After an exciting first round of matches, the group stage of the Uefa Champions League returns for Matchday 2 with the promise of more goals and edge-of-the-seat action. While PSG vs Arsenal was the match that caught the eye on Matchday One, come Tuesday and Wednesday, it will be Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid vs Bayern Munich.
All four of these heavy-hitters are expected to advance to the knockout stages of the competition, but whether they go through as group leaders or as he second-placed side will, most likely, be decided by how these matches go.
Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are familiar opponents, having met six times over the last five seasons – twice in the knockouts and once in the group stage, two matches each of course – and while both teams have gone through changes in the recent past there will be a sense of "We've been here before" when the two teams meet at the Westfalenstadion, a ground where Real Madrid do not have the greatest of records.
The second big match of the week is a repeat of last year's semifinal, when Atletico Madrid proved to be too dogged, too good and too well-drilled for Bayern Munich. With Carlo Ancelotti, a Champions League specialist, at the helm, Bayern will hope to solve the Atletico Madrid puzzle.
Former champions Barcelona, after absolutely thumping Celtic in their first match of the new Champions League season, will hope to put Borussia Monchengladbach to the sword, even if they will have to do it without the injured Lionel Messi.
In English interest, Arsenal, who did well to hold PSG to a draw at the Parc des Princes two weeks ago, play FC Basel. The Gunners are coming off a stunning performance against Chelsea, where they blew Antonio Conte's team out of the park with a brilliant first half, and what Wenger will want his players to show is that level can be maintained.
Manchester City will want to keep their 100 percent record this season intact when they face the Scottish champions Celtic, and Pep Guardiola will know the importance of going into the Barcelona match – on Matchday 3 – with two wins from two games.
The Premier League champions Leicester City might not have made the greatest of starts to their title defence, but they impressed on Champions League debut, when they eased past Club Brugge. That defence, which won them the title in the second half of the season, has not looked great so far, so Claudio Ranieri needs to instil the belief back into the team with a win over FC Porto now the target.
Tottenham did not have the greatest of returns to Champions League action, after Monaco beat them at Wembley, so Mauricio Pochettino's men need to find a way to beat CSKA Moscow at their own turf.
Champions League schedule (all matches begin at 8.45 p.m. CET, 7.45 p.m. BST, 2.45 p.m. ET, 12.15 a.m. IST): Matchday 2.
Tuesday, September 27: Group E: CSKA Moscow vs Tottenham.
Monaco vs Bayer Leverkusen.
Group F: Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid.
Sporting Lisbon vs Legia Warsaw.
Group G: Leicester City vs FC Porto.
Club Brugge vs FC Copenhagen.
Group H: Dinamo Zagreb vs Juventus.
Sevilla vs Lyon.
Wednesday, September 28: Group A: Ludogorets vs PSG.
Arsenal vs FC Basel.
Group B: Besiktas vs Dynamo Kyiv.
Napoli vs Benfica.
Group C: Borussia Monchengladbach vs Barcelona.
Celtic vs Manchester City.
Group D: Atletico Madrid vs Bayern Munich.
FC Rostov vs PSV Eindhoven.
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