All The Matchups (Nigeria time may be behind by one hour):
18:45: AEK Athens – LASK.
18:45: Club Brugge KV – Aston Villa.
21:00: Dortmund – Villarreal.
21:00: FC Porto – Manchester City.
21:00: Lille – Betis.
21:00: Real Madrid – Inter.
Several Nigerian foreign stars are expected to line up for their clubs today and in other games this week as the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League kicks off.
A number of intriguing encounters are set for Matchday 1.
Some of the stars who may line up today include Zaidu Sanusi of Portugal’s Porto and Moses Usor of LASK of Austria.
Below, as obtained from uefa.com, People&Politics brings titbits on some of the more popular matchups:
Real Madrid Vs Inter Milan
*Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé will move joint-fifth in the list of all-time Champions League top scorers if he nets. He is currently on 70 goals, one behind Raúl González.
*Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will make his 100th Champions League appearance if he plays, becoming the 56th person to reach the landmark.
*Madrid coach José Mourinho faces his former team Inter, who he won the Champions League with in the 2009/10 season to complete a treble.
*Madrid have won six of the last seven matches between these sides (L1).
They have also triumphed in 19 of their last 21 games against Italian clubs (L2).
*Los Blancos have won their Matchday 1 fixture in 17 of their last 19 Champions League campaigns (L2).
*Inter are winless in their last 13 away matches against Spanish sides (D4 L9), since a 5-1 victory at Valencia in the 2004/05 group stage.
*The Nerazzurri have failed to score in only two of their last 19 Champions League games.
*None of Inter’s last 15 Champions League league phase matches have finished level (W11 L4).
Porto Vs Manchester City
*This is Porto’s 28th participation in the Champions League group stage/league phase – the fourth-most of any club, behind Real Madrid (31), Barcelona (31) and Bayern (30).
*Porto have won only two of their last 16 matches against English opponents (D4 L10).
*The Dragons have lost only one of their last 14 home UEFA matches (W10 D3).
*This is Man City’s 150th European Cup match.
*City have lost only two of their 11 matches against Portuguese teams (W6 D3) but were beaten in the most recent, 4-1 at Sporting CP on Matchday 4 of the 2024/25 Champions League.
*City have lost six of their last nine Champions League away matches (W2 D1).
Club Brugge Vs Aston Villa
*This is the fourth meeting between the sides. Club Brugge won 1-0 at home on Matchday 4 of the 2024/25 Champions League, before Aston Villa won 3-1 away and 3-0 at home in the round of 16.
*Club Brugge have lost just three of their last 22 UEFA home matches (W13 D6).
*They’ve also scored three or more goals in six of their last seven UEFA home matches.
*The Belgian side are participating in the Champions League proper for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
*Aston Villa won 13 of their 15 matches during last season’s successful Europa League campaign (L2).
*Villa have lost just three of their last 21 UEFA competition group stage/league phase matches (W16 D2).
*Unai Emery’s side have kept nine clean sheets in their last 16 European games.
