UEFA Champions League - Matchday 5 Preview

European giants clash in one of the most competitive weeks of this years UCL's league phase.

Liverpool vs Real Madrid

The 2024-2025 EPL Champions take on the front runners for the La Liga title this year in one of the UEFA Champions League's most historic matchups. The two giant clubs have faced each other twice in the Champions League Final in just the last 7 years, with Liverpool failing to win both matches in 2018 and 2022.

The 2019 UEFA Champions of Liverpool fortify themselves at home stadium of Anfield tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm EST(+150), after ending their 4 game Premier League losing streak with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa this past weekend. The Reds most recent Champions League bout ended successfully with a 5-1 blowout win over Eintracht Frankfurt. While they aren't expected to crush Madrid today, a win could be on the horizon to spark a retuned brilliance of the previously dominant English club.

Real Madrid have looked promising in the past several weeks as they continue to lead La Liga in 1st place with 30 points. Since losing 5-2 to Atletico Madrid in La Liga at the end of September, they've gone on to win 6 straight matches in all competitions with 16 goals. Their most recent match concluded with a 4-0 clean sheet against Valencia over the weekend. Kylian Mbappe continues his pursuit of the La Liga and Champions League Golden Boot (along with Harry Kane) with 13 and 5 goals respectively. The Royal Whites are set to win tonight at +155 odds, but at Liverpool's home fortress, it won't be a walk in the park.

PSG vs Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich (+165) head to the Parc des Princes tomorrow at 3 pm EST to take on PSG (+140), and the German side is obliterating the Bundesliga as they press on undefeated in 1st place with 27 points and 9 straight wins. They look absolutely terrifying, scoring 33 goals (only allowing 4) in 9 games as Harry Kane leads the way with 12 goals (5 in Champions League) so far. Their last match in the Bundesliga ended 3-0 over Bayern Leverkusen, although facing the 2024-2025 UCL Champions of PSG will likely be a different test of adversity.

The reining UEFA Champions League victors of PSG top your UCL standings along with Bayern Munich (Inter, Arsenal, and Madrid as well), meaning this match will be a decision maker for who continues on with a perfect UCL record (if they don't draw). PSG have dropped some points in Ligue 1, although they ultimately remain on top with 24 points and a 7-3-1 record after 11 matches played. The French side haven't dominated games as of late, drawing their October 29 matchup to Lorient 1-1 before scraping out a 1-0 over OGC Nice this past weekend. Desire Doue will be missed due to his thigh injury, although Paris have a solid shot at drawing this one at the very least in their own Pard des Princes.

Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund

Manchester City crawled back from an uncharacteristic start to their Premier League season, as they now sit at 2nd place with 19 points and a 6-1-3 record. Their only draw in Champions League comes from their 2-2 tie to AS Monaco, as they recently took down Villareal 2-0 in their last international matchup. The Sky Blues have only lost 1 game in their last 12 matches, while even defeating United, Napoli, and drawing Arsenal. This Wednesday, City come in at -235 odds to win at their own Etihad Stadium, with leading EPL goal scorer Erling Haaland (13 goals) hungry for more goals, as he's already seen 4 in this year's Champions League Campaign already after 3 matches.

Borussia Dortmund sit right behind RB Leipzig in 3rd place in the German Bundesliga with 20 points after 9 games. They've only lost 1 game in the league, and that was a 2-1 result to Bayern Munich. So far in Champions League, Dortmund are comparable to their City opponents with 7 points after drawing their first match 4-4 to Juventus, but have since gone on with 2 wins to match. However, they are major underdogs tonight marked at +550 to win. Serhou Guirassy netted 5 goals so far this season in 8 domestic league matches, but its Felix Nmecha who leads his team in the UCL with 3 goals, as Die Schwarzgelben move to the Etihad Stadium Wednesday afternoon at 3 pm EST for a rowdy showdown.