Champions League fixtures today – your guide to Wednesday’s games

Don’t worry, folks, there’s another dose of Champions League action after the competition returned on Tuesday night.

The typical thrills and spills woven into the fabric of this competition will no doubt be on full display across the eight group games taking place on Wednesday.

There’s a Champions League debut for Union Berlin and a repeat of the iconic 1999 final, while Arsenal also celebrate their long-awaited return to the competition. It’s been six long years for the Gunners.

Here’s what you need to know about Wednesday’s Champions League fixtures.

A wave of optimism surrounds this Galatasaray outfit, who’ll be looking to cause an upset in Group A by progressing at the expense of Manchester United. Come on, we know Bayern Munich are topping the group, right?

The Turkish side begin at home on Matchday 1 against FC Copenhagen, who have emerged as Champions League regulars in recent times. However, the Danish side haven’t reached the knockout stages since 2010/11.

A raft of familiar names will be in action for the hosts, including Dries Mertens, Hakim Ziyech, and Mauro Icardi.

It’s Real Madrid‘s crown to regain this season after they were thrashed by Manchester City in the semi-finals last time out.

The capital club have entered a new dawn in the wake of Karim Benzema’s exit, but there’s a new Galactico in town with Jude Bellingham making his Champions League bow for Madrid. First up for the 14-time champions are competition debutants Union Berlin, who have repeatedly beaten the odds under Urs Fischer to compete with the big boys.

This could be a potential banana skin for Carlo Ancelotti’s side against a relentless and dogged Union outfit.

Perhaps the standout fixture of Wednesday’s action.

Bayern have dominated the head-to-head duel with United this century, and many expect them to coast against Erik ten Hag’s depleted outfit in Bavaria. Although, it’s fair to say that it’s not exactly happy families in the Bayern camp heading into this fixture.

Nevertheless, with the addition of Harry Kane, Thomas Tuchel’s side are considered the greatest threat to Man City’s crown this season. They’ll be looking to dominate in the group stages once again.

These two are no strangers to one another after they met in the Europa League last season, although there are a few differences to both sides heading into their maiden Champions League duel of the group stage.

Drawn in a weak Group B, the Gunners will be keen to celebrate their return to this competition with a win, although Peter Bosz’s visitors are undoubtedly capable of spoiling the party.

While Arsenal have started the campaign in a controlled manner, PSV have opened up in typical Bosz fashion, with goals, goals, and more goals! This could be a cracking game.

Sevilla’s quest for third place in Group B begins against a Lens side competing in the Champions League for the first time this century.

Franck Haise has worked wonders at the Ligue 1 club, guiding them to second in the league last season, but the canny manager has his work cut out if his side are to enjoy success in Europe this term. Lens sit at the bottom of Ligue 1 after five games.

However, Sevilla haven’t exactly started the season brightly either. They didn’t secure their first win of the campaign until the weekend, with their domestic woes from 2022/23 permeating through the summer. The La Liga side qualified for the group stages by virtue of their inevitable Europa League triumph.

Napoli looked set to enjoy a deep Champions League run last season after dazzling in the group stages, but they ran out of puff towards the end of the campaign and were dumped out by Milan in the last eight.

Rudi Garcia is now at the helm following Luciano Spalletti’s exit, and the former Lyon coach has endured a fairly mixed start in Naples. There’s certainly a spark missing, although they rallied from two goals down to earn a point in Genoa at the weekend.

Their Champions League campaign begins in Braga against a side who have started the new season with similar indifference. The Portuguese team haven’t played in this competition since 2012/13.

Roger Schmidt’s side emerged as one of the surprise packages last season, although they were only able to match their performance in 2021/22 by reaching the quarter-finals.

Benfica purred in this competition at times under Schmidt, and they’ll be keen to make another impression this time around. They topped a group containing PSG and Juventus last time out.

Group D looks a tight one on paper, so every contest is significant. Benfica begin at home to Austrian behemoths RB Salzburg, who could spring a surprise or two.

Inter have emerged as cup specialists under Simone Inzaghi and they’ve continued from where they left off last season at the start of 2023/24.

The Nerazzurri look like the best team in Serie A right now, with their thumping Derby della Madonnina victory reinforcing that notion. Their stellar form at the backend of 2022/23 helped them reach the final of this competition before they were beaten by Man City in Istanbul.

The early signs suggest Inter are primed for another deep run.

Escaping Group H won’t be simple, however, and they’ve got a tough opening game in San Sebastian. Appearing for the first time since 2013/14, Real Sociedad are one of the sides to keep an eye out for during the group stages. Imanol Alguacil’s brand of football is very watchable, with Take Kubo poised for a breakout campaign.

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