Feyenoord – Celtic
The only previous meeting between Feyenoord and Celtic was in the 1970 European cup final, with Feyenoord winning 2-1 to become the first Dutch side to lift the trophy.
Celtic have lost three of their last four away games against Dutch sides in all European competition (D1), with their last such win coming at Ajax in August 2001 (3-1 in Uefa Champions League qualifying).
This is just Feyenoord’s sixth appearance in the Uefa Champions League, and first since the 2017-18 campaign. They’ve only made it past the first group stage once before (1999-00).
After a run of eight consecutive Uefa Champions League defeats between 2002 and 2017, Feyenoord won their last game in the competition 2-1 against Napoli in December 2017.
Celtic have won just one of their last 21 matches in the Uefa Champions League (D5 L15), and haven’t progressed past the group stages since 2012-13.
Feyenoord have never won their opening game of a Uefa Champions League campaign (D3 L2), after going unbeaten in all eight of their opening games in the European Cup between 1961-62 and 1984-85 (W6 D2).
Celtic have lost 58.3 per cent of their Uefa Champions League games (42/72), the highest ratio of any side with at least 50 games in the competition.
This will be Brendan Rodgers’ first game as a manager in the Uefa Champions League since December 2017 (0-1 v Anderlecht), back in his first spell with current club Celtic. Since winning his first game in the competition with Liverpool in September 2014 (2-1 v Ludogorets), he has only overseen one victory in 17 games (D5 L11).
In the Uefa Europa League last season, Feyenoord (104) were one of only three teams who recorded 100+ high turnovers, along with Roma (120) and Manchester United (112). Indeed, finalists Roma (69) were the only side who won possession in the final third more often than Feyenoord (64).
James Forrest has made 23 appearances for Celtic in the Uefa Champions League, having featured in five different editions of the competition for the club. Should he play against Feyenoord, he’ll become the Scottish player with the second-most Uefa Champions League appearances for Celtic, behind only Scott Brown (34).
Lazio – Atlético de Madrid
This will be the first ever Uefa Champions League meeting between Lazio and Atlético de Madrid. They last met in any competition in the 2011-12 Uefa Europa League round of 32, with the Spanish side winning 3-1 in Rome and 1-0 at home.
Atlético de Madrid have lost three of their last five Uefa Champions League games against Italian sides (W1 D1), having been unbeaten in their first seven such games (W5 D2). However, Lazio have won just one of their six against Spanish opponents in the competition (D2 L3).
Having been eliminated from the first round group stage in three consecutive Uefa Champions League appearances (2001-02, 2003-04 and 2007-08), Lazio remained unbeaten at this stage in their last appearance in 2020-21 (W2 D4).
Lazio haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 19 Uefa Champions League games, since a 2-0 win at Besiktas in September 2003. It’s the joint-longest run of any Italian side in the competition, level with local rivals Roma (19 between 2010 and 2015).
Atlético de Madrid were eliminated from the Uefa Champions League group stages last season, but have never gone out at this stage in consecutive campaigns before.
Atlético de Madrid have kept a clean sheet in 43 per cent of their Uefa Champions League matches (50/117). Of all teams to feature in more than one season of the competition, only Chelsea (44 per cent) have a higher rate.
Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri will take charge of his third different Italian side in the Uefa Champions League (after Napoli and Juventus), with only Carlo Ancelotti having managed more different sides from Italy in the competition (4 – Juventus, Milan, Napoli and Parma).
This will be Diego Simeone’s 11th Uefa Champions League campaign in charge of Atlético de Madrid, having managed in the competition in every season since 2013-14. Simeone has overseen 95 games with the club in the Uefa Champions League, with only Alex Ferguson (190 with Man Utd) and Arsène Wenger (177 with Arsenal) having more with a single club.
Lazio midfielder Daichi Kamada has netted in each of his last three appearances in the Uefa Champions League group stage (3 goals last term) – indeed, Jude Bellingham (4) was the only central midfielder to score more often in the group stage in 2022-23.
Atlético de Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann has scored in each of the last nine editions of the Uefa Champions League (30 goals), dating back to the 2014-15 campaign. Indeed, Griezmann is one of only two players currently playing for a European club to have done so in each of the last nine, along with Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.
Milan – Newcastle United
This is the first ever competitive meeting between Milan and Newcastle – Milan have won just one of their last 11 matches against English sides (D2 L8), though that did come against Spurs in last season’s Uefa Champions League (1-0).
Newcastle won their last European away game against Italian opposition, beating Palermo 1-0 in the 2006- 07 Uefa Cup. They’d failed to win any of their first four visits to Italy before this (D2 L2).
This will be Milan’s 20th Uefa Champions League campaign, the second most of any Italian side after Juventus (23). After seven season absence between 2014-15 and 2020-21, this is their third consecutive campaign in the competition.
Semifinalists last season, Milan have only been eliminated from the first round group stage in one of their last 14 Uefa Champions League campaigns (2021-22).
This will be Newcastle’s third appearance in the Uefa Champions League, having previously played in the 1997-98 and 2002-03 campaigns. Their last match was 20 years and 184 days ago, with this the longest gap between games for an English side in the competition.
In their last appearance in the Uefa Champions League (2002-03), Newcastle United became the first side to lose their opening three matches yet still progress to the next round. Atalanta in 2019-20 are the only side to have achieved this since.
Milan have won their last two games in the group stage in the Uefa Champions League (4-0 v both Dinamo Zagreb and FC Red Bull Salzburg), and will be looking to win three in a row in the group stage for the first time since September 2006 under Carlo Ancelotti (3).
Newcastle have a 56 per cent win rate in Uefa Champions League home matches (W5 D0 L4), compared to just 22 per cent away from home (W2 D2 L5).
Only Vinícius Júnior (47) made more successful take-ons in the Uefa Champions League than Rafael Leão (39) in 2022-23, while the Portuguese had both the most expected goals (1.2) and expected assists (1.2) following take-ons of any player in the competition last term.
Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali played in all 12 of Milan’s games in the Uefa Champions League last season, with his total of 1 053 minutes played being not only the most of any Milan player, but the most of any outfielder overall in 2022-23.
Paris Saint-Germain – Borussia Dortmund
The only previous Uefa Champions League meetings between Paris and Borussia Dortmund came in the 2019-20 round of 16 – PSG lost 2-1 away in the first leg, but won 2-0 at home, eventually reaching the final that season.
None of Borussia Dortmund’s 14 Uefa Champions League games against French opponents have been drawn, winning eight and losing six.
This will be PSG’s 16th appearance in the Uefa Champions League, the joint-most of any French side alongside Lyon.
This is PSG’s 12th consecutive appearance in the Uefa Champions League, progressing to the knockout stages on each of the previous 11 (since 2012-13). They last went out at the first hurdle of the competition in 2004-05. Borussia Dortmund have reached the Uefa Champions League knockout rounds in eight of their last 10 participations, failing only in 2017-18 and 2021-22 in this run.
Borussia Dortmund only lost one of their six group stage games in last season’s Uefa Champions League, going down 2-1 at eventual winners Manchester City. They drew each of their last three group games last term.
PSG have only lost one of their last 33 home games in the group stage of the Uefa Champions League (W26 D6), with that lone defeat coming against Manchester United in October 2020. They’re unbeaten in their last eight home group stage games since then, winning seven of those (D1).
Luis Enrique – who will take charge of PSG for the first time in Europe – has won 73 per cent of his gamesas a manager in the Uefa Champions League (24/33); the highest win per centage of any coach with 20+ games in the competition.
With 21 goals and eight assists, PSG’s Kylian Mbappé has been directly involved in 29 goals in his last 22 Uefa Champions League appearances. His 40 goals overall is the third highest tally of any French player in the competition after Karim Benzema (90) and Thierry Henry (50).
Borussia Dortmund striker Sébastien Haller has scored 11 goals in 10 appearances in the Uefa Champions League, including in all six matches he’s played in the group stage of the competition (10 goals for Ajax in 2021-22).
Marco Asensio could become the 11th different player to play for both Real Madrid and current club PSG in the Uefa Champions League, and just the third to score for both teams in the competition, after Nicolas Anelka and Ángel Di María.
Young Boys – RB Leipzig
This is the first ever competitive meeting between Young Boys and RB Leipzig, and the German side’s first ever encounter with Swiss opposition.
Young Boys have won their last two games against German opponents in all competitions (both v Bayer Leverkusen in the 2020-21 Uefa Europa League), more than they had in their previous 10 (W1 D3 L6).
Both of Young Boys’ Uefa Champions League victories have been at home (D3 L7). They’ve lost five of their six away from home, with their only point coming in a 1-1 draw at Man Utd in December 2021.
Young Boys have never kept a clean sheet in the Uefa Champions League, conceding 24 goals in their 12 games.
This will be RB Leipzig’s sixth appearance in the Uefa Champions League, reaching the knockout stages in three of their previous five participations.
RB Leipzig have won their last four Uefa Champions League group stage games, their longest such run in the competition.
Raphaël Wicky will take charge of Young Boys for the first time in the Uefa Champions League – having previously managed Basle in the competition, he’ll be just the second manager to take charge of two different Swiss sides in the Uefa Champions League, along with Christian Gross (Basle and Grasshopper Club Zürich).
RB Leipzig have averaged 2.4 goals per game in the group stage of the Uefa Champions League under Marco Rose (12 goals in five games), netting at least two goals in each of the last four. Only once previously have they scored 2+ in more consecutive group stage games in the competition (a run of five under Julian Nagelsmann between 2019 and 2020).
Sandro Lauper has played in two previous Uefa Champions League campaigns for Young Boys (2018-19 and 2021-22), and could equal Moumi Ngamaleu (12) as the club’s joint-top appearance maker in the competition in this match (11 games played to date).
Should Benjamin Sesko feature and score in this game, he would become RB Leipzig’s youngest ever scorer in the Uefa Champions League (20y 111d on the day of this match), breaking the record currently held by Jean-Kévin Augustin (20y 123d v FC Porto in October 2017).
Manchester City – Crvena Zvezda
Manchester City have never previously faced Crvena Zvezda in European competition – indeed, this is the first time they will face any side from Serbia.
Crvena Zvezda have won just one of their 11 away games against English sides in all competitions (D4 L6), beating Liverpool 2-1 in the 1973-74 European Cup.
This is the first time Crvena Zvezda have faced the reigning European champions in the European Cup/Uefa Champions League. However, they have faced the eventual winners of the competition in their previous two Champions League campaigns (Liverpool in 2018-19, Bayern Munich in 2019-20).
Holders Manchester City remained unbeaten in the 2022-23 Uefa Champions League campaign (W8 D5). Only once in the last 28 seasons have the competition holders lost their opening group stage match, with Liverpool going down 2-0 at Napoli in 2019-20.
This is Manchester City’s 13th consecutive season in the Uefa Champions League. Having been eliminated at the group stages in each of their first two appearances, they’ve reached the knockout rounds in each of the last 10 campaigns.
Crvena Zvezda have lost all six of their away games in the Uefa Champions League to date, conceding 22 goals and only scoring twice in return. Two of those defeats came in England, losing 4-0 to Liverpool in 2018-19 and 5-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in 2019-20.
? Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 13 games in the Uefa Champions League (W8 D5), all of which came last season en route to lifting the trophy. Only once in his managerial career has Pep Guardiola had a longer unbeaten run in the competition, going 16 without defeat in charge of Barcelona between March 2011 and April 2012.
? Crvena Zvezda haven’t scored in any of their last four games in this competition (in 2019-20) – their longest ever run without a goal in the European Cup/Uefa Champions League.
? Erling Haaland scored 12 goals in the Uefa Champions League last season, more than any other player. However, the Man City striker has failed to score in his last three appearances, his longest run without a goal in the competition.
? Manchester City’s Jack Grealish created the most chances while under pressure of any player in the Uefa Champions League last season (28), while his total of 35 chances created was the most by an English player in a single edition of the tournament on record (since 2003-04).
Barcelona – Royal Antwerp
? The only previous meetings between Barcelona and Royal Antwerp came in the 1964-65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, with the Spanish giants winning 3-2 on aggregate in the second round (1-2 away, 2-0 home).
? Royal Antwerp have lost all three of their away games against Spanish sides by an aggregate score of 10-0.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have never lost a home game against Belgian opposition (W7 D1), with this being their first such game since a 3-2 win over Club Brugge in September 2002.
? Royal Antwerp last played in the European Cup in 1957, with the gap of 65 years between appearances the longest ever in the competition.
? This will be Barcelona’s 28th Uefa Champions League campaign, the joint-most along with Real Madrid. It’s also their 20th consecutive appearance in the competition, featuring in every campaign since 2004-05.
? Having progressed past the first round group stage in 19 consecutive Uefa Champions League
appearances between 2001-02 and 2020-21, Barcelona have been eliminated at this stage in each of the last two campaigns.
? Royal Antwerp will be the seventh different Belgian team to feature in the Uefa Champions League, and one of two sides making their maiden appearance in the competition this year along with Union Berlin. Only one of the previous six Belgian teams won their first ever match in the competition (D3 L2), with Club Brugge beating CSKA Moscow in the first ever round of matches in November 1992.
? Barcelona have lost eight of their last 15 Uefa Champions League matches (W4 D3), as many defeats as they’d suffered in their previous 67 games in the competition (W47 D12).
? Royal Antwerp coach Mark van Bommel has won none of his nine Uefa Champions League games in charge (D4 L5) – six with PSV in 2018-19 and three with VfL Wolfsburg in 2021-22. Only three managers have taken charge of more games without ever winning in the competition (Frantisek Straka, Giorgos Donis and Stanimir Stoilov, all 12).
? Since the start of the 2011-12 season, only Cristiano Ronaldo (112) and Lionel Messi (92) have scored more Uefa Champions League goals than Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski (91). He’s netted 60 in his last 60 appearances in the competition.
? Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal could become the youngest player in Uefa Champions League history to be named as a starter, at the age of 16 years and 68 days. Indeed, only Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko has featured in a game in the competition at a younger age than what Yamal will be on the day of this match (16y 18d v Zenit St Petersburg in December 2020).
Shakhtar Donetsk – FC Porto
? Shakhtar Donetsk have never beaten FC Porto in four attempts in the Uefa Champions League (D2 L2); it’s the joint-most they’ve faced an opponent without winning in the competition (along with Inter and Milan), while Porto have only faced Marseille more often without ever losing (6).
? In all European competition, FC Porto have never lost an away match against Ukrainian opposition (W3 D4). Their last three such matches have all finished level, with this their first since a 2-2 draw at Dynamo Kyiv in September 2015.
? This is Shakhtar Donetsk’s 18th appearance in the Uefa Champions League, the joint-most of any Ukrainian side along with Dynamo Kyiv.
? This is Shakhtar Donetsk’s seventh consecutive appearance in the Uefa Champions League. They reached the round of 16 in 2017-18 but have failed to get out of the group stages in any of the subsequent five campaigns.
? FC Porto are participating in their 27th Uefa Champions League campaign, with only Barcelona and Real Madrid (28 each) featuring in the competition more.
? FC Porto’s 212 games in the Uefa Champions League is the sixth highest total of any side in the
competition, while their 71 defeats is the most any side has suffered.
Porto won each of their last four group games in the 2022-23 Uefa Champions League. Only once have they had a longer winning run in the group stages of the competition, winning five in a row in the 2018-19 campaign.
Shakhtar Donetsk have won just three of their last 22 Uefa Champions League matches (D10 L9), with two of those victories coming against Real Madrid in the 2020-21 campaign.
Taras Stepanenko has featured in 11 different editions of the Uefa Champions League to date, while he will equal Andrii Pyatov (12) for the most different seasons played in the competition for Shakhtar Donetsk if he features in this match.
Mehdi Taremi was directly involved in seven goals in five group stage games for FC Porto in the Uefa Champions League last season (five goals and two assists). Indeed, the only players with more combined goals and assists in the group stage last term were Kylian Mbappé (10), Lionel Messi (8) and Mohamed Salah (8).
Galatasaray – FC København
The only previous meetings between Galatasaray and FC København came in the 2013-14 Uefa Champions League, with the Turkish side winning 3-1 at home before losing 1-0 in Denmark.
FC København have lost both of their away games against Turkish sides in major European competition (excluding qualifiers), losing 3-1 at Galatasaray in the Uefa Champions League (2013) and 1-0 at Istanbul Basaksehir in the 2019-20 Uefa Europa League.
This is Galatasaray’s first appearance in the Uefa Champions League since 2019-20. Overall it’s their 17th season in the competition, more than twice as many as any other Turkish side.
Galatasaray have won just two of their last 26 games in the Uefa Champions League (D7 L17), going outat the group stages in each of their last four appearances.
This is FC København’s sixth appearance in the Uefa Champions League, and the first time they’ve featured in consecutive campaigns of the competition. Only once have they made it out of the group stages, doing so in 2010-11 under Stale Solbakken.
FC København have played more Uefa Champions League games than any other Danish side (32). Having won four of their first eight games in the competition between 2006 and 2010, they’ve now won just four of their last 24 (D9 L11).
? FC København have failed to score in eight of their last 10 games in the Uefa Champions League, netting just once in their six group stage games last season.
? FC København average 0.75 goals per game in the Uefa Champions League (24 in 32 matches), the fifth lowest of any side to play at least 30 games in the competition.
? Mauro Icardi scored three goals and provided one assist in his three starts for Galatasaray in Uefa Champions League qualifying this season. He’s not scored in any of his last seven appearances in the competition proper, having netted nine goals in his first 12.
Aged 17 years and 309 days on the day of this game, FC København’s Roony Bardghji could become the youngest Swede to score in the Uefa Champions League, and just the second Swedish teenager to do so, after Anthony Elanga (19y 302d for Manchester United in February 2022).
Bayern München – Manchester United
Each of the previous 11 meetings between FC Bayern München and Manchester United have come in the Uefa Champions League – the German side have never lost at home to the Red Devils before (W3 D2).
Manchester United have only lost more Uefa Champions League games against Barcelona (5) than they have against FC Bayern München (4), though one of their two wins against them was to lift the trophy in 1999.
Only Real Madrid (304) have played more Uefa Champions League games than FC Bayern München (282). This is the German side’s 16th consecutive campaign in the competition.
In the current format of the competition (since 2003-04), Bayern have progressed to the knockout rounds in all 19 of their appearances in the competition. They last fell at the first hurdle in 2002-03.
Manchester United have been eliminated from the group stages of the Uefa Champions League in two of their six campaigns in the competition since Alex Ferguson retired (33 per cent), having gone out at the first round group stage in just three of their 18 campaigns under the Scotsman (17 per cent).
Bayern are unbeaten in their last 34 Uefa Champions League group stage games (W31 D3), winning the last 13 in a row. Both are the longest such runs in the group stages in the history of the competition.
FC Bayern München have scored in each of their last 40 home games in the Uefa Champions League group stages (W38 D1 L1) since a 2-0 loss to Bordeaux in November 2009.
In his last campaign in the Uefa Champions League with Ajax in 2021-22, Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag won all six of his group stage games by an aggregate score of 20-5.
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has been directly involved in seven goals in his last 10 appearances against Manchester United (four goals and three assists), although he’s not ended on the winning side in any of his last five games against them, losing four of those (D1).
Based on the quality of shots on target faced, Manchester United’s André Onana prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the Uefa Champions League last season (+7.8 – 10 goals conceded from 17.8 xG on target faced, excluding own goals).
Arsenal – PSV
Arsenal and PSV will face in the Uefa Champions League for the first time since the round of 16 in 2006- 07, when the Gunners were eliminated 2-1 on aggregate in their first season at the Emirates Stadium.
PSV were the only side to beat Arsenal in last season’s Uefa Europa League, winning 2-0 at home. They’ve won none of their four previous visits to the Gunners in all competitions (D2 L2), with these games seeing just four goals scored in total (3 for Arsenal, 1 for PSV).
This will be Arsenal’s 20th season participating in the Uefa Champions League. The previous 19 all came consecutively between 1998-99 and 2016-17.
Arsenal have progressed past the first group stage in each of their last 17 appearances in the Uefa Champions League. They last failed to do so in 1999-00, going on to lose that season’s Uefa Cup final on penalties to Galatasaray.
This is PSV’s first appearance in the Uefa Champions League since 2018-19, and their 17th overall. They’ve played 110 games in the competition, second only to Ajax (140) among Dutch sides.
PSV are winless in their last 14 Uefa Champions League games (D6 L8) since a 2-1 win over CSKA Moscow in December 2015. It’s the longest ongoing run without a win among any of the 32 sides featuring in the 2023-24 edition.
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last eight Uefa Champions League group stage games (W6 D2), their longest such run since a run of 17 between 2003 and 2006.
Bukayo Saka has been directly involved in 12 goals in 18 starts for Arsenal in European competition (five goals and seven assists), although nine of those goal involvements have come in away games. In games played at the Emirates Stadium, Saka has just one assist in his six starts for the club in European competition.
Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus scored on his Uefa Champions League debut for Man City in September 2017 against Feyenoord. He’s netted at least four goals in four of his five campaigns in the competition (20 goals in 38 apps overall).
Luuk de Jong scored in all four of PSV’s Uefa Champions League qualifiers this season, netting five goals while also providing two assists. He’s also scored in three of his last four appearances for PSV in the competition proper.
Sevilla – Lens
This is the first competitive meeting between Sevilla and Lens. Sevilla have won three of their five home games against French sides in all competitions (L2), though did lose their most recent encounter (1-2 v Lille in November 2021).
Lens have only lost one of their seven meetings with Spanish sides in all competitions (W4 D2), going down 3-1 at Deportivo de La Coruña in October 2002. This will be their first such game since a 3-1 win over Osasuna in the 2006-07 Uefa Cup.
Sevilla will play in the Uefa Champions League for the fourth consecutive season, with this their ninth appearance in the competition overall – having reached the knockout rounds in five of their first six appearances, Sevilla have been knocked out from the group stages in each of their last two campaigns.
Sevilla have won just two of their last 14 Uefa Champions League games (D6 L6), with both of those victories coming in home games.
This will be Lens’ third appearance in the Uefa Champions League, going out at the first round group stage in both 1998-99 and 2002-03.
Lens’ last Uefa Champions League game was 20 years and 311 days ago, with this the third longest gap between matches in the competition’s history after Ferencvárosi TC (24y 319d) and FC Red Bull Salzburg (24y 284d).
Lens’ last away win in European competition came back in September 2005, in a 4-2 victory in the Uefa Cup against Polish side Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski. Indeed, they’ve not won any of their last 11 away games in European competition (D6 L5) and scored just three goals across the 11 matches.
Sevilla defender Sergio Ramos has appeared in 17 different editions of the Uefa Champions League, since his first back in 2005-06. Should he feature on MD1 of the 2023-24 campaign, he will be the Spanish player with the second-most editions of the competitions appeared in, after Iker Casillas who holds the overall record for all players (20).
Youssef En-Nesyri has scored eight goals in 14 appearances for Sevilla in the Uefa Champions League, while only Wissam Ben Yedder (10) has netted more for the club in the competition.
If he plays in this game, Jesús Navas (37y 303d) will be the oldest Spanish outfielder to appear in the Uefa Champions League since Donato for Deportivo de La Coruña in February 2003 (40y 51d v Basle).
Real Madrid – FC Union Berlin
This will be the first ever competitive meeting between Real Madrid and 1. FC Union Berlin, with the German side set to become Real’s 150th different opponent in all European competition.
Union Berlin are the fifth side to face Real Madrid in their first ever Uefa Champions League match, with each of the previous four losing (Internazionale 1998, Roma 2001, BATE Borisov 2008, Zürich 2009).
In Uefa Champions League history, Real Madrid have played the most games (304), had the most wins (182), scored the most goals (641) and have the highest win rate (60 per cent).
Real Madrid have reached the knockout stages in all 27 of their previous appearances in the Uefa Champions League. This is the 27th consecutive campaign they’ve appeared in the competition, last failing to do so in 1996-97.
Union Berlin will be the 15th different German side to feature in the Uefa Champions League, the most clubs to feature of any nation. Only three of the 14 previous German teams to play in the competition have won their first ever game (D4 L7), with Bayer Leverkusen (1997-98), Kaiserslautern (1998- 99) and Wolfsburg (2009-10) doing so.
Real Madrid have won on 12 of the 13 occasions when their opening game of a Uefa Champions League campaign has been played at home, although that defeat came in the most recent one – a 3-2 loss against Shakhtar Donetsk in 2020-21.
Real Madrid have only failed to score in one of their last 68 home games in the Uefa Champions League, doing so in a 3-0 loss to CSKA Moscow in December 2018.
Union Berlin have only lost one of their last eight matches in European competition (W5 D2), although that defeat did come in their most recent fixture – a 3-0 away defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise in last season’s Uefa Europa League last 16 second leg.
Since the start of the 2019-20 campaign, Rodrygo has the best minutes per goal involvement ratio of any Real Madrid player in the Uefa Champions League (min. 500 minutes played), averaging a goal or assist every 86 minutes (15 goals and eight assists).
Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos made more line-breaking passes than any other player in the Uefa Champions League last term (211), while he also had the highest pass completion rate of any midfielder to have played at least 500 minutes in 2022-23 (93.8 per cent).
Sporting Braga – Napoli
This is the first ever competitive meeting between Braga and Napoli – the Portuguese side have lost each of their last four games against Italian sides in all competitions, most recently twice against Fiorentina in last season’s Uefa Europa Conference League.
Napoli won their last two matches against Portuguese opponents, beating Benfica home and away in the group stages of the 2016-17 Uefa Champions League. They’ve never won three consecutive meetings with Portuguese sides before.
Sporting Braga are making their third appearance in the Uefa Champions League, going out in the group stages in both 2010-11 and 2012-13.
None of Sporting Braga’s 12 Uefa Champions League games have been drawn (W4 L8) – it’s the most games any team has played in the competition without any finishing level.
This will be Napoli’s eighth appearance in the Uefa Champions League. They reached the quarterfinal last season, the furthest they’ve gone in the competition.
Braga lost all three of their home games in their previous Uefa Champions League appearance in 2012-13, losing to CFR Cluj, Manchester United and Galatasaray in the group stage. Overall, they’ve lost six of their last seven games in the competition (W1), with the one exception being an away win at Galatasaray in October 2012.
Napoli boss Rudi Garcia has only won two of his last 15 games in the group stage of the Uefa Champions League (D6 L7), while he’s never managed to win consecutive group stage games across the 28 he’s taken charge of between Lille, Roma and Lyon.
Braga have lost two of their last three home games in major European competition (W1), losing to Union Saint-Gilloise and Fiorentina last season. This is as many defeats as they had suffered in their previous 17 such matches beforehand (W11 D4).
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has scored in each of his last three appearances in the Uefa Champions League, netting four goals in the process. Indeed, he could become the first ever Napoli player to score in four consecutive outings in the competition.
Only Jack Grealish (26) generated more chances following a carry than Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the Uefa Champions League last season (23 – 17 shots, six chances created).
Benfica – FC Salzburg
This is the first ever competitive meeting between Benfica and FC Salzburg. Benfica have never lost against Austrian opponents in all competitions (W5 D3), most recently beating FK Austria Wien 4-1 on aggregate in qualifying for the 2006-07 Uefa Champions League.
FC Salzburg are winless in both of their previous away games against Portuguese opponents, losing 2-0 to Sporting CP in November 1993 (Uefa Cup) and drawing 1-1 at Vitória Guimarães in September 2017 (Uefa Europa League).
This is Benfica’s 12th Uefa Champions League appearance in the last 13 seasons, only failing to qualify in 2020-21 in that run.
Benfica have reached the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League in each of the last two seasons – they’ve never done so in three consecutive appearances in the competition before.
This will be FC Salzburg’s sixth appearance in the Uefa Champions League, twice as many as any other Austrian side. They’ve progressed past the group stages just once, doing so in 2021-22 before losing 8-2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich in the round of 16.
FC Salzburg have never kept a clean sheet in 16 Uefa Champions League away games – it’s the most any side have played on the road without ever keeping a shutout.
No team generated more shots (21) or scored more goals (5) following high turnovers than Benfica in the Uefa Champions League last season.
Of the 32 teams to feature in the Uefa Champions League last season, FC Salzburg were the side with the lowest pass completion rate under pressure (65 per cent). Indeed, Viktoria Plzen (15) were the only team who had fewer 10+ pass sequences from open play than the Austrians (19).
João Mário scored six goals in last season’s Uefa Champions League, the joint-most by a Benfica player in a single campaign (level with Darwin Núñez in 2021-22).
19-year-old Oscar Gloukh could become the youngest ever Israeli player to score in the Uefa Champions League, with the current record being held by Manor Solomon (20y 69d v Atalanta in October 2019).
Real Sociedad – Internazionale
The only previous meetings between Real Sociedad and Internazionale came in the 1979-80 Uefa Cup – the Italians won 3-2 on aggregate (3-0 home, 0-2 away) in the first round.
Inter have won just one of their 13 Uefa Champions League away games against Spanish sides (D2 L10), beating Valencia 5-1 in the 2004-05 group stages.
This will be Real Sociedad’s third appearance in the Uefa Champions League, reaching the last 16 in 2003- 04, and the group stages in 2013-14.
Having won their first two Uefa Champions League games in September 2003, Real Sociedad are now winless in their last 12 in the competition (D4 L8).
Real Sociedad have scored just one goal in their last eight Uefa Champions League matches, while at home they’ve failed to score in five of their seven games in the competition (2 goals scored overall).
Having been eliminated at the group stages of the Uefa Champions League in three consecutive seasons between 2018-19 and 2020-21, Inter have made the knockout rounds in each of the last two campaigns, going on to reach the final last season.
No team kept more clean sheets than Internazionale in last season’s Uefa Champions League, with their eight shutouts the most they’ve recorded in a single campaign.
Internazionale’s next goal will be their 200th in the Uefa Champions League, the third Italian side to reach the milestone after Juventus (344) and Milan (250).
Among all teams involved in the Uefa Champions League and Uefa Europa League last season, only Fenerbahçe (7.6) allowed fewer opposition passes per defensive action than Real Sociedad (7.9) in 2022-23.
Only Kevin De Bruyne (6) assisted more goals than Internazionale’s Federico Dimarco (5) in the Uefa Champions League last season, with his five assists being the most by an Inter player in a single season of the competition since Samuel Eto’o in 2010-11 (5).
Source: UEFA.com
