The UEFA Champions League has returned after two weeks of international football. The competition’s group stage is almost over, and the early signs already suggest a showdown knockout phase with Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich remaining the three best clubs in the competition with a 100% win percentage.
Today kickstarts the beginning of matchday 5, with some important matches in the group stages to watch out for. PSG and Newcastle play in one of the biggest games of the matchday as we explore the key fixtures, group standings, and everything you need to know about matchday 5.
UEFA Champions League matchday 5 lineup, start time
The UEFA Champions League returns for matchday 5, and four teams get to enjoy early kick-off. Lazio host Celtic in Italy, and the Italians are the favorites to claim all three points in the encounter that kicks off at 4:45 PM (GMT). Belgian team Royal Antwerp travels to Ukraine to face Shakhtar Donetsk at the same time as the Lazio game.
Later tonight, AC Milan will host Borussia Dortmund at the San Siro at 7:00 PM (GMT). Atletico Madrid will also travel to the Netherlands to face Feyenoord in a match that also starts at 7:00 PM (GMT).
PSG are involved in one of the biggest games of the matchday as they host Newcastle United at the Parc des Princes in France. The French club will be hoping to get a good result after losing 4-1 to Newcastle in the first leg of the tie, although Newcastle will also hope to get a win for their fans, who were attacked by PSG Ultras last night.
Porto will also travel to Spain to face Barcelona at the Spotify Camp Nou stadium. Matchday 5 will see the Young Boys face off against Crvena Zvezda before high-flying Manchester City play the last game of the first round of matchday against German side RB Leipzig.
On Wednesday, Manchester United will travel to Turkey to face Galatasaray in a must-win encounter for Erik Ten Hag’s side. The match kicks off at 4:45 PM (GMT), the same time as Sevilla’s clash with PSG.
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Braga, Arsenal, and Benfica will all be playing at home in a 7:00 PM (GMT) kickoff against Copenhagen, Napoli, RB Salzburg, Union Berlin, Lens, and Inter Milan, respectively.
UEFA Champions League matchday 5 key fixtures and group standings
Milan vs Dortmund, PSG vs Newcastle, and Real Madrid vs Napoli are some of the biggest games of Matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League. Elsewhere, United also have a must-win game against Galatasaray, as they currently sit at the bottom of Group A, knowing only a win will keep their qualification hopes alive.
Bayern Munich top Group A with four wins in four games, scoring 11 and conceding six. Arsenal are Group B leaders with nine points, four above PSV and Lens, the latter of which they have a game with tonight.
Real Madrid are bossing Group C with four wins in four games, with Napoli trailing the group leaders by five points. Both teams look most likely to make it out of the group, with Real Madrid already sealing qualification after their win over Braga the last time they met.
Real Sociedad and Inter Milan are level on points at the top of Group D of this campaign’s UEFA Champions League, although the Spanish team has a superior goal difference of 5 to Inter Milan’s 3. Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid top Group E, just one point ahead of Lazio, with Feyenoord and Celtic occupying the third and fourth spots, respectively.
In the ‘group of death’, Dortmund hold a one-point advantage at the top of Group F over PSG. A win over Milan tonight will seal their qualification in the group. Milan are third in the group with 5 points, while Newcastle sit at the bottom of the group with four points. It’s the trickiest group in the competition to call.
Man City and Barcelona top Groups G and H, respectively.
Can Newcastle qualify from the ‘group of death’ to continue their UEFA Champions League dream?
