The Champions League continues on Wednesday, November 4, with the second day of Matchday 4, featuring another nine matches across the league phase. Real Madrid travel to face AEK Athens, while Manchester City visit RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund host Real Betis in three of the evening’s most interesting fixtures. Arsenal and Liverpool are also in action, facing Slavia Prague and Fenerbahçe respectively.
Real Madrid look to extend their winning run against AEK Athens
Real Madrid travel to Greece looking to maintain their perfect start to the Champions League campaign. The Spanish side have won all three of their opening matches, including a 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig on Matchday 3, and will be aiming to make it four wins from four.
Their confidence has also been boosted by a 2-1 victory over Barcelona in El Clásico, followed by a 3-0 win away to Racing Santander in La Liga. Madrid will now look to carry that form into their visit to AEK Athens as they seek to strengthen their position near the top of the league phase standings.
AEK, meanwhile, face a difficult challenge against the 15-time European champions. The Greek side have collected one win and suffered two defeats in their first three matches. After opening their campaign with a 1-0 victory over LASK, they lost to Shakhtar Donetsk and then suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat away to Manchester City. They will need a much stronger performance at home to stop Madrid and get their European campaign back on track.
Dortmund take on in-form Real Betis
Borussia Dortmund host Real Betis in one of Wednesday’s key fixtures, with the Spanish side arriving as one of the few teams to have won all three of their opening Champions League matches.
Dortmund have also made a solid start, winning their opening match 3-2 against Villarreal before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Bodø/Glimt. They bounced back on Matchday 3 with a 2-1 victory over Sabah and will now look to maintain that momentum against Betis.
The visitors, however, have been perfect so far, recording wins over Lille, Porto and Feyenoord. Their strong start sets up an important test for Dortmund, who will be looking to hand Betis their first defeat of the campaign while keeping pace with the teams near the top of the standings.
Manchester City look to bounce back against Leipzig
RB Leipzig and Manchester City meet with different records in the Champions League but both looking to strengthen their positions in the league phase.
Leipzig have struggled to find consistency in Europe, losing two of their opening three matches. After a heavy 4-1 defeat away to Como, they bounced back with a 1-0 win over PSV Eindhoven before suffering another 4-1 loss against Real Madrid. The German side will now look to use home advantage to get their campaign back on track, having recently beaten Schalke 2-0 away from home in the Bundesliga.
City, meanwhile, have made a stronger start in Europe, collecting six points from their first three matches. They beat Porto 2-0 and AEK Athens 5-1, with their only defeat coming against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, who won 4-2 in Manchester. However, their domestic form has been less convincing, with consecutive Premier League defeats to Aston Villa and Brighton. While Leipzig need points to climb out of the lower reaches of the standings, City will be looking to close the gap on the top eight and put their domestic setbacks behind them.
Arsenal and Liverpool also in action
Wednesday’s program also features two other major European clubs. Arsenal travel to Prague to face Slavia Praha, while Liverpool visit Fenerbahçe in Istanbul. The remaining fixtures see Porto host Napoli, PSV Eindhoven take on Club Brugge, Lens face Como and Viking welcome Sabah.
Wednesday’s Champions League schedule (Moroccan time)
17:45 matches
- AEK Athens vs Real Madrid (Allwyn Arena, Athens)
- Fenerbahçe vs Liverpool (Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul)
20:00 matches
- Borussia Dortmund vs Real Betis (Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund)
- Porto vs Napoli (Estádio do Dragão, Porto)
- PSV Eindhoven vs Club Brugge (Philips Stadion, Eindhoven)
- RB Leipzig vs Manchester City (Red Bull Arena, Leipzig)
- Lens vs Como (Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens)
- Slavia Prague vs Arsenal (Fortuna Arena, Prague)
- Viking vs Sabah (Viking Stadion, Stavanger)
