5️⃣ Things to watch out for in Wednesday's Champions League action 💫

5️⃣ Things to watch out for in Wednesday's Champions League game — 5️⃣ Things to watch out for in Wednesday’s Champions League action 💫

The new group stage of the Champions League is officially half over and the expanded table is taking shape.

Let’s take a look at what matchday five has in store.

⚔️ Game of the day

The match of the day and possibly the match of the entire group stage takes place at Anfield.

📸 Carl Recine – 2024 Getty Images

Liverpool host Real Madrid in what could be a crucial turning point for both teams this season.

Arne Slot’s men go into this duel as the only team that has won all of their games in the Champions League so far and is also eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.

In short, the Reds are a winning machine at the moment and face a Los Blancos team without their star player.

Carlo Ancelotti will travel to Merseyside without Vinícius Jr, who was confirmed this week to have suffered a leg injury and will be out for up to four weeks.

It’s a huge blow for the Spanish giants, but in truth it could prove to be a blessing as Kylian Mbappé will be able to move up to his preferred position on the left.

With this gripping tactical battle waiting to take place in what is surely Europe’s best atmosphere, this film is simply a must-see.

🔎 Team to watch

There is hardly a team more confusing in this season’s Champions League than Celtic.

The Scottish giants had won just once in their last 15 games in Europe’s premier club competition before this season (last season’s win against Arne Slots Feyenoord) but overcame that record with a stunning 5-1 victory on matchday one Slovan Bratislava broken.

How did Brendan Rodgers’ men support this glorious start? By narrowly avoiding their biggest European defeat of all time, being beaten 7-1 by a rather average Borussia Dortmund team.

But the Hoops also exceeded expectations on matchdays three and four, picking up an excellent draw away at Atalanta and well outclassing RB Leipzig in their last game to claim a 3-1 win.

It means Celtic now have serious ambitions of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2007/08.

A win against Club Brugge would go a long way towards achieving that goal, with Celtic currently sitting in 15th place with seven points.

🔥 Players to watch

📸 VALERY HACHE – AFP or licensor

Monaco has remained under the radar so far this season, but halfway through this group stage the French club currently sits in third place with 10 points.

The Monégasques defeated the in-form Barcelona on the first matchday and are not looking back yet: They beat Red Star, Bologna and drew against Dinamo Zagreb.

They now host Benfica in a fascinating game at the Stade Louis II with all eyes on 22-year-old attacker Maghnes Akliouche.

Akliouche is in something of a purple state at the moment, having scored twice and delivered a standout performance in the thrilling 3-2 win over Brest at the weekend.

It was the culmination of an outstanding start to the season for the striker, which was key to everything Adi Hütter’s men did well in the 2024/25 season.

👀 Possible annoyance

In the context of this season’s Champions League, Aston Villa’s win over Juventus may not come as a huge surprise.

Should Unai Emery’s side still manage to defeat the Italian giants, it would be one of the greatest results in their modern history.

The Villans may have struggled at home in recent months, losing to Tottenham and Liverpool and drawing against Crystal Palace.

However, in Europe and especially at home they were unsurpassed.

The win over Bayern Munich on matchday one is obviously the highlight of the season so far, but Villa were also exceptional when Bologna came to town at the end of October.

Although Juve have only lost one game all season, it could well have something to do with it when they travel to England tonight.

📊 Fascinating statistics

It will be a first for Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday when they face Dinamo Zagreb.

Dortmund have never played against a Croatian team in European competition and in fact it is the first time they have played against a team from a “new” nation since they faced Cypriot team APOEL Nicosia in 2017.