The league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League kicks back into gear next week, with 18 continental fixtures set to be contested across Tuesday and Wednesday evening (4th and 5th November).
Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Arsenal and Real Madrid are yet to drop a single point in the expanded group stage so far, though PSG and Bayern meet on Tuesday, so something has to give.
Alongside PSG’s showstopper against Bayern, we’ve picked out some other matches for special treatment this week, with predictions and prices from Tonybet’s Champions League markets provided for each.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid – 4th November
Tonybet odds
- Liverpool – 2.46
- Draw – 3.75
- Real Madrid – 2.50
Head-to-head
Liverpool and Real Madrid are familiar foes and have developed a keen continental rivalry in recent years. The clubs have crossed paths seven times in the Champions League since 2018, including in two finals, both of which were won by Real Madrid.
Last November, Liverpool overpowered Real Madrid in a group phase encounter to earn a 2-0 victory over Los Blancos, thanks to second-half strikes from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, while both sides also missed penalties at Anfield.
Real enjoyed successive wins in Merseyside before that, however, inspired by a Karim Benzema brace in 2023 and another double from the Frenchman in 2014.
Liverpool analysis
Liverpool’s domestic troubles have been well-documented, though they have looked more at ease in the Champions League this season, where opponents have been less physical and less likely to pump long balls over the Reds’ high press.
Arne Slot’s top-heavy side had far too much firepower for Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 3, clocking an xG of 3.20 and 14 shots on target in a 5-1 win over Die Adler on German soil, with Florian Wirtz notching two assists.
That victory acted as a steadier following Liverpool’s unexpected 1-0 loss to Galatasaray on Matchday 2 and added to the win they dug out over Atlético Madrid (3-2) in their UCL opener on 17th September.
Virgil van Dijk is Liverpool’s top scorer in the Champions League so far with two goals, and his threat from set pieces could be something to factor into your thinking on Thursday (13.00 to score anytime).
Real Madrid analysis
Top of La Liga with a 90% win rate and already purring in Europe with three wins from three assignments, Real Madrid look primed to push for silverware on multiple fronts in Xabi Alonso’s maiden campaign.
Tuesday’s trip to Anfield will be a significant one for Alonso, who was a Champions League winner during his five-year stint as a player with Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, though sentiment won’t cloud the 43-year-old’s thinking this week.
Real have already beaten Marseille (2-1), Kairat Almaty (5-0) and Juventus (1-0) in the group phase, and while two of those wins were achieved by fine margins, in reality Madrid were always in command, registering 6.30 in expected goals combined in those victories over OM and Juve.
Los Blancos top the pile in the UCL for both average shots and shots on target mustered per 90 minutes (2.44 & 11.00), and in Kylian Mbappé (five goals), they have one of the joint-top scorers in the tournament so far. The Frenchman, who has plundered 16 goals in all competitions, can be backed to net anytime at Anfield at 1.97 on Tuesday evening.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid prediction
This Liverpool team are a far cry from the confident side that toppled Real Madrid almost a year ago at Anfield, so it’s difficult to make a case for the hosts here. Los Blancos’ recent El Clásico win over Barcelona felt like a significant moment for Alonso and his players, and a formidable-looking Real could be difficult to stop.
With first-choice keeper Alisson Becker still injured and quality still lacking in both full-back positions, Liverpool look vulnerable again here and could be worth opposing, while backing Real Madrid to score over 1.5 goals at 1.83 could also be worthwhile.
PSG vs Bayern Munich – 4th November
Tonybet odds
- PSG – 2.17
- Draw – 3.95
- Bayern Munich – 2.80
Head-to-head
Regulars on the biggest stage and in the latter rounds of the tournament, PSG and Bayern Munich have met eight times in the Champions League since 2017, and once in the summer, when the Parisians beat the German giants 2-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup.
In the Champions League, Bayern have had the better of it, however, winning five of their last six encounters with PSG, including a 1-0 victory in the final of the 2019/20 edition.
Last season, the juggernauts met head-on in the group phase of the competition, with Bayern again prevailing thanks to a single goal from defender Kim Min-jae.
PSG analysis
Defending champions PSG roared to continental glory last season, playing a thrilling, high-technical brand of football that won admiration and plenty of support from neutrals.
This time around, they look like the benchmark again, dazzling in a trio of successive group phase wins over Atalanta (4-0), Barcelona (2-1) and Bayer Leverkusen (7-2)
Their win over Luis Enrique’s former club Barcelona in Catalonia was achieved without star turns Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, making it all the more impressive, though the wingers returned and scored on Matchday 3 when PSG put seven goals past Leverkusen in Germany.
In Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, PSG have arguably the two best marauding fullbacks in football. The duo have already chipped in with seven goal contributions between them in the Champions League, and Bayern will have to track both closely in Paris.
Bayern Munich analysis
History-makers Bayern Munich have won every single game they’ve played in the league, cup and Champions League this term, becoming the first team to surpass 13 straight victories since AC Milan achieved the same at the start of the 1992/93 campaign.
This makes Tuesday’s jaunt to Paris a fascinating acid test for Vincent Kompany’s all-conquering Bavarians, with Bayern priced as underdogs for the first time in any game this season.
Bayern have had a relatively easy ride in the Champions League so far, with games against Chelsea (3-1), Pafos FC (5-1) and Club Brugge (4-0) proving routine, so Tuesday’s game is a massive step up.
Harry Kane, who has scored 12 times in eight Bundesliga starts and five goals in three Champions League appearances, continues to be good for better than a goal per game, despite having turned 32 in the summer. The England international catches the eye at 2.13 in the anytime scorer stakes on Tuesday.
PSG vs Bayern Munich prediction
PSG haven’t missed a beat in the Champions League this season, though neither have Vincent Kompany’s winning machine, and bettors might be safer to look beyond match result markets for profit as a result.
Instead, combining over 2.5 goals with both teams to score at 1.47 has greater appeal. PSG and Bayern Munich are two of only three clubs (alongside Dortmund) to have crossed the double-goal barrier in the Champions League, and Tuesday’s clash in Paris will platform some of Europe’s sharpest attackers.
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund – 5th November
Tonybet odds
- Manchester City – 1.43
- Draw – 4.90
- Dortmund – 6.00
Head-to-head
Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund have met five times previously in the Champions League, though they have been kept apart in the competition since 2020.
Four of their previous meetings were group stage fixtures, though the clubs did contest a double-legged quarter-final tie during the 2021/22 campaign, with City winning 4-1 on aggregate.
Despite the clubs’ shared reputation for favouring attacking football, three of their six meetings have featured under 2.5 goals, with their most recent head-to-head finishing 0-0 in October 2022.
Manchester City analysis
2022/23 Champions League winners City are currently in a state of transition, and they aren’t listed among the favourites in Tonybet’s outright Champions League markets for this season.
However, they have shaped up well in this year’s tournament, collecting seven points from nine with wins over Napoli (2-0) and Villarreal (2-0) and a draw at Monaco (2-2).
Leading marksman Erling Haaland got them on track with an early goal against Villarreal in Spain on Matchday 3, though City’s overreliance on the Norwegian in the final third is becoming an issue.
Still, Haaland will be itching to impact the scoresheet against former club Dortmund on Wednesday. The 25-year-old, who scored 80+ times for the German side before moving to City in 2022, is a solid anytime prospect at 1.64 this week.
Borussia Dortmund analysis
Beaten 2023/24 Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund are rarely fancied, but seem to revel in the underdog role and could fly under the radar into the tournament’s latter rounds again this term.
Head coach Niko Kovač, who has a 60.53% win rate since his appointment in February, knows how to get a tune out of this Dortmund squad. They’ve only lost once in all competitions this season, and that solitary slip-up came in a narrow Der Klassiker reverse to Bayern Munich on 18th October.
In the UCL, Dortmund have been attacking with real menace, netting four goals in each of their first three fixtures against Juventus (4-4), Athletic Club (4-1) and FC Copenhagen (4-2), with nine different players chipping in.
Kovač’s 3-4-2-1 formation is fluid enough to cause most teams problems, so don’t be surprised if Dortmund bring the nuisance factor to Manchester.
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund prediction
Borussia Dortmund seem way overpriced at 6.00 to cause an upset at the Etihad Stadium, and they offer similar value in the double chance market at 2.47 against a City side that have rarely fully convinced this season.
Dortmund’s haul of 12 goals in three games also suggests that they have the tools to make Wednesday’s game a high-scoring, end-to-ender, which means that the over 2.5 goals/BTTS combo is of interest again at 1.78.
Newcastle vs Athletic Club – 5th November
Tonybet odds
- Newcastle – 1.53
- Draw – 4.10
- Dortmund – 5.80
Head-to-head
Unsurprisingly, meetings between Newcastle and Athletic Club have been thin on the ground over the years, and we have to wind the clocks all the way back to 1994 to find their last encounter.
In the early 90s, the clubs met in the second round of the old-format UEFA Cup, with Newcastle winning their home leg 3-2 and Athletic Club winning 1-0 in the Basque Country, to progress on away goals.
Newcastle analysis
Eddie Howe has built this Newcastle team on foundations of power and pace, giving the energetic Magpies an ideal set of attributes to shellshock European opponents visiting St. James’ Park.
Newcastle harnessed those traits to run roughshod over Benfica on Matchday 3, surging to a 3-0 win over the Portuguese giants thanks to goals from pacey forwards Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes (2).
Newcastle’s rapid frontline should have a similar unsettling effect on Athletic Club’s defenders on Wednesday evening, while the deft touches and clinical finishing of summer signing Nick Woltemade should also be difficult for the visitors to combat.
Newcastle’s approach will be unerring this week. Expect helter-skelter football, hard tackles and lots of running, egged on by one of the competition’s loudest home crowds.
Athletic Club analysis
Athletic Club notched a first Champions League group phase win on Matchday 3 with a 3-1 over Azerbaijani minnows Qarabag, though they struggled in game weeks 1 and 2 against Arsenal (0-2) and Dortmund (1-4).
That defeat at home to the Gunners feels particularly salient ahead of this week’s trip to the UK, and Athletic Club have found the going tough against English clubs over the past couple of seasons.
They conceded seven times across two Europa League semi-final legs against Manchester United in May, and couldn’t cope with the speed of United’s play through the middle and final thirds.
Already expected to struggle defensively, the loss of star forward Inaki Williams to injury this week was another hammer blow to Athletic Club’s chances against Newcastle.
Newcastle vs Athletic Club prediction
With Athletic Club’s struggles against English opposition well established and the influential Inaki Williams sidelined, backing Newcastle offers the best value here at 1.53.
Newcastle scored seven times in their last two Champions League fixtures combined against Union SG (4-0) and Benfica (3-0), and the explosive acceleration in the frontline can do more damage on Wednesday.
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