UEFA Champions League third round prediction: Real Madrid beats Juventus, Liverpool ends losing streak, Gunners adjust and win is not easy

The Champions League war reignited in mid-week, and the third round brought together the top football clubs to compete again. The classic between Real Madrid and Juventus will also continue to write a new chapter.

As the group stage continues to advance, we will sort out the core facts and key data of each game for you, as well as the result prediction:

October 22 (Wednesday)

Barcelona vs Olympiacos (00:45)

Predicted score: 1:0

The two teams have only met in the 2017/18 Champions League group stage: Barcelona won 3-1 at home in the third round, and drew 0-0 away from home with the Greek team in the fourth round.

Barcelona has won its first seven home games against Greek teams in Europe.

Lamine Yamal (18 years and 100 days old) is expected to become the youngest player to play 25 times in the Champions League. The current record is held by Warren Zaire Emery (19 years and 32 days old).

Olympiacos has not won in 16 away games against Spanish teams in Europe (2 draws and 14 losses), and has lost 11 consecutive away games in the Champions League group stage/league stage.

The Greek team has only won 2 games in the last 22 Champions League group stage/league stages (3 draws and 17 losses), but has kept 7 clean sheets in the last 11 European games.

Olympiacos midfielder Daniel Podence may make his debut on his 30th birthday.

Almaty Kairat vs Paphos (00:45)

Predicted score: 1:1

Almaty Kairat has only drawn 0-0 with Cypriot team Omonia twice in the 2021/22 UEFA Europa League group stage.

The Kazakhstan team has not won in the past 8 European group stage/league stage games (2 draws and 6 losses).

Almaty Kairat strives to become the first Kazakh team to win in the Champions League group stage/league stage. It has failed to score in 4 of the last 5 European games.

Paphos has only faced one Kazakh team in the European competition before: it defeated Astana 1-0 at home in the third round of the UEFA Europa League last season.

Paphos is expected to become the first Cypriot team to win the Champions League group stage/league stage since APOEL defeated Porto 2-1 at home in November 2011.

The Cypriot team has scored in 14 of its last 16 European games.

Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid (03:00)

Predicted score: 1:1

Arsenal has won all of its last six Champions League games against Spanish teams, becoming the first team to achieve this in the history of the Champions League/European Champions League.

If Arsenal wins, it will usher in the 100th victory in the Champions League.

The Gunners have won all of their last 14 home games in the European group stage/league stage, and have kept clean sheets in 11 consecutive games.

Bukayo Saka scored 11 goals in his first 19 Champions League games. The scoring record for English players in their first 20 Champions League games is held by Harry Kane (15 goals). Saka is temporarily ranked second, surpassing Andy Cole (10 goals).

Atletico Madrid has not won against English teams in the last 9 Champions League group stage/league stages (4 draws and 5 losses).

The Spanish team failed to score in only 1 of the last 18 Champions League group stage/league stage games.

Julian Alvarez scored 7 goals in the last 7 Champions League games, but failed to score against Arsenal in 4 games while playing for Manchester City.

Leverkusen vs Paris Saint-Germain (03:00)

Predicted score: 2:4

The two teams had only met in the top 16 of the Champions League in the 2013/14 season: Paris won 4-0 away and 2-1 at home, with Marquinhos scoring the team's first goal.

Leverkusen has been undefeated against French teams in the past 5 European group stage/league stages (3 wins and 2 draws).

Pharmaceutical Factory has only lost 2 games in the last 18 European group stage/league games (11 wins and 5 draws), and has only lost 1 in the last 17 home games (14 wins and 2 draws).

Paris has won 12 of the last 14 Champions League games (2 losses), and has won the last 5 Champions League group stage/league stage games.

Fabian Ruiz is expected to make his 50th appearance in the Champions League.

Warren Zaire Emery (19 years and 227 days old) is expected to become the first player under the age of 20 to make 30 appearances in the Champions League. The youngest record is currently held by Cesc Fabregas (20 years and 207 days old).

Copenhagen vs Borussia Dortmund (03:00)

Predicted score: 1:3

The two teams have met 4 times before in European wars: Dortmund won 1-0 in both legs in the third round of the UEFA Europa League in the 2001/02 season; Dortmund won 3-0 at home in the first round of the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2022/23 season, and drew 1-1 away in the sixth round.

Copenhagen has only won 1 game against German teams in the past 17 European games (6 draws and 10 losses), but has only lost 2 home games in the past 19 Champions League group stage/league stages (8 wins and 9 draws).

Copenhagen midfielder Thomas Delaney played 88 times for Dortmund from 2018 to 2021. Forward Youssef Moukoko joined from Dortmund this summer. He was the youngest player to appear in the Champions League.

This is Dortmund's 200th Champions League/UEFA Champions League game, becoming the second German team to reach this milestone after Bayern.

Dortmund has scored 4 goals in two consecutive Champions League games for the first time since the group stage of the 2014/15 season (defeating Galatasaray 4-0 away and 4-1 at home), and has never scored 4 goals in three consecutive games.

Serhu Gilasi scored 16 goals in the first 20 Champions League games, second only to Erling Haaland; scored 11 goals in the last 11 Champions League group stage/league stages.

Newcastle United vs Benfica (03:00)

Predicted score: 1:1

Newcastle has only won 1 game against the Portuguese team in the past 7 European games (4 draws and 2 losses), but it has been undefeated against the Portuguese team in the past 4 home games (1 win and 3 draws).

The Magpies strive to achieve two consecutive wins in the Champions League for the first time since defeating Bayer Leverkusen in the second group stage of the 2002/03 season. The 4-0 victory over San Giros United in the second round was the team's biggest victory in the Champions League.

Anthony Gordon has scored 3 goals in the last 2 UEFA Champions League group stage/league stages and is expected to become the first player to score in 3 consecutive UEFA Champions League main games for Newcastle.

Benfica has not won against English teams in the past 8 European games (3 draws and 5 losses). The last victory was a 3-1 victory over Tottenham in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 in the 2013/14 season; they lost to Chelsea 0-1 away in the second round.

The Eagles have not won against English teams in the last 11 Champions League games (3 draws and 8 losses). The last victory was a 2-0 victory over Liverpool in the second leg of the round of 16 in March 2006.

Benfica has lost all of its last four Champions League games.

Eindhoven vs Naples (03:00)

Predicted score: 2:1

Eindhoven has won 7 of the last 12 European games at home against Italian teams (2 draws and 3 losses).

Eindhoven will reach the 300-goal milestone in the history of the Champions League/UEFA Champions League by scoring 3 more goals. Ajax (396 goals) is the only Dutch team to achieve this achievement before.

Eindhoven has scored 45 goals in the last 11 Champions League games, averaging 4.1 goals per game.

The Dutch team has only lost 3 games in the last 15 UEFA Champions League group stage/league stages (6 wins and 6 draws).

Naples has only played against the Dutch team Ajax in the 2022/23 Champions League group stage: a 6-1 away win in the third round and a 4-2 home victory in the fourth round.

Naples has lost all of its last three away games in the Champions League.

Naples forward Noah Long joined from PSV this summer. The 26-year-old Dutch international scored 19 goals in 63 games in two seasons while playing for PSV.

San Giulos United vs Inter Milan (03:00)

Predicted score: 1:3

San Giulos United had only drawn 1-1 with Italian team Roma in the Europa League group stage last year.

Sanguiros United have only kept 2 clean sheets in their last 38 European games.

Before losing to Newcastle 4-0 in the second round, San Giros United was undefeated at home in the last 7 European group stage/league stages (4 wins and 3 draws).

Inter Milan has only lost 1 game in the last 16 UEFA Champions League group stage/league stages (11 wins and 4 draws), and has kept 10 clean sheets in the last 11 games at this stage.

Lautaro Martinez has scored 10 goals in the last 9 Champions League games.

Alessandro Bastoni is expected to make his 50th appearance in the Champions League.

Villarreal vs Manchester City (03:00)

Predicted score: 1:2

Manchester City had only met Villarreal in the group stage of the 2011/12 season: winning 2-1 at home and 3-0 away.

Villarreal has not won in the past 8 European games against English teams (3 draws and 5 losses), and has lost 5 consecutive games, including losing to Tottenham in the first round away game.

Yellow Submarine has only lost 1 home game in the past 10 European games (6 wins and 3 draws).

Man City has won 5 of its last 6 UEFA Champions League group stage/league matches against Spanish teams (losing 1).

Guardiola’s team has not won in the past 5 Champions League away games (1 draw and 4 losses), but has only lost 3 games in the past 22 Champions League group stage/league stages (14 wins, 5 draws).

Erling Haaland scored 36 goals in 32 Champions League group stage/league stage games.

October 23 (Thursday)

Athletic Bilbao vs Karabakh (00:45)

Predicted score: 0:1

Athletic Bilbao has won 14 of the last 19 European games at home (5 losses).

However, this La Liga team suffered four consecutive defeats in the European competition for the first time.

Athletic Bilbao had only faced Azerbaijani team Shamakhi in the third round of the 2015/16 Europa League, winning 2-0 with a total score.

Karabakh had only drawn twice with Spanish team Atletico Madrid in the group stage of the 2017/18 season (0-0 at home, 1-1 away).

The Azerbaijani team has won two consecutive victories in the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2025/26 season. It has never won the Champions League main game before; it has won 7 out of 8 European games this season (one loss).

Karabakh has not kept a clean sheet in its last 44 European games and has scored 15 goals in its last five Champions League games.

Galatasaray vs Bode Shine (00:45)

Predicted score: 1:1

Galatasaray is undefeated in the past 3 European games at home against the Norwegian team (2 wins and 1 draw), and unbeaten in the past 6 European games at home (4 wins and 2 draws).

The Turkish team failed to score in only one of their last 23 European home games.

Galatasaray is unbeaten at home in the past 29 games in all competitions (21 wins and 8 draws).

Bode has shined and won its last three European games against Turkish teams (all against Besiktas: 3-1 at home and 2-1 away in the UEFA Europa League group stage in the 2023/24 season, and 2-1 at home in the Europa League group stage last season).

The Norwegian team is undefeated in the past 5 European group stage/league stages (2 wins and 3 draws).

Bode has shined and scored 2 goals or more in 10 of the last 14 European group stage/league stage games.

Monaco vs Tottenham Hotspur (03:00)

Predicted score: 2:2

Monaco has won the last two European games against Tottenham (2-1 at home and 2-1 away in the 2016/17 Champions League group stage). They had only met in the 2015/16 Europa League group stage: Monaco drew 1-1 in the second round, and Tottenham won 4-1 at home in the sixth round..

Monaco defender Eric Dier has represented Tottenham in the above four duels. The defender has played in North London for ten years and played 365 times.

Monaco has only lost one of its last 10 European home games against English teams (6 wins, 3 draws), but has only won 1 of its last 8 Champions League games (2 draws, 5 losses).

Tottenham have won 7 of their last 12 Champions League group stage/league games (3 draws and 2 losses) and are unbeaten in 6 consecutive games (3 wins and 3 draws).

Tottenham have scored in 17 of their last 18 European games, while Monaco has only kept one clean sheet in their last 72 European games.

Atalanta vs Slavia Prague (03:00)

Predicted score: 2:0

Atalanta has won 9 of the last 16 European group stage/league games (5 draws and 2 losses).

Atlanta has only lost 1 game in the last 8 home games in the European group stage/league stage (4 wins and 3 draws).

In the second round, Mario Pasalic became Atlanta's top scorer in the history of the Champions League with 8 goals.

Slavia Prague has won only one of its last 12 European games against Italian teams (3 draws and 8 losses), lost 9 of its last 10 away games against Italian teams (1 draw), and lost 0-3 away to Inter Milan in the second round.

The Czech team has not won in the last 13 Champions League matches (5 draws and 8 losses). The last victory was a 2-1 home victory over Steaua Bucharest in the first round of the first season in September 2007.

Slavia Prague has not won in the past 9 European games (3 draws and 6 losses), and has lost all of its last 4 away games without scoring a goal.

Chelsea vs Ajax (03:00)

Predicted score: 3:1

The two teams have only met in the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2019/20 season: Chelsea won 1-0 away and drew 4-4 at home - current Chelsea defender Reece James scored the equalizer. Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 4 European games against Dutch teams (3 wins and 1 draw).

This is Chelsea’s 200th Champions League match and Ajax’s 250th Champions League/UEFA Champions League match.

Chelsea has not kept a clean sheet in its past 50 European games.

Chelsea has only lost 2 games at home in the past 60 Champions League group stage/league stage games and has been unbeaten in the past 15 games (11 wins and 4 draws).

Chelsea signed defender Yorel Hutto from Ajax this summer. The 19-year-old central defender played for Amsterdam for three seasons and made 111 appearances.

Ajax has not won in the past 11 European games against English teams (2 draws and 9 losses). The last victory was a 1-0 away victory over Tottenham in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in the 2018/19 season; they have not scored in the past 5 games against English teams.

The Dutch team has lost 6 of its last 7 UEFA Champions League group stage/league games (1 win).

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Liverpool (03:00)

Predicted score: 1:2

Frankfurt has only lost 1 home game in the last 10 European group stage/league stage games (7 wins and 2 draws), and has won 4 consecutive games.

Frankfurt has only one clean sheet in its last 67 European games.

Hugo Ekitic joined Liverpool from Frankfurt this summer. The 23-year-old forward played in Germany for two seasons and scored 26 goals in 64 games.

Liverpool is undefeated against German teams in the past 14 European games (11 wins and 3 draws). The last defeat was a 2-4 away loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in the 2001/02 season.

Liverpool's last 28 Champions League group stage/league stage games have not resulted in a draw. The last draw was a 1-1 away draw with Midtjylland in December 2020.

Mohamed Salah will reach the 50-goal milestone in the Champions League by scoring two more goals, becoming the first African player to achieve this achievement.

Bayern Munich vs Club Brugge (03:00)

Predicted score: 4:0

Bayern has only lost 1 game against Belgian teams in the past 10 European games (6 wins and 3 draws), and has won 7 of the past 8 home games against Belgian teams.

The German giants are undefeated at home in the past 35 Champions League group stage/league stages (33 wins and 2 draws), and have only lost 3 games in the past 50 Champions League games (home and away) (43 wins and 4 draws).

Harry Kane scored 44 goals in 59 Champions League games. The player record of 60 goals in the Champions League is held by Ruud van Nistelrooy (48 goals).

Brugge has only won 2 games against German teams in the past 15 European games (4 draws and 9 losses).

The Belgian team has only won 1 game against German teams in the last 16 European games away from home (5 draws and 10 losses). The only victory was a 2-1 victory over Leipzig in the Champions League group stage in September 2021 - current midfielder Hans Vanaken scored a goal for Bruges.

Brugge have not won away games in the last 4 Champions League group stage/league stages (1 draw and 3 losses).

Real Madrid vs Juventus (03:00)

Predicted score: 1:0

Real Madrid and Juventus have met 21 times in European wars. The Spanish team won 10 games, the Italian team won 9 games, and 2 games were draws. Two of them were Champions League finals: Real Madrid won 1-0 in 1998 and 4-1 in 2017.

Real Madrid has won 18 of its last 20 European games against Italian teams (losing 2).

Real Madrid has won 14 of the last 17 Champions League group stage/league games (3 losses), and has won 12 of the last 13 home games (1 loss).

Kylian Mbappe (26 years and 306 days old) is expected to become the youngest player to play 90 times in the Champions League. The current record is held by another Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez (27 years and 114 days).

Juventus has only lost 1 game against Spanish teams in the last 8 Champions League group stage/league stages (4 wins and 3 draws).

The total number of goals scored by Italian teams in the Champions League/European Champions League history reaches 497.

Juventus forward Jonathan David represented Lille in the second round of the Champions League last season, defeating Real Madrid 1-0 and scoring the winning goal.

Sporting CP vs Marseille (03:00)

Predicted score: 1:2

The two teams have only met in the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2022/23 season. Marseille won both rounds (4-1 at home, 2-0 away). Current Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi scored in the first round.

Sports CP has won 6 of its last 8 European home games against French teams (losing 2).

The Portuguese team has only won 1 game in the last 8 Champions League games (2 draws and 5 losses).

Marseille has only lost 2 games in the last 8 European group stage/league stages (4 wins and 2 draws).

Marseille scored 99 goals in total in the Champions League, and Sporting CP reached the 100-goal milestone in the second round.

Marseille has not had a draw in its last 26 Champions League matches (5 wins and 21 losses).

Preview of the subsequent schedule

The defending champion Paris will face Bayern again in the fourth round. The Bundesliga giants have won 6 of the past 7 meetings, including the 2020 final.

The fourth round will also feature a heavyweight showdown between Liverpool and Real Madrid. The two teams have met in the Champions League finals three times before: Liverpool won for the first time in 1981, and Real Madrid won in 2018 and 2022.

In the fifth round, multiple Champions League champions will compete head-to-head, including Ajax vs. Benfica, Chelsea vs. Barcelona, ​​Liverpool vs. Eindhoven, etc.