UCL MW2 Wednesday Night: What the stats say

The Uefa Champions League rolls into matchweek two with nine high-stakes clashes set for Tuesday night, as Europe’s elite look to build momentum in the group stages.

Catch all the matches live on SuperSport TV and DStv live streaming.

Qarabag and Copenhagen have faced each other on four previous occasions, with all four of those coming in qualifying matches. Copenhagen progressed from the first of those ties (1998-99 Club World Cup qualifier), before Qarabag progressed from the most recent (2017-18 UEFA Champions League qualifier).

In 1998-99, Copenhagen won 10-0 over two legs against Qarabag in qualifying for the Club World Cup (6-0 at home and 4-0 away). Including qualifiers, this remains the Azerbaijani side’s heaviest ever defeat over two legs against a European side.

Qarabag are looking to record consecutive UEFA Champions League victories for the very first time and in doing so become the first Azerbaijani side to do so. Azerbaijan will be the 24th nation to have a team win back-to-back games and first new nation since Moldova in 2021, when Sheriff Tiraspol did so.

Copenhagen are looking for their first away win in the UEFA Champions League since December 2016 (2-0 v Club Brugge), with this being one of only two wins they have managed away from home in the competition to date (P20 W2 D4 L14).

Qarabag achieved their first UEFA Champions League victory in their previous outing (3-2 v Benfica). It was just the 18th time in the competition’s history that a team has come from 2+ goals down to win away from home.

Qarabag are winless in their last six home games in major European competition (D1 L5), losing each of the last four in a row. Only once previously have they suffered five consecutive home defeats, between November 2017 and September 2019 (5).

Copenhagen twice took the lead on MD1 against Bayer Leverkusen but drew 2-2, only the second time ever in major European competition they’ve gone ahead more than once in a game and failed to win – the other came against PSV in a 4-4 draw in the Conference League in March 2022 (led three times).

Camilo Durán was directly involved in two of Qarabag’s three goals in their win against Benfica one MD1, which saw him become the first Colombian player to both score and assist on their UEFA Champions League debut.

Two of the four players to apply the most high-intensity pressures to opponents on MD1 of this season’s UEFA Champions League were Copenhagen’s Mohamed Elyounoussi (96) and Youssoufa Moukoko (77), while only two players applied more final third high-intensity pressures than Moukoko (30).

Qarabag’s Matheus Silva won 16 of his 21 duels against Benfica on MD1 of the current campaign. Of defenders to contest 20+ duels in a UEFA Champions League match, his success rate of 76% was the highest since Atalanta’s Cristian Romero versus FC Midtjylland in December 2020 (83% - 20/24).

Jordan Larsson scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for Copenhagen on MD1 against Bayer Leverkusen – his father Henrik only once scored in consecutive appearances in the competition, doing so on MD1 & MD2 of the 2001-02 season for Celtic against Juventus and FC Porto.

Union Saint-Gilloise will face off against an English side for the fifth time in European competition. After losing their first three, they beat Liverpool 2-1 at home in the most recent one in December 2023 (UEFA Europa League group stage).

Since losing their first game against a Belgian side in March 1970 (0-2 v Anderlecht), Newcastle are unbeaten in their last nine such matches in European competition, winning eight of them (D1). The most recent of those, however, came in a 2-2 draw against Club Brugge in November 2012 in the UEFA Europa League.

English sides have won nine of their previous 11 away games against Belgian opponents in the UEFA Champions League (D1 L1), with Aston Villa’s defeat at Club Brugge in November 2024 (0-1) being the only English defeat in this run.

The last Belgian side to lose their first home match in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League was K. Lierse SK in October 1960 (0-3 v Barcelona). Since then, none of the last six have suffered defeat (W3 D3).

Union Saint-Gilloise won their first ever European Cup/UEFA Champions League match 3-1 against PSV on MD1. The last Belgian side to win their first two games in the European Cup was RWD Molenbeek in 1975.

Newcastle United have won just one of their last nine games in the UEFA Champions League (D3 L5), a 4-1 win over PSG in October 2023. The Magpies have won 32% of their games in the competition (8/25), with Blackburn (17%) the only English side with a lower win ratio.

Union Saint-Gilloise had the highest direct speed average on MD1 of the current UEFA Champions League campaign, progressing the ball upfield quicker in their open play sequences than any other team (2.31 metres per second). Indeed, they averaged the fewest passes per open play sequence (2.2), opting for a more direct style of attack.

Anthony Gordon scored Newcastle’s consolation goal in their 2-1 defeat to Barcelona on MD1. The last Newcastle player to score in their first two matches in a major European campaign was Patrick Kluivert in 2004-05 in the UEFA Cup.

Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimarães applied more high-intensity pressures to opponents than any other central midfielder on MD1 of this season’s UEFA Champions League (70).

Union Saint-Gilloise’s Kevin Mac Allister netted in his first UEFA Champions League appearance on MD1 – each of his last three major European goals have been away, with Mac Allister scoring just once in seven home games.

The only previous competitive meetings between Monaco and Manchester City came in the last 16 of the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League, with the French side progressing on away goals following a 6-6 aggregate scoreline (won 3-1 at home, lost 5-3 away).

Monaco are one of only two sides, along with Real Madrid in 2024-25 (play-off round), to eliminate a Pep Guardiola team from the UEFA Champions League prior to the quarter-finals (eliminated Manchester City in the last 16 in 2016-17).

After losing  against Monaco at the Stade Louis II in March 2017, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola could lose his first two away games against an opponent for just the third time in his managerial career (also v Barcelona in October 2016 and Liverpool in January 2018).

Monaco have only lost one of their seven home matches against English sides in the UEFA Champions League (W5 D1), with their lone defeat coming against Arsenal in March 2015 (0-2). They have won all three that have taken place in the group/league phase: 1-0 v Liverpool in 2004-05, 2-1 v Tottenham in 2016-17 and 1-0 v Aston Villa in 2024-25.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has only lost two of his 33 matches taking place in the opening two rounds of a UEFA Champions League campaign (MD1 and MD2), winning 26 of those (D5). Those two defeats did come against French sides, however, losing against Lyon in 2018-19 and Paris SG in 2021-22.

Since starting the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League campaign on a four match unbeaten run (W3 D1), Monaco have only won one of their last seven matches in the competition (D1 L5). Three of their five defeats in this period have been by 3+ goals, including their most recent match (1-4 v Club Brugge).

Erling Haaland’s previous match for Manchester City in this competition saw him become the fastest player to 50 goals in the UEFA Champions League (49 appearances). Among the 10 players with 50+ Champions League goals, however, only Raúl (31%) has scored a lower percentage in away matches than Haaland (32% - 34 at home, 16 away).

Despite being on the losing side in Monaco’s heavy defeat to Club Brugge in this season’s UEFA Champions League opener (1-4), Lamine Camara was the top ranked player across both sides for line-breaking passes (15), possession won (10) and tackles (4).

In what was his first UEFA Champions League outing in precisely one year (since September 2024 v Inter), Manchester City’s Rodri made 17 line-breaking passes against Napoli last time out; the second most by any midfielder across this season’s opening round (after Pedri – 20 v Newcastle).

 Phil Foden created eight chances in Manchester City’s previous UEFA Champions League game (v Napoli); the most by a player in his team’s opening game of a single edition since Shakhtar Donetsk’s Maycon in 2021-22 (eight v Sheriff Tiraspol).

Borussia Dortmund and Athletic Club will face each other for the first time in European competition, while this will be Athletic’s first game against a German side in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League.

Borussia Dortmund have only lost three of their 16 home games against Spanish teams in the UEFA Champions League (W7 D6), while only Real Madrid have managed to beat them by more than a single goal – doing so in the 2017-18 edition which they went on to win overall (3-1 at Signal Iduna Park).

Athletic Club are unbeaten in their last six games against German sides in major European competition (W4 D2), although the most recent of those matches was in the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League group stage (3-2 v Hertha BSC in November 2017).

Athletic Club haven’t lost on any of their last three European away trips to face German sides (W2 D1), winning at Augsburg (3-2 in 2015) and FC Schalke 04 (4-2 in 2012). The latter victory came in the season they last reached a major European final, finishing as 2011-12 UEFA Europa League runners-up under Marcelo Bielsa.

Borussia Dortmund boss Niko Kovac has never lost a UEFA Champions League game in the group/league phase (10 games – W7 D3), while those 10 matches have seen an average of 4.5 goals scored per outing (32 goals for, 13 conceded).

Athletic Club manager Ernesto Valverde hasn’t lost consecutive games in the UEFA Champions League since November 2014, when he lost three in a row in a previous spell with the club. Indeed, their defeat to Arsenal on MD1 was just the third loss in Valverde’s last 31 matches as a manager in the competition (W20 D8).

Borussia Dortmund conceded four goals against Juventus on MD1 of the current campaign (4-4). This was the third time they have conceded 4+ times in a UEFA Champions League match since the start of last season, which is the most by any side involved in both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 editions.

Since the start of last season, only Raphinha (21) has been directly involved in more UEFA Champions League goals than Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy (18 – 13 goals, five assists). His last outing in the competition at Signal Iduna Park saw him score a hat-trick against Barcelona, in a 3-1 win in May.

31-year-old Aymeric Laporte last appeared for Athletic Club in the UEFA Champions League in 2014-15, as a 20-year-old. The defender remains the second youngest player to start a game for the club in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (20y 113d v Shakhtar Donetsk in September 2014), only behind Juan Elgezabal (19y 28d v Lech Poznan in September 1983).

Along with scoring and assisting in the match, Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi made 92 high-intensity pressures on MD1 against Juventus; the second most by a player in any of the 18 games in this season’s opening UEFA Champions League round, after Copenhagen’s Mohamed Elyounoussi (96).

The two previous meetings between Napoli and Sporting CP have both finished 0-0, with both coming in the first round of the 1989-90 UEFA Cup first round (Napoli progressed on penalties).

Napoli have won all four of their UEFA Champions League matches against Portuguese sides, beating Benfica twice in 2016-17 and Braga twice in 2023-24 (all in group stage meetings).

Sporting CP have never won away to an Italian side in any European competition, drawing five and losing 13 of their 18 total attempts (including qualifiers). Their only clean sheet in this run did come away to Napoli, however, drawing 0-0 in September 1989 in the UEFA Cup.

Napoli boss Antonio Conte has faced Sporting CP on two previous occasions in the UEFA Champions League, failing to win either match while in charge of Tottenham (D1 L1) in the 2022-23 group stage. Only against Barcelona and Real Madrid (four each) has he overseen more games in the competition without winning.

Sporting CP will be looking to win their opening two games in a UEFA Champions League campaign for just the second time, having previously done so in 2022-23 under Rúben Amorim (3-0 v Eintracht Frankfurt and 2-0 v Tottenham Hotspur).

In terms of average age, Sporting CP had the second youngest starting XI on MD1 of the current UEFA Champions League campaign (24y 255d). Opponents Napoli, meanwhile, had the fourth oldest across the 18 games played in the opening matchday (29y 189d).

Napoli only had one shot in their defeat to Manchester City last time out in the UEFA Champions League, with that coming from defender Sam Beukema. The Dutchman also completed the most passes (38), won the most duels (6) and made the most clearances (9) for the Italian side at the Etihad.

Trincão scored a brace in Sporting CP’s opening UEFA Champions League campaign (v Kairat), as many goals as he had netted in his first 22 appearances in the competition combined (2). The 25-year-old also completed seven dribbles in that match; his most in a single Champions League outing to date.

Kevin De Bruyne is set to make his first European appearance for Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. His only previous European outing there came back in November 2017, assisting one of four goals for Manchester City in a 4-2 win there in the UEFA Champions League.

Sporting CP’s Pote completed 100% of his dribbles against Kairat on MD1 (7/7); the most by a player in a UEFA Champions League game with a 100% success rate since Manchester City’s John Stones in the 2023 final versus Internazionale (also 7/7).

This will be the first time Villarreal have hosted an Italian side since February 2022, which was also a UEFA Champions League game against Juventus. Dusan Vlahovic opened the scoring after just 33 seconds, but Villarreal came back to draw 1-1 in the first leg of a last 16 tie.

The previous two meetings between Villarreal and Juventus came in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League in 2021-22, with the Spaniards progressing after a 1-1 draw at home and a 3-0 win away in Turin (4-1 on aggregate).

Juventus have only lost one of their last six away games against Spanish sides in the UEFA Champions League (W3 D2), with that lone defeat coming at Atlético Madrid in February 2019 (0-2 in a last 16 first leg).

Villarreal have only won two of their last 12 home matches in the UEFA Champions League (D5 L5), while scoring just 10 goals across those 12 outings. They’ve also lost five of their last nine (W2 D2), after going unbeaten in their first 11 home matches in the competition (W4 D7).

Since winning their opening two games of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League campaign (3-1 v PSV, 3-2 v RB Leipzig), Juventus have only won two of their last nine matches in the competition (D4 L3).

Villarreal failed to land a shot on target in their MD1 defeat away to Tottenham, despite attempting 10 shots in the game. This was just the second time they haven’t recorded a shot on target in a UEFA Champions League match, with the other instance also coming against an English side (v Liverpool in April 2022).

Kenan Yildiz scored and assisted in Juventus’s draw against Borussia Dortmund in their opening game of the current UEFA Champions League campaign, becoming both the youngest Juve player and youngest Turkish player ever to both score and assist in a match in the competition (20y 135d).

The only goal of the game in Villarreal’s defeat to Tottenham on MD1 was an own goal, netted by Luiz Júnior. He is one of only two goalkeepers in UEFA Champions League history to score an own goal on his debut in the competition, along with Nikolay Mihaylov for Levski Sofia in October 2006 (v Werder Bremen).

Dusan Vlahovic was directly involved in three of Juventus’s four goals against Borussia Dortmund on MD1 (two goals, one assist), despite coming on in the 60th minute. He is now the only Juventus player to come off the bench in a UEFA Champions League match and be directly involved in as many as three goals.  

Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio conceded four of the five shots on target he faced in his previous outing versus Borussia Dortmund. Based on the xG of shots on target faced, he had the worst negative differential of any goalkeeper on MD1 of this season’s UEFA Champions League (-1.8 – four conceded from 2.2 xG on target).

This will be the 13th time Arsenal and Olympiakos have faced each other in European competition, with none of the previous 12 ending in a stalemate and both sides winning six games apiece.

Arsenal have faced Olympiakos on four occasions during Mikel Arteta’s reign as manager (W2 L2); only facing PSV (6) more often in European competition. The Greeks eliminated them from the UEFA Europa League in 2019-29 (last 32), before the Gunners eliminated Olympiakos from the same competition the following season (last 16).

Olympiakos have won two of their last three away games against English sides (L1); one of those being against Arsenal at the Emirates (1-0 in March 2021), along with a 4-2 win at Aston Villa in May 2024. This is as many victories as the Greek side managed in their first 17 away games versus English opponents in major European competition (W2 L15).

Arsenal have won each of their last five games in the group/league phase of the UEFA Champions League, their longest such run since winning six in a row between December 2004 and November 2005.

Olympiakos have only scored one goal in their last six UEFA Champions League matches (D1 L5), despite attempting 51 shots across those outings and hitting the target 11 times.

 Among teams who have been involved in the last two editions of the UEFA Champions League, Arsenal have conceded fewer goals per game than any other team in the competition (0.72 – 18 in 25 games). Indeed, they also have the lowest expected goals conceded per game average (0.9) amongst that group.

Based on the xG of shots on target faced, Arsenal’s David Raya has prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the UEFA Champions League since the start of last season (+5.8 – nine goals conceded from 14.8 xG on target, excluding own goals).

Noni Madueke made the joint-most carries into the penalty area (7) in the opening round of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League campaign (level with Rodrygo, 7). He also progressed the ball upfield via carries by a total of 210 metres in the match against Athletic Club, with Jérémy Doku being the only winger with a higher total across all MD1 fixtures (285 metres v Napoli).

Ayoub El Kaabi has scored 21 goals in 24 appearances in major European competition for Olympiakos. However, he failed to score with any of his four shots on MD1 of this UEFA Champions League game against Pafos; his joint-most attempts without finding the net in a major European outing for the Greek side.

Martín Zubimendi made 13 line-breaking passes in his first UEFA Champions League game for Arsenal (v Athletic Club on MD1); the most of any player in the match.

 Indeed, this was also the most by a midfielder in the defensive half (10) across all the matches played across the opening matchday of 2025-26.

Barcelona and Paris SG will meet for the 16th time in European competition, with the two sides separated by just one victory across the previous 15 (six Barcelona wins and five for Paris SG, along with four draws).

Since winning three consecutive UEFA Champions League games against Paris SG in the 2014-15 season – all of which were with Luis Enrique in charge – Barcelona have only won two of their last six meetings with the French side in the competition (D1 L3).

Paris SG have won their last two games away to Barcelona, both by 4-1 scorelines in the UEFA Champions League (February 2021 and April 2024). If they win here, the French outfit will be the first team ever to win three consecutive away games against Barcelona in major European competition.

Barcelona have only lost one of their last 12 home matches in the UEFA Champions League (W9 D2), although that lone defeat did come against Paris SG (1-4 in April 2024). That was the only occasion across the 12 games where Barcelona failed to score at least two goals.

Paris SG have won their last four UEFA Champions League games by a combined scoreline of 12-1, and the last two by 9-0 combined (5-0 v Internazionale and 4-0 v Atalanta). Only one team has ever won three consecutive games in the UEFA Champions League by 4+ goals, with that instance also being by Paris SG (between October and November 2017).

Along with one of their two goals against Newcastle coming following a high turnover, Barcelona allowed just 6.2 passes per defensive action (PPDA) in their MD1 opener; the lowest average of any team across the opening round of the new UEFA Champions League season.

Since the start of last season, Paris SG have averaged more completed dribbles per game than any team who have been involved in the last two UEFA Champions League campaigns (11.9). Defender Nuno Mendes has the joint-most for Paris SG in this period (30 – level with Bradley Barcola), and made the most in their MD1 over Atalanta this term (5).

Pedri made a game-high 20 line-breaking passes in Barcelona’s win at Newcastle on MD1 – four of which broke the oppositons’s defensive line. These were both the most by any midfielder in a match in the opening round of the current UEFA Champions League campaign.  

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski has only scored one goal in five UEFA Champions League appearances against Paris SG, with that lone strike coming in December 2017 (for Bayern Munich). His minutes per goal ratio against the French side (450) is his worst against any opponent in the competition.

Between the three central midfielders who started for Paris SG on MD1 of this season’s UEFA Champions League (v Atalanta), the trio of Fabián Ruiz, Vitinha and João Neves only misplaced four of their 105 combined passes made under high-intensity pressure (105/109 – 96%).

Bayer Leverkusen and PSV have met twice previously in European competition, with both coming in the first round of the 1994-95 UEFA Cup. After a 5-4 home win for Leverkusen in the first leg, the second leg in the Netherlands ended 0-0.

Bayer Leverkusen are unbeaten in their seven meetings with Dutch sides in European competition (W4 D3), with the most recent coming in the UEFA Champions League last season, in a 4-0 win over Feyenoord in the league phase (September 2024).

PSV will be looking for their first win away to a German side in European competition since December 1977 (2-1 v Eintracht Braunschweig in the UEFA Cup). Since that victory, they are winless in 17 such trips, suffering defeats in 14 of those (D3).

PSV were beaten by Union Saint-Gilloise in this season’s UEFA Champions League opener (1-3), while they haven’t lost consecutive matches in the group/league phase of the competition since November 2018 (v Tottenham and Barcelona).

Bayer Leverkusen have only lost two of their last 11 matches in the group/league phase of the UEFA Champions League (W5 D4), including coming back from behind on two occasions to avoid defeat at Copenhagen on MD1 of the current campaign (2-2).

Among teams with 15+ UEFA Champions League games played since the start of the 2023-24 season, only RB Leipzig (0 in 16 matches) have kept a clean sheet in a lower percentage of their outings than PSV (10% - two clean sheets in 21).

PSV only scored once in their MD1 defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise, despite amassing 2.5 expected goals in the match (-1.5). Only Slavia Prague (-1.98) and Real Madrid (-1.7) had a worse negative differential against their xG in a UEFA Champions League game in the opening round this season.

In his last UEFA Champions League game versus Copenhagen, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Aleix García completed 100% of his passes made while under high-intensity pressure. The only players with a 100% completion rate with more passes on MD1 this season were Frenkie de Jong (38/38) and Fabian Ruíz (31/31).

Joey Veerman completed 62 passes, made 14 line-breaking passes, and won possession nine times in his previous UEFA Champions League outing versus Union Saint-Gillloise; all of which were the most by any PSV player in the game.

Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba made 21 line-breaking passes in his previous UEFA Champions League outing (v Copenhagen on MD1); the most by any player in a match on MD1 of the current campaign. 11 of those were for teammate Alejandro Grimaldo, which was also the most by one player to a teammate.