially on matchday one against Real Madrid, where they lost a game they really should have won. They followed it up with ruthless displays against Bologna and an improving Fiorentina, before drawing with Atalanta on Saturday in a game that could have swung either way.

One thing has been guaranteed with Inter this season, and it has been goals. Their matches have seen an average of four goals per game so far, and with Shakhtar notching 12 in their last three, many more could be seen here.

Molodovan minnows Sheriff Tiraspol will get their dream moment on Tuesday night, when they walk out alongside Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, with the competition debutants shockingly leading the group after the opening matchday.

However, it is unlikely to stay that way once the 90 minutes are up in Madrid, barring the most remarkable Champions League miracle of all time. Sheriff won 7-0 in their domestic encounter on Saturday, but that is commonplace for a side as dominant as them in Moldova. The result that really caught the eye was their convincing 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk two weeks ago, and while Real will expect to win handsomely, their upcoming visitors showed in Transnistria that they are no pushovers at this level.

Despite being held to a 0-0 draw by a resilient Villarreal at the weekend, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have proved they are capable of finding the net regularly this season. They began the season by scoring four away at Alaves, before getting three in Levante, and then scoring five and six at home versus Celta Vigo and Real Mallorca, respectively.
In La Liga alone, Karim Benzema has racked up 15 goal involvements in just seven games so far, and with Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio showing good form in the final third too, the Real Madrid support will demand a routine victory.