Both of these sides had tough assignments on Matchday 1 with Girona travelling to the Parc Des Princes whilst Feyenoord hosted a ruthless Bayer Leverkusen side, both sides were expectedly on the wrong end of the result against 2 European giants but each will fancy their chances of getting some points on the board in this evenly matched contest.

Girona have seen 20 goals across their 8 La Liga games this season (2.5 per game), they’re yet to find the fluidity which fired them to the upper reaches of the La Liga table last season with Michel’s side currently sitting in 12th with just 9 points from their opening 8 domestic games.

Feyenoord have seen both teams to score in 3 of their last 5, they were blown away by 4 first half goals by Bayer Leverkusen last time out which killed any chance of a contest. They’re still adapting to life without Arne Slot which is leaving the side struggling to find any consistency with 1 win from their last 5 games across all competitions. With neither side particularly convincing at this moment it’s a good choice to back both teams to score, Europe should offer some well needed relief to both sides who have struggled to properly get going in their respective leagues.

Liverpool welcome a stuttering Bologna side to Anfield on Matchday 2 of the Champions League. Arne Slot has settled in quickly to the role as Liverpool boss evidenced by their start to the Premier League season, they’ve won 5 of their 6 games in the Premier League scoring 12 goals in the process and only conceding twice.

Such dominance was evident in their 3-1 win over AC Milan on Matchday 1 in the Champions League, the Reds had 11 shots on target and carved out 5 big chances against the Serie A giants.

Bologna will find it tough to cope with Liverpool’s attacking force, even with the expected rotation in the forward areas, Liverpool have more than enough quality and depth to punish a side who lost arguably their most important component in Thiago Motta to Juventus. This is likely to be a competition that has come around a bit too early for Bologna, they don’t have the quality to compete with the top sides in Europe and this should be further evidence of that.

This should be an exciting clash at Villa Park as Unai Emery’s side welcome back Champions League football to one of England’s most traditional grounds. Vincent Kompany’s high flying Bayern side make the trip to Birmingham having seen both teams to score in 3 of their last 5, including last time out against reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Aston Villa have seen both teams finding the back of the net in 4 of their last 5, the exception coming against Young Boys on Matchday 1 of the Champions League. Bayern will put far more questions to Unai Emery’s side than last weeks opponents having fired 9 past Dinamo Zagreb to kick off their Champions League campaign.

Although Bayern were comfortable winners on Matchday 1, there was a short period just after half time where Dinamo Zagreb looked like they could get back in it with the away side reducing the deficit to just 1 after 2 quick goals before Bayern eventually put their foot on the gas. Kompany’s side have shown they can be exciting but not exactly secure at the back, the atmosphere at Villa Park is sure to be bouncing in what is set up to be an exciting clash between two form sides.

Marco Rose’s side have made an unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season with 3 wins and 2 draws from their opening 5 fixtures. Only Bayern Munich have also managed to remain unbeaten in Germany’s top division across these opening run of fixtures.

They couldn’t quite see out the victory against Atletico Madrid on Matchday 1 in what was a fairly even contest, they now welcome a Juventus side who have made a promising start under Thiago Motta but may find it difficult against a Leipzig side who make the trip to Red Bull Arena a tough assignment for any team. They won or drew 15/17 domestic games at their home stadium last season and showed that they can compete against Europe’s elite with only a lack of clinical finishing costing them in the early knockout rounds of last year’s competition against eventual winners Real Madrid.

RB Leipzig feel comfortable at home as evidenced by their strong home record last season, we are yet to see how Juventus deal with these away European ties under Thiago Motta who has made a promising start but a win for the Old Lady might just be out of their reach against an organised and exciting RB Leipzig side who could surprise people in this competition this season.

Real Madrid fought off a valiant effort from Stuttgart to get their defence of the Champions League title under way. We saw glimpses of what this new look Galactico side can look like with goals from Mbappe, Rudiger and a late long distance drive from Endrick who has plenty of hype around him.

Lille lost 2-0 to Sporting on Matchday 1, they had to navigate the majority of the game with 10 men after Angel Gomes was sent off in the first half. They made a steady start to the season but it’s unravelled slightly in recent weeks with just 1 win from their last 5 outings, this included a 3-1 loss to PSG who managed to create an xG of 2.60 against Bruno Genesio’s side.

Lille have some talented players, most notably in Jonathan David who scored a hat trick against Le Havre last time out but will struggle to deal with the quality Real Madrid possess in all areas of the pitch. The devastating front 4 of Mbappe, Bellingham, Vincius Jr and Rodrygo should cause them plenty of problems in what should be a routine victory for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.