The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League returns after a week’s break and will again feature some great clashes between top European teams.
The UCL is regarded as the most elite continental competition for a reason, and Matchday 2 can be expected to bring some shocking results, feisty encounters, and high-scoring entertainers.
Here, we preview and predict the result of every game of Matchday 2 of the 2025/26 UCL.
This is a repeat of last year’s play-off tie that Club Brugge won 5–2 on aggregate.
This UCL campaign has also started in humiliating fashion for the Bergamaschi, who lost 4–0 on the opening day against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, though their domestic campaign has been far better in comparison, as they remain unbeaten in Serie A and secured a 1–1 draw against Juventus at the weekend.
As for Club Brugge, they produced an impressive performance against Monaco at home in the opening round to register a comprehensive 4–1 win. Even though their domestic form has been topsy-turvy, they come into this game having beaten ten-man Standard Liège at the weekend.
Atalanta are dealing with a massive injury crisis, with Giorgio Scalvini, Isak Hien, Nicola Zalewski, Gianluca Scamacca, Sead Kolašinac, and Mitchel Bakker all unavailable, while Club Brugge are without Raphael Onyedika and goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Club Brugge can be very dangerous in attack, while this is a massive game for Atalanta to get their UCL campaign up and running. Both teams have some great attacking options up front, and even though the Blauw-Zwart have an on-paper advantage based on form, Atalanta at home will surely put in a spirited performance, making an entertaining draw highly likely here.
Score prediction: Atalanta 2–2 Club Brugge
The Kazakh champions are up against the most decorated team in UCL history this week. On their UCL main draw debut in the last round, Kairat were handed a strong reality check when Portuguese heavyweights Sporting beat them 4–1.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, beat Marseille in a close game at the Santiago Bernabéu. They’ll also want to quickly put behind the recent 5–2 drubbing they received at the hands of local rivals Atlético Madrid at the weekend with a strong performance in this game.
For Kairat, goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov and midfielder Giorgi Zaria have been ruled out with injury, while Los Blancos will be missing the services of Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rüdiger, and Ferland Mendy, all of whom have been ruled out with injuries.
Looking at the two teams, even with an injury crisis at the back, Real Madrid have too much quality all throughout their attack and midfield to not come away with three points here. This should be a comfortable victory for the 15-time European winners and another humbling experience for the team from Almaty.
Score prediction: Kairat 1–4 Real Madrid
Inter have been vulnerable at the back this season, though they are now starting to bring solidity to their results. Their first UCL encounter this season was a comfortable away win against Ajax, and they also won their recent league game against Cagliari without conceding a goal.
As for the reigning Czech champions, their opening UCL game was a 2–2 draw at home against newcomers Bodø/Glimt, where the hosts let slip a 2–0 lead and ended up with a point. They are performing well in the Czech First League, sitting just a point behind first-placed Sparta Praha.
The Nerazzurri have great news on the injury front, with a full squad at Cristian Chivu’s disposal, while Slavia will be without Dominik Javorcek, Igoh Ogbu, Petr Ševcík, and Tomáš Holeš.
With Inter playing at home, and given Slavia Praha’s poor record against top European sides over the years, this should be another straightforward encounter for last season’s UCL runners-up.
Score prediction: Inter Milan 3–0 Slavia Praha
The Blues are going through a loss of form, having lost three of their last four games in all competitions. They started their UCL campaign with a defeat away to Bayern Munich and lost their last two league games against Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion — going down to ten men in both fixtures.
Benfica also had a start to forget, as they were shocked by Qarabag in their opening UCL encounter, conceding three goals after being 2–0 up. The result led to the sacking of their manager Bruno Lage, who has since been replaced by former Chelsea boss José Mourinho. They have fared better in the Primeira Liga, with two wins and a draw since that defeat to Qarabag.
Chelsea have a host of injury concerns coming into this game, with main man Cole Palmer out with a groin injury, while Levi Colwill, Liam Delap, Dário Essugo, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Wesley Fofana are also sidelined. As for Benfica, Manu Silva and Alexander Bah are both recovering from ACL injuries, Bruma is out with an Achilles problem, and Gianluca Prestianni is away on international duty with Italy at the U20 World Cup in Chile.
The Águias do not have a great record against English sides in the Champions League, and Chelsea possess the firepower to blow them away. Even though the Blues look vulnerable at the back with their first-choice centre-backs missing, this could be the game that sees them return to winning ways at Stamford Bridge — at the expense of their highly decorated former manager.
Score prediction: Chelsea 2–1 Benfica
On the back of a thumping 5–2 win over local rivals Real Madrid, Los Colchoneros are full of confidence. They did lose their opening UCL game to Liverpool at Anfield, however, having come back from 2–0 down to level at 2–2 only to concede an injury-time goal.
As for Eintracht Frankfurt, they won their opening UCL encounter with a commanding 5–1 win against Turkish giants Galatasaray. In the German Bundesliga, they’ve scored nine goals in two games; they lost 4–3 to Union Berlin before winning 6–4 against Borussia Mönchengladbach in their last fixture. Clearly, Frankfurt have a massive problem in their back line and have been leaking goals just as freely as they’ve been scoring them on the other end.
Coming to injuries, Atleti have a few vital players out in José María Giménez, Johnny Cardoso, and Thiago Almada, while defender Rasmus Kristensen is the only major injury doubt for Frankfurt.
Frankfurt are playing a very attacking form of football under head coach Dino Toppmöller, and it’s unlikely they’ll change their approach for this game. However, Atleti have attackers that can hurt the fragile Frankfurt defence as well as a characteristically solid defence to thwart their attackers.
This could be an entertaining end-to-end game, with the hosts likely to come out with a win.
Score prediction: Atlético Madrid 4–2 Frankfurt
This is a repeat encounter of last year’s Europa League semi-final tie that saw Spurs go past the Norwegian side comfortably before beating Manchester United in the final.
In their opening UCL encounter, the defending Eliteserien champions came back from 2–0 down against Slavia Praha to snatch a point, while Spurs narrowly beat Spanish side Villarreal at home. However, Spurs’ form has been a worry lately as they have played out two draws in their last two Premier League matches, though they came back in both to earn a point. As for Bodø, they have two wins and a draw from their last three league games.
Spurs have a long list of injuries, with Dominic Solanke and on-loan signing Randal Kolo Muani on the sidelines alongside long-term absentees Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Radu Dragusin, and Yves Bissouma. Bodø, meanwhile, will be without Ulrik Saltnes, Brede Moe, and Daniel Bassi.
Playing away from home, coupled with their recent loss of form, could hamper Spurs slightly. However, based on previous results against Bodø, they should be able to get all three points from this encounter.
Score prediction: Bodø/Glimt 1–3 Spurs
Both Marseille and Ajax lost their opening UCL encounters against tough opponents in Real Madrid and Inter Milan, respectively, though Marseille did go toe-to-toe with the Spanish giants before losing to a controversial penalty call.
Marseille’s head-to-head record against Ajax makes for very encouraging viewing; they’ve been unbeaten against the Dutch outfit in their last five meetings. OM have also won their last two Ligue 1 games, even defeating champions PSG after a long time. As for Ajax, they’re unbeaten in their last three games in the Eredivisie, though they are lagging behind table toppers Feyenoord by four points.
For this game, Marseille will be without Geoffrey Kondogbia, Rubén Blanco, and Hamed Traorè due to injuries, while Branco van den Boomen and Kasper Dolberg may be unavailable for Ajax.
Looking at the two teams, and the fact that in-form Marseille have home advantage in this one, we back the French heavyweights to win this game comfortably.
Score prediction: OM 2–0 Ajax
Galatasaray endured a humiliating defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in their UCL opener, losing 5–1. But their Süper Lig form is excellent, and they are six points clear at the top of the table.
The English champions, on the other hand, won their opening UCL game in thrilling fashion, relying on their powers of recovery once again to grab all three points despite surrendering a 2–0 lead against Atlético Madrid. However, their 100% league record came to an end last weekend with a defeat to Crystal Palace.
As for injuries, Galatasaray have no important players missing, and that is the case for Liverpool as well, although their new centre-back signing Giovanni Leoni is out for the season with an ACL injury.
Though there is a clear difference in squad quality, Galatasaray could exploit Liverpool’s defensive vulnerabilities with the likes of Leroy Sané, Victor Osimhen, and Mauro Icardi. The Reds, however, have the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Mohamed Salah, and Alexander Isak to damage Galatasaray.
The head-to-head record between the two sides is pretty much even. Moreover, this is a much stronger Galatasaray team facing a Liverpool side with ongoing defensive issues, making this a tougher game than usual for the Merseysiders. That said, they still have enough quality to be able to edge out Galatasaray.
Score prediction: Galatasaray 1–2 Liverpool
Cypriot champions Pafos were impressive in their UCL opener as they managed to hold Greek heavyweights Olympiacos to a draw despite going down to ten men. They are also performing well in the Cypriot First Division, though Bayern Munich are far above the level they are used to.
Bayern are unbeaten so far in the German Bundesliga with five wins out of five. They had a tough UCL opening game against Chelsea but managed to win it by a comfortable margin in the end.
As for injury concerns, Bayern have Jamal Musiala out with a long-term injury, while left-back Alphonso Davies has not yet fully recovered. Pafos, on the other hand, will miss right-back Bruno Felipe due to his red card in the previous game.
Pafos may have performed valiantly to grab a point off Olympiacos, but Bayern will pose a far greater attacking threat with the likes of Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Serge Gnabry. Their free-scoring nature could well result in a brutal reality check for Pafos, even though the Cypriot giants have enough firepower up front to at least score a goal given Bayern’s evident defensive vulnerabilities.
Score prediction: Pafos 1–4 Bayern Munich
Qarabag had an impressive outing in their UCL opener as they came back from two goals down to beat Portuguese giants Benfica 3–2. Copenhagen also played a thriller, drawing 2–2 against Bayer Leverkusen.
The Azerbaijani heavyweights have also won their two games after the win against Benfica, while Copenhagen have two wins and a draw in their three games since drawing against Leverkusen.
As for injuries, Qarabag don’t have any major absentees, while the Danish giants have a long list of players on the sidelines featuring Andreas Cornelius, Elias Achouri, Jonathan Moalem, Magnus Mattsson, and Oliver Højer.
With home advantage on their side, and Copenhagen missing vital players in midfield, this could be a golden opportunity for Qarabag to grab another win, though the Superliga side remain the stronger team on paper and could nick a win here despite the injury concerns.
Score prediction: Qarabag 1–2 Copenhagen
Union SG put up a superb display in their opening game to upset PSV 3–1 away from home, dominating the Dutch side to take home all three points. Newcastle United, meanwhile, lost 2–1 to a tough opposition in Barcelona. In their respective latest league games, Newcastle lost to Arsenal at home, while Union SG beat Westerlo comfortably.
The Magpies didn’t play badly in their last two games, but they did lose intensity in the latter stages of both games and conceded poor goals. They’ll have to be careful against Union as well; the Belgian giants are no pushovers, even though Eddie Howe has a superior squad at Newcastle.
In terms of absences, Union have Mohammed Fuseini out with an injury and Raul Florucz suspended for this game, while Newcastle have major issues, with Tino Livramento added to their injury list alongside Elliot Anderson, Joe Willock, and Fabian Schär.
This is the first time these two teams are playing against each other, so we might see a cagey affair with the Magpies trying to sit back and attack on the counter and looking to leverage their physicality on set-pieces. That said, Union do have the players up front who could help them grab at least a point here.
Score prediction: Union SG 1–1 Newcastle
While Manchester City grabbed a massive three points against Napoli in their UCL opener, Monaco were humiliated 4–1 by Club Brugge. The Cityzens have started to show some form in recent games, having defeated Burnley 5–1 in their league fixture at the weekend, with striker Erling Haaland looking ominous in front of goal. Monaco, meanwhile, lost to Lorient in their most recent Ligue 1 fixture.
Looking at the two teams, Monaco have been riddled with injury issues on top of their poor run of form, with Maghnes Akliouche, Lamine Camara, Lukas Hradecky, Paul Pogba, and Aleksandr Golovin all out for this game, while City also have vital players missing in Rodri, Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Rayan Aït-Nouri.
Despite their injuries, City are capable of fielding a solid first XI for this game, one that should prove to be too strong for this struggling Monaco side. With a front line of Haaland, Jérémy Doku, and Phil Foden, City should come away with an easy win here.
Score prediction: Monaco 1–3 Man City
Dortmund are sitting pretty in second place in the German Bundesliga table, having won both their recent fixtures. Their opening UCL game was a thrilling 4–4 draw with Juventus, where they conceded late goals to lose two massive points. As for the team from Bilbao, they’ve been abysmal since losing to Arsenal in their UCL opener, having lost two games out of three.
BVB have injury concerns, with Emre Can, Serhou Guirassy, Aarón Anselmino, and Julien Duranville out of contention for this game, while Athletic will be without Álex Berenguer, Mikel Vesga, Unai Egiluz, and Beñat Prados.
Playing at the Signal Iduna Park is going to be a tough ask for the Basque outfit due to their recent form as well as the Schwarzgelben‘s attacking ability. However, BVB do have defensive vulnerability that the likes of Iñaki Williams and Unai Gómez can exploit. That said, it’s hard to see Dortmund losing this game.
Score prediction: Dortmund 2–1 Athletic Club
Unbeaten in Serie A ahead of their UCL opener, Napoli went to the Etihad with the intention to compete, but going down to ten men inside 25 minutes meant they had to resort to defensive tactics, and yet City ran away with all three points. Since then, the reigning Italian top-flight champions have lost momentum and were also beaten by AC Milan at the weekend.
Sporting, on the other hand, have been in great nick in the Primeira Liga, having won their last two games since their commanding 4–1 win over UCL newcomers Kairat.
As far as absences are concerned, the Partenopei have a host of injured players in Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Mathías Olivera, Romelu Lukaku, Alessandro Buongiorno, and Nikita Contini. Sporting, meanwhile, will be without Ousmane Diomande, Daniel Bragança, and Nuno Santos.
Going on recent form, Sporting look like the better team. However, Antonio Conte’s men are a tough side to handle at the Maradona — even more so given they’ll be looking to get back to winning ways and kick-start their UCL campaign. We believe Napoli will edge what should be a cagey affair between two defending league champions.
Score prediction: Napoli 2–1 Sporting
This is going to be a very interesting game between a defensively solid Villarreal and a Juventus side that can’t stop leaking goals.
Villarreal narrowly lost their opening UCL encounter to Spurs, while Juve played a thrilling 4–4 draw against Borussia Dortmund, where they rescued a point late in the game. The Bianconeri have drawn their last two league fixtures, while Villarreal have started to show some form in LaLiga with two wins in two.
Looking at the two sides, there are a fair few injuries in both camps, with The Old Lady missing Francisco Conceição, Arkadiusz Milik, and Fabio Miretti, and Villarreal ruing the absence of Gerard Moreno, Willy Kambwala, Pau Cabanes, Ayoze Pérez, and Logan Costa.
Juve might be conceding cheap goals, but their front line has been firing as well, with Kenan Yildiz and Dušan Vlahovic in lethal form. Villarreal, for all their strengths, will find it difficult to hold their own against Juve’s attacking threat. This should be a comfortable win for the Italian giants.
Score prediction: Villarreal 1–3 Juventus
The Gunners will be full of confidence after securing a late comeback win against Newcastle, while Olympiacos also won a close game against Levadiakos in their league game at the weekend. As for their respective UCL openers, Arsenal travelled away to Spain and brought home all three points against Athletic Club, while the reigning Super League Greece champions had to make do with a draw against a resolute Pafos side that had gone down to ten men.
As far as injuries are concerned, Arsenal are without Noni Madueke, Piero Hincapié, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Jesus, with Olympiacos missing Roman Yeremchuk.
Arsenal have been one of the best defensive sides in Europe in recent seasons and boast massive attacking threat, which has been further bolstered by new signings Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres. They are also more difficult to beat at home, making them comprehensive favourites for the win here.
Score prediction: Arsenal 2–0 Olympiacos
This is possibly the game of the UCL so far, with the Spanish champions hosting the defending European champions. Both teams play attacking football, which makes this even more of a blockbuster clash.
Barça opened their UCL campaign with a tough away win against Newcastle, while PSG annihilated Atalanta 4–0 at home. As far as league form is concerned, the Blaugrana have won their last three LaLiga encounters, while the Parisians lost to Marseille in Ligue 1 before returning to winning ways against Auxerre.
On the injury front, both teams have been hit massively. While Barça have Joan García, Fermín López, Raphinha, Gavi, and Marc-André ter Stegen out with injuries, PSG too have several key absentees in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé, and Marquinhos.
It will be very interesting to see what tactics the two coaches deploy in this game, as both Luis Enrique and Hansi Flick are attack-minded. PSG may prefer soaking up the pressure early on and try exploiting Barça’s defensive high line in the second half. If their encounters last season are anything to go by, this is bound to be another tight affair — one likely to end in an entertaining draw.
Score prediction: Barça 2–2 PSG
Leverkusen are unbeaten since drawing against Copenhagen in their UCL opener. Even though they’ve picked up form after dismissing Erik ten Hag, they remain vulnerable at the back. PSV, meanwhile, won their last game in the Eredivisie after a shocking defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise in their UCL opener.
Coming to the players unavailable, both sides have massive injury issues. Leverkusen have Patrik Schick, Nathan Tella, Exequiel Palacios, Martin Terrier, and Robert Andrich out for this game, while PSV are missing Sergiño Dest, Kiliann Sildillia, Alassane Pléa, Myron Boadu, and Ruben van Bommel.
With both teams rocked by injuries, fielding a competitive side here will be tricky for both managers. Though it could be a feisty affair, Leverkusen still have quality players available who can help get their UCL campaign up and running.
Score prediction: Leverkusen 2–1 PSV
Welsh football club Wrexham AFC have announced a new multi-year partnership with match-worn and signed…
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow Super Giants have announced a new multi-year partnership with…
The Audi Formula One Team, who will join the Formula One grid from the 2026…
India had the ODI series against South Africa at home in their hands, especially after…
After an incredible start to the Ashes 2025/26 series which saw hosts Australia stomp England…
Italian Formula One team Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (VCARB) have announced that British driver…