Advertisement

UCL Match Week 4: Shandre Campbell’s Brugge v Barca and City v BVB headline Wednesday action

football05 November 2025 07:35
By:Opta Analyst
Share
article image
© SuperSport

Match Week 4 of the UEFA Champions League kicks off on Wednesday night with nine thrilling encounters, all broadcast live on SuperSport.

The spotlight falls on two headline fixtures, Shandre Campbell’s Club Brugge v Barcelona and Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund as Europe’s elite battle for crucial group stage points.

Here's a look at what the stats reveal ahead of all nine matchups on the night.

Pafos v Villarreal

This will be the first time that Pafos – managed by a Spaniard in Juan Carlos Carcedo – have faced a Spanish opponent in European competition.

The only Cypriot opponent that Villarreal have previously faced in Europe is Apollon Limassol, who they beat home (4-0) and away (2-0) in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2014-15.

The last UEFA Champions League match between Cypriot and Spanish sides was a 6-0 win for Real Madrid against APOEL Nicosia in November 2017. Indeed, the last six matches between teams from those nations in the competition have been won by the Spaniards for an aggregate score of 22-2.

Pafos are on their longest winless run in major European competition (four games – D2 L2), and have failed to score in three of those four matches. They are yet to lead at any point of a UEFA Champions League match this season; one of only five sides to fail to do so across the opening three matchdays.

Villarreal have lost 11 of their last 16 matches in the group/league phase of the UEFA Champions League (W3 D2), while their only clean sheet across those games came in a 2-0 home win versus Young Boys in November 2021.

Pafos have faced 66 shots across their three UEFA Champions League match this season (five goals conceded); the most of any side. Although they have not led at any point in a game so far, they’ve spent the longest per centage of their match time level (73 per cent - 211 minutes overall).

Villarreal have been trailing on the scoreboard for 71 per cent of their game time in the UEFA Champions League this season (losing for 204:39 in total). Through the first three matchdays of this season’s tournament, only Ajax (86 per cent) were behind for a higher per centage of their matches.

 

 

Pafos have recorded the fewest high turnovers (7) of any side in the UEFA Champions League this season, while opponents Villarreal had the joint-fourth fewest (14) across the opening three matchdays.

Defender David Luiz has had the most shots inside the box (4) and touches in the opposition box (5) of any Pafos player in the UEFA Champions League this season, as well as leading the Cypriot side for expected goals (0.79).

Nicolas Pépé has created 11 chances for Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League this season, with only Real Madrid pair Kylian Mbappé (16) and Arda Güler (12) creating more across the opening three matchdays of the current edition.

Qarabag v Chelsea

The previous two meetings between Qarabag and Chelsea were also in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, with the Blues winning 6-0 at home and 4-0 away in the 2017-18 edition.

Chelsea have scored 10 goals in two games against Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League, with this their joint-most in their first two matches against an opponent in the competition (also 10 v Nordsjælland).

Qarabag have lost all seven of their games against English sides in Europe, conceding 21 goals and only scoring once themselves. Indeed, their only goal came via a penalty versus Tottenham in September 2015, and have failed to score in all six matches against English opposition since then.

Including the FIFA Club World Cup, Chelsea have won 20 of their 23 games in international competition under Enzo Maresca (excluding qualifiers), scoring at least once in all 23 matches and averaging 2.9 goals per outing (66 scored in total).

After beating Copenhagen in their previous UEFA Champions League home match (2-0), Qarabag will be looking to win back-to-back home games in the same season in major European competition for the first time ever.

Chelsea have lost each of their last three away games in the UEFA Champions League, and have only once previously lost four in a row on the road in the competition (between December 2004-May 2005).

Qarabag have taken six of nine points available in the UEFA Champions League this season (W2 D1), after only winning two of 18 available in their previous appearance in this tournament (P6 D2 L4 in 2017-18). The Azerbaijani side have also already tripled their goal haul from the 2017-18 edition (2), netting six goals in three games this term.

Chelsea have already handed appearances to 25 different players in the UEFA Champions League this season, more than any other team in the first three matchdays. The Blues also had the second youngest starting XI in terms of average age in this period (23y 339d), only behind Paris SG (23y 261d).

Estêvão scored his first UEFA Champions League goal last time out against Ajax. Should he find the net in this game, the Brazilian would become the first South American player to score in consecutive appearances while aged 18 or younger.

Qarabag’s Leandro Andrade has scored three goals in five appearances in major European competition in 2025, as many as he managed in 22 European outings for the club prior to this year (three goals).

Moisés Caicedo has completed 92.9 per cent of his passes under high-intensity pressure in the UEFA Champions League this season (65/70); the third-best completion rate by a central midfielder across the opening three matchdays (min. 50 attempted), behind Arthur Vermeeren (93.3 per cent) and Aleix García (93 per cent).

Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund

This will be the seventh time Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund have faced each other in the UEFA Champions League, with the German side only managing one win in the previous six (D2 L3).

Manchester City have conceded the opening goal in four of their six UEFA Champions League games against Borussia Dortmund, but have only lost one of those four (W2 D1) and come back to win in each of the last two when going 1-0 down (2-1 in April 2021 and September 2022).

Borussia Dortmund have netted the opening goal in two of their three away matches against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, but have been denied a victory on both occasions by goals conceded from the 80th minute onwards (drew 1-1 in October 2012 and lost 2-1 in September 2022).

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is unbeaten in his last 10 games against Borussia Dortmund across all competitions (W6 D4), with his last defeat against them coming in the 2014 German Super Cup final. All three of his defeats in 15 total matches against Dortmund (W8 D4) came between 2013 and 2014 during Jürgen Klopp’s reign.

 

 

Borussia Dortmund have scored 12 goals in the UEFA Champions League, despite having an expected goals total of just 4.5. Indeed, across the opening three matchdays this season, the Germans had the biggest positive differential against their expected goals (+7.5), as well as the highest shot conversion rate (37.5 per cent) of any side.

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 22 home matches played in the group/league phase of the UEFA Champions League (W19 D3), since a 2-1 defeat to Lyon in September 2018. The only team to stop the Citizens scoring across these 22 games was Internazionale in September 2024 (0-0), who finished as runners-up in last season’s edition.

Borussia Dortmund have scored four goals in each of their last three UEFA Champions League matches (4-4 v Juventus, 4-1 v Athletic Club and 4-2 v Copenhagen). They could become the first team in European Cup/UEFA Champions League history to score 4+ goals in four consecutive games here.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland could become the first player to score in five consecutive UEFA Champions League appearances for as many as three different teams, having previously done so for RB Salzburg (November 2019, five games) and Borussia Dortmund (March 2021, six games). Haaland has netted in his last four outings in the competition for the Citizens, netting six goals in total.

Across the first three matchdays of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League campaign, the two defenders with the most line-breaking passes were Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol (51) and Borussia Dortmund’s Ramy Bensebaini (47).

Man City’s Bernardo Silva is looking to score in consecutive UEFA Champions League appearances for the first time since April 2024. An appearance in this game will see him become the fourth Portuguese player to hit 100 games in the competition, after Cristiano Ronaldo (183), Pepe (120) and Luis Figo (103), all three of whom were on the winning side in their 100th games.

Newcastle United v Athletic Club

Newcastle and Athletic Club have faced twice before in European competition, with the Basque side eliminating the Magpies from the last 32 of the UEFA Cup in 1994-95 (3-3 on aggregate over two legs, progressed on away goals).

Athletic Club’s previous away match at Newcastle came in a 3-2 defeat in the first leg of their last 32 UEFA Cup tie in October 1994. Overall, Athletic have only won one of their 10 matches away to English sides in Europe (D1 L8), with that victory coming at Manchester United in March 2012 under Marcelo Bielsa (3-2 in the UEFA Europa League – first leg of a last 16 tie).

Athletic Club have lost all three of their games against English teams in 2025, losing twice to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League semifinals last season and versus Arsenal in their UEFA Champions League opener this term. Only one Spanish side has previously lost four games against English sides in a single calendar year in major European competition: Atlético de Madrid in 2021 (L2 v Chelsea and Liverpool).

MD2 and MD3 saw Newcastle record first their biggest ever win (4-0 v Union Saint-Gilloise) and then joint-biggest home win (3-0 v Benfica) in the UEFA Champions League – the Magpies could now win three games in the row in major European competition for the first time since March 2007 in the UEFA Cup.

Athletic Club are winless in each of their five European away games in 2025 (D1 L4), losing three of those matches by the same 4-1 scoreline – no Spanish club has ever lost three consecutive major European games and conceded more than three times in each defeat.

Newcastle have already eclipsed their points tally from their previous UEFA Champions League season in 2023-24 (5, 6 this season) and a win in this match will see them pick up as many as nine points in a group stage campaign for only the second time, previously doing so in the 2002-03 first group phase (W3 L3).

Anthony Gordon has scored four goals in the UEFA Champions League this season, becoming the first Newcastle player to score in three consecutive outings in the competition in the process. Prior to 2025-26, he had played seven matches in major European competition without scoring once.

Gorka Guruzeta has scored three goals in three UEFA Champions League appearances this season, netting in each of his last two games. If he finds the net here, he would be the first Athletic Club player to score in three consecutive outings in the European Cup/Champions League.

Jacob Murphy has provided an assist in three of his five UEFA Champions League appearances, averaging an assist every 59 minutes in the competition – Bukayo Saka (4) and Aaron Lennon (3) are the only other English players to register at least three assists through their first five appearances in the competition.

Athletic Club’s Unai Simón has conceded seven goals in the UEFA Champions League this season, despite facing an expected goals on target total of 3.75. Excluding own goals, this was the biggest underperformance by a goalkeeper across the first three matchdays of the current edition (-3.25).

Ajax v Galatasaray

Ajax and Galatasaray’s only previous meeting came earlier this year, in a 2-1 win for the Dutch side in the league phase of the UEFA Europa League. This was the first of three European away defeats for the Turkish side in 2025, who have lost every game on the road in Europe this year.

Galatasaray have never won in Europe away to a Dutch team, losing in six of their seven attempts to date (D1). Three of those seven games were played last season (D1 L2), with defeats to Ajax and AZ both coming since the turn of the year.

Ajax have lost each of their last six major European games, the joint-longest losing streak of their history along with six defeats between April 1988 and September 1989 (2 in Cup Winners’ Cup, 4 in UEFA Cup).

Following wins over Liverpool and Bodø/Glimt on MD2 and MD3 respectively, Galatasaray are aiming to win three consecutive matches in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since December 2012 under Fatih Terim – Gala had won just one of their previous 18 matches in the competition (D5 L12).

Only Bayern Munich (86 per cent winning) have spent a greater proportion of their total match time in one game state in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League than Ajax have losing (78 per cent); they have conceded with either their first (MD2) or second (MD1 & MD3) shot on target faced in each of their three games this season.

 

 

Galatasaray recorded 23 shots on MD3 in victory against Bodø/Glimt, their most in a UEFA Champions League game since having 32 v Arsenal in December 2014; 11 of those hit the target, the outright most on record (since 2003-04) by Cimbom in the competition.

No team has scored fewer goals than Ajax in the UEFA Champions League this season (1 – level with three other teams coming into MD4), while their five shots on target are also the lowest by any side in the current tournament.

John Heitinga has lost each of his three UEFA Champions League games in charge of Ajax and the only managers to lose at least each of their first four with a Dutch club in the competition are Giovanni van Bronckhorst with Feyenoord (first 5 in 2017) and Co Adriaanse with Willem II (first 4 in 1999)

Wout Weghorst scored in Ajax’s 5-1 loss to Chelsea last time out, only his third goal in major European competition since 2020 – only in one of his previous five campaigns in Europe has he scored more than once, netting twice for Wolfsburg in the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League.

Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen has scored in each of his last seven appearances in major European competition, with Robert Lewandowsi the last to go on a longer run between November 2020 and 2021 (9 for Bayern Munich).

Club Brugge v Barcelona

Club Brugge are winless in their four matches against Barcelona in Europe (D1 L3), although this will be their first meeting since a 1-0 win for Barcelona in October 2002 (UEFA Champions League).

Barcelona were beaten in their last away game against a Belgian side, losing 3-2 at Royal Antwerp in the UEFA Champions League in December 2023. Indeed, they have lost (5) more often than they have won (4) across their nine away matches against Belgian sides in Europe.

Of the 28 matches played between Belgian and Spanish sides in the UEFA Champions League, only five of them have been won by the Belgians (D8 L15). However, they have won the last two they have hosted: Club Brugge 2-0 Atlético Madrid in October 2022 and Royal Antwerp 3-2 Barcelona in December 2023.

Club Brugge are unbeaten in each of their last four group/league phase home games in the UEFA Champions League (W3 D1), their best ever run in the competition. That includes a 4-1 win over Monaco on MD1.

Barcelona beat Newcastle 2-1 on MD1 and will be aiming to win both of their first two away games in a UEFA Champions League campaign for the first time since 2020-21 under Ronald Koeman (first three).

 

 

Club Brugge have lost four of their last five matches in the UEFA Champions League (W1), as many defeats as they suffered across their previous 15 major European games (W8 D3) – they could lose three straight in the same edition for the first time since December 2021 (4).

Since the start of last season Barcelona are the leading goalscorers in the UEFA Champions League with 52 goals and have scored 3+ goals in 11 different games, more often than any other side.

18-year-old Pau Cubarsí could make his 20th UEFA Champions League appearance in this game – the Barcelona defender would be only the third player to hit that milestone before turning 19, along with teammate Lamine Yamal (17 years, 270 days) and PSG’s Warren Zaïre-Emery (18 years, 277 days).

Only Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise (7) and Sporting CP’s Luis Suárez (6) have recorded more shots following a carry of 5+ metres than Club Brugge’s Christos Tzolis (5) so far in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League.

Marcus Rashford has scored four goals in three UEFA Champions League appearances for Barcelona, after going goalless in his 12 outings in the competition prior (8 for Manchester United, 4 for Aston Villa). The only player to score five goals for the club within four appearances is Robert Lewandowski in 2022-23 (5 in 4).

Benfica v Bayer Leverkusen

Benfica have only lost one of their six games against Bayer Leverkusen (W2 D3) in European competition, while they’re unbeaten in their three home matches against them (W1 D2).

Bayer Leverkusen have only won one of their four away games against Portuguese sides in the UEFA Champions League, going winless and failing to score in the three (D2 L1) since a 2-0 win over Sporting CP in October 1997.

Benfica manager José Mourinho’s only previous meetings with Bayer Leverkusen came in the semifinals of the 2022-23 UEFA Europa League, where his Roma side eliminated them 1-0 on aggregate to reach the final. Mourinho’s side kept a clean sheet in both legs against a Xabi Alonso-led Leverkusen, winning 1-0 at home and drawing 0-0 in Germany.

Benfica have lost each of their last five UEFA Champions League games, their longest run in major European competition since an eight-game streak in the same competition between March 2017 and September 2018; 2025 is only the third calendar year in which they have lost 6+ times in Europe after 2017 (7) and 2008 (6).

When losing 7-2 to PSG on MD3, Bayer Leverkusen conceded seven goals in a European game for only the second time ever (284th game), also doing so in a 7-1 loss at Barcelona in March 2012 in the UEFA Champions League – that was as many goals as they conceded across the whole of last season’s league phase.

Benfica are one of just two teams to have suffered three defeats in this season’s UEFA Champions League along with Ajax – the Eagles have lost each of their opening four games of a major European campaign just before: the 2017-18 (first six) and 2023-24 (first four) Champions League seasons.

Bayer Leverkusen have suffered the most build up attacks against in the UEFA Champions League this season (20 – 11 on MD3, 6 on MD2, 3 on MD1), with only the opponents of Napoli (15.3s) and Eintracht Frankfurt (14.9s) averaging longer open sequences than Leverkusen’s (14.7s).

Bayer Leverkusen manager Kasper Hjulmand remains winless in nine UEFA Champions League games, conceding 32 goals across six defeats and three draws. In fact, his average of 3.6 goals against per game is the highest of any manager with at least nine games.

Vangelis Pavlidis has scored five goals in his last four UEFA Champions League appearances at the Estádio da Luz. Of the nine goals that Benfica have scored in home matches in the competition in 2025, the Greek striker has been directly involved in 67 per cent of them (6/9 – five goals, one assist).

As well as completing the most passes of any Bayern Leverkusen player (42) on MD3, Aleix García scored twice against PSG; more than he netted across his first 12 outings in the competition (1).

Internazionale v Kairat

This will be Internazionale’s first meeting with Kairat, as well as the first ever between sides from Italy and Kazakhstan in any European competition.

Internazionale have won nine of their last 10 UEFA Champions League games when meeting an opponent for the first time, with the exception being their 5-0 defeat to PSG in last season’s final.

Internazionale have won nine of their last 10 UEFA Champions League group stage games without conceding (0-1 v Bayern Leverkusen on 2024-25 MD6 the exception), and are the only team to keep 10 clean sheets in group/league phase games since the start of last season.

Kairat remain winless across their first three UEFA Champions League games (D1 L2), scoring just once and conceding nine times – the only teams to score one or fewer and concede more than 10 goals across their first four matches in the competition are Levski Sofia in 2006 (1F 13A), MSK Zilina in 2010 (1F 15A) and FC Nordsjælland in 2012 (1F 11A).

Internazionale have won each of their last three UEFA Champions League games without conceding, scoring 2+ goals in each win – only three teams have ever won four straight matches to nil while also scoring more than once each time: Bayern Munich in 2012-13, Borussia Dortmund in 2014-15 and PSG in 2017-18 (Arsenal could also do so on MD4).

On MD3, Kairat’s opponents Pafos received a fourth minute red card but the game still finished 0-0 – it was the longest a side has played against 10-men in the competition without scoring. The Kazakh club have recorded the worst conversion rate in the UEFA Champions League this season (2.4 per cent - 42 shots, 1 goal).

Internazionale’s 4-0 win at Union Saint-Gilloise on MD3 was their joint-biggest victory in the UEFA Champions League – their nine goals this season is their most through three games in an edition of the competition since 2010-11 when they were the holders (10).

Internazionale manager Cristian Chivu is aiming to be the first manager to win each of their first four UEFA Champions League games since Hansi Flick in 2020, and the first ever to do so without conceding.

Internazionale’s Lautaro Martínez has scored 24 goals in the UEFA Champions League and the only Argentinian players with more in the competition are Lionel Messi (129), Sergio Agüero (41) and Hernán Crespo (25). He has scored 11 goals in his last 10, with no player scoring more times in major European competition this calendar year (Harry Kane also 11).

Making five saves against Pafos on MD3, Kairat’s Temirlan Anarbekov (22y 7d) become the fourth youngest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet on their UEFA Champions League debut across the last 20 seasons, after Atlético de Madrid’s Sergio Asenjo in September 2009 (20y 79d), Sturm Graz’s Daniil Khudyakov in November 2024 (20y 323d) and Porto’s Diogo Costa in December 2020 (21y 81d).

Marseille v Atalanta

The previous two meetings between Marseille and Atalanta came in the semifinals of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League. After a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg, Marseille were eliminated from the tournament following a 3-0 defeat in the return leg in Italy (lost 4-1 on aggregate).

Atalanta haven’t won any of their four games against French sides played outside of Italy (D2 L2), drawing against Lyon (September 2017) and Marseille (May 2024) in the UEFA Europa League, along with two defeats to Paris SG in the UEFA Champions League (August 2020 and September 2025).

Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi has lost seven of his nine matches against Atalanta across all competitions (W1 D1); his joint-most defeats against an opponent in his managerial career (also seven versus Juventus).

Marseille are unbeaten in each of their last eight home games in major European competition (W7 D2) and could go nine without loss for the first time this century – only between 1989 and 1999 have they have gone nine or more without loss overall in such competitions at home, setting the second longest such streak by a French Side (23, behind PSG’s 31, 2006 – 2015).

Atalanta have lost only two of their 11 UEFA Champions League group/league phase games since the start of last season (W5 D4), while only Internazionale (10) and Arsenal (8) have kept more clean sheets than the Italian side in round one matches in that same period (6).

Marseille have spent just nine per cent of their UEFA Champions League match time this season in a losing position (28 minutes), the lowest proportion of any side to have suffered multiple defeats in the competition in 2025-26. The French side do average the third worst xG difference per 90 while drawing however (-1.8, 114 minutes), behind only Eintracht Frankfurt (-2.4) and Kairat (-2.2).

Atalanta are one of only three teams to both record and face at least 45 shots in the UEFA Champions League this season (49 for, 45 against); on MD3, La Dea’s 0-0 draw with Slavia Prague saw the most shots on record (since 2003-04) in a match that finished goalless in the competition (38 – 22 for, 16 against).

Marseille’s Igor Paixão has scored three goals in the UEFA Champions League this season with André Ayew in 2011-12 the last player to net more times in a campaign for the club (4) – the only other non-French players to net more than three times in a single edition of the Champions League for the French side are Didier Drogba in 2003-04 (5) and Alen Boksic in 1992-93 (4).

Against Slavia Prague last time out, Charles De Ketelaere created six chances for the second time in a UEFA Champions League game for Atalanta (also v Club Brugge in February), the only player to do so in more than one game for the club in the competition.

Marseille pair Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (1 goal) and Igor Paixão (2 goals) have combined to score three goals in the UEFA Champions League this season, more than any other teammates in 2025-26.

Advertisement