Champions League matchday four: Who’s playing who and when?

Matchday four of the 2022/23 Champions League group stage gets underway on Tuesday, 11 October and it’s the second game of a double header, the return matches of the fixtures played just last week. Who’s in action when and what’s at stake?

Real Madrid and Manchester City can secure qualification for the Champions League knockout stages on Tuesday

Tuesday 11 October

Group F

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid (3pm ET)

Celtic vs RB Leipzig (3pm ET)

Group leaders and defending champions Real Madrid (9 points) will seal qualification for the knockout stages with two games to spare should they defeat Shakhtar (4 points) for the second midweek running. Los Blancos will set a new club record for their best-ever start to a season if they pick up three points in Warsaw.

Were the Ukrainians to cause an upset, they would strengthen their position in second place in the group but a defeat and a victory for RB Leipzig (3 points) away to Celtic (1 point) would see the Germans move into second with two matches left to play. The Bhoys could really do with a victory in Glasgow to boost their hopes of progression.

Group G

Copenhagen vs Man City (12.45pm ET)

Borussia Dortmund vs Sevilla (3pm ET)

Like Real Madrid, Manchester City (9 points) are assured of a place in the last 16 if they win at Copenhagen (1 point), as is expected. Pep Guardiola’s side have been in blistering goalscoring form recently – they’ve netted 15 goals in their last three matches – and will be fancied to follow up their 5-0 triumph over the Danes with another comfortable win.

Borussia Dortmund (6 points) could also secure qualification on Tuesday with a win against Sevilla (1 point), who will hope the return of Jorge Sampaoli as coach inspires them to a better display than the one they put in against the Germans in a 4-1 home defeat last week.

Group H

Paris Saint-Germain vs Benfica (3pm ET)

Maccabi Haifa vs Juventus (12.45pm ET)

Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica (both 7 points) drew in Lisbon last midweek and at least one of the two will drop points when they meet at Parc des Princes on Tuesday. All eyes will again be on Kylian Mbappé, who has cut a frustrated figure in recent matches and is seemingly unhappy with how he is being used by boss Christophe Galtier.

Juventus (3 points) will be desperate to capitalise on at least one of the top two slipping up by recording a second successive victory against Maccabi Haifa (0 points). The Italians haven’t however, posted an away victory since April, losing five and drawing two of their seven matches on the road in all competitions. The best Maccabi can likely hope for is third and a Europa League spot, although they’ll have to win this one to pull level with Juve.

Group E

Milan vs Chelsea (3pm ET)

Dinamo Zagreb vs Salzburg (3pm ET)

Former winners Milan and Chelsea (both 4 points) meet at San Siro having made inconsistent starts to the group. New Blues boss Graham Potter has overseen three consecutive victories, including a comprehensive 3-0 win over Tuesday’s opponents at Stamford Bridge last week. Milan’s form has been up and down of late but they have won eight of their last nine home matches in all competitions.

Salzburg (5 points) have given themselves a great chance of upsetting the odds in this group and a win away to Dinamo Zagreb (3 points) would edge them ever closer to the knockout stages. The Croats, however, are far from out of it and could even top the table on Tuesday night were they to win and the match in Milan end all square.

Barcelona’s Champions League hopes may depend on their result against Inter on Wednesday

Wednesday 12 October

Group C

Barcelona vs Inter (3pm ET)

Viktoria Plzeñ vs Bayern (3pm ET)

Barcelona (3 points) have given themselves plenty of work to do to qualify for the knockout stages after back-to-back away defeats to Bayern Munich (9 points) and Inter (6 points). The Catalans already look to have little hope of catching the Bavarians and will surely have to defeat the Milan side at Camp Nou on Wednesday to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Bayern have underwhelmed in the Bundesliga this season but will fancy their chances of continuing their perfect start to the Champions League against Viktoria Plzeñ (0 points). Julian Nagelsmann’s team have won their first three games in the competition by an aggregate score of 9-0; the Czechs have lost theirs 12-1.

Group A

Rangers vs Liverpool (3pm ET)

Napoli vs Ajax (12.45pm ET)

Liverpool (6 points) are another team who have endured a stuttering start to the season, with boss Jürgen Klopp claiming their Premier League title hopes are already over. That may mean they shift their focus to the Champions League, so it’s vitally important they don’t slip up against a Rangers team (0 points) who barely threatened at Anfield last week and have yet to score a goal in the group stages.

Napoli (9 points) have incredibly netted 13 goals in their first three matches, which have contained hugely impressive victories over Liverpool (4-1) and Ajax (6-1). The nature of the victory in Amsterdam – as well as their excellent start in Serie A – means they will be confident of securing another win against the Dutch (3 points), who need a result to keep pace with the top two.

Group D

Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt (3pm ET)

Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Marseille (3pm ET)

Tottenham (4 points) have by far the biggest budget in this group but that hasn’t played out on the pitch so far, with their only victory coming at home to Marseille on matchday one. Eintracht (4 points) will not be fancied to cause an upset in London but could put their opponents in trouble in the group were they to pull it off.

With second playing third in England, Sporting (6 points) would be on the brink of a place in the last 16 if they can see off Marseille (3 points). However, an away victory for the French outfit would tighten the group right back up heading into the final two matches.

Group B

Atlético Madrid vs Club Brugge (12.45pm ET)

Bayer Leverkusen vs Porto (3pm ET)

Atlético Madrid (3 points) were strong favourites to progress from Group B but find themselves bottom of the standings at the halfway stage. Conversely, Club Brugge (9 points) were given little hope of advancing but have won all three games. Another win for the Belgians would put them through and leave Atleti’s hopes hanging in the balance.

Porto defeated Bayer Leverkusen (both three points) by two goals to nil last week but will face a different proposition in Germany. Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has taken over at the BayArena and made an instant impact, with his new side thrashing Schalke in the Bundesliga on Saturday.