Europe’s elite face a tough task to match the record-breakingly extravagant entertainment of Champions League Matchday 2.
With 78 goals, the fixture list produced the highest-ever set of Champions League results in a single week, including Liverpool’s 6-3 win at LASK, Brugge’s 4-3 victory at Inter and Viking’s surprise 3-3 draw at home to Bayern Munich, the Norwegian side opening the scoring after two minutes and netting the decisive goal in the 90th.
Fortunately, there is a precedent for a blockbuster Matchday 3: the previous record for the most goals came in the third round of games last season, which also featured 18 games and delivered 71 goals, even overcoming a 0-0 draw involving Tottenham.
PSG hit seven, Barcelona bagged six and Liverpool netted five on that occasion. Goals galore again? Let’s take a look at a selection of key fixtures.
Champions League fixtures this week: October 20 2026
PSG vs Barcelona: Ousmane Dembele faces Lamine Yamal
The defending double champions meet five-time winners Barca again, having beaten the dominant force in La Liga 2-1 away in last season’s league phase.
Ferran Torres scored the opener for the Spanish side on that occasion and the new PSG signing is at the centre of a succession of intriguing subplots in this game, including Paris coach Luis Enrique’s emotional ties to opponents with whom he won the competition as part of a treble in 2014/15.
Both teams have six points and forwards in formidable form: PSG’s Ousmane Dembele has three goals and three assists in this season’s Champions League, while Barca’s Lamine Yamal has set up four goals and scored once, including two assists in a 4-1 win at Galatasaray on Tuesday.
PSG’s 4-2 win at Manchester City the following day was even more impressive, including three goals without reply by Desire Doue, Dembele and Vitinha inside the first 33 minutes to end the Premier League leaders’ perfect start in all competitions.
Prediction: PSG 2-2 Barcelona
Man City vs AEK Athens: Visitors seek Champions League history
Antoine Semenyo said City had misapplied their press during the first half against PSG and Enzo Maresca’s side were much-improved after the break, scoring twice through joint-competition top scorer Erling Haaland to take the in-form striker’s total to four in the league phase.
Haaland broke Lionel Messi’s record as the fastest player to 60 Champions League goals and has averaged more than a goal a game in the competition during his career – cause for concern for Athens fans after their side’s unblemished three-match defensive record since the start of qualifying came to an end with a 3-1 defeat at Shakhtar on Wednesday.
AEK hit the woodwork three times at Stamford Bridge and are unbeaten in the Greek Super League but have never won away in the Champions League proper and have a wretched record against English sides in the competition, losing seven times and winning once.
As well as rewarding brave bets, the huge underdogs will become the first Greek team ever to beat City if they spring a surprise, with the English club yet to concede in four such games and winning three of them.
Prediction: Man City 3-0 AEK Athens
Stuttgart vs Atletico Madrid: Seventh in a row for La Liga giants?
Stuttgart followed up a 3-1 home win over Viking with a 3-0 victory at Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday but their uncertain start to their domestic season continued with a fourth defeat in their opening six league games on Saturday, losing to an 88th-minute goal at Hamburg.
Stats experts gave Miro Muheim’s winning goal a 3% probability from the position he shot from and the xG numbers also made painful reading for a Stuttgart side who finished on 2.67 to their opponents’ 0.93.
A first win against a Spanish team at the eighth attempt in the competition would be the perfect tonic for Stuttgart, and Atleti’s record of five defeats in six trips to Germany in the competition might provide encouragement.
Atleti’s only victory in Germany came almost exactly 30 years ago at Dortmund, but their form bodes well for changing that on forward Ademola Lookman’s 29th birthday.
Second in Spain, dominant Atleti beat Espanyol through Alex Baena’s 89th-minute goal on Saturday to extend their winning run to six matches in all competition, including their first points of the league phase on Tuesday with a 2-0 home win over Manchester United.
Prediction: Stuttgart 0-0 Atletico Madrid
Liverpool vs Villarreal: Isak, Barcola, Wirtz finding form
Yet to find their best in the Premier League, Liverpool have given Andoni Iraola a memorable start to managing in the Champions League with a home win over Atleti and a 6-3 victory at LASK on Wednesday in which they were 4-0 ahead after 51 minutes.
New £123 million signing Bradley Barcola scored a hat-trick in Linz and the Reds’ expensively-assembled attack helped them to another win at Brentford on Saturday, capitalising after their opponents were reduced to ten players with a winner from Alexander Isak and assists for Barcola and Florian Wirtz.
Twelfth in Spain, Villarreal have never beaten an English team in 16 attempts in the Champions League but ended a 12-game winless run in the competition by coming from behind to beat Napoli 3-1 at home last Tuesday.
There were five goals when these teams met in the second leg of the 2021/22 semi-finals, the Yellow Submarine scoring twice inside the first 42 minutes at home to level the tie before Fabinho, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane’s second-half goals gave Liverpool a 5-2 aggregate win.
Prediction: Liverpool 1-0 Villarreal
Champions League matches: October 21 2026
Real Madrid vs Leipzig: In-form Diomande meets former side
Having scored in successive Liga games with the final goal in Madrid’s 4-1 home win over Sevilla on Sunday, Yan Diomande will be reunited with the team who sold the Ivory Coast winger in August for a fee that could rise to £120m.
Diomande and Madrid will want a less dramatic night than Los Blancos had at Roma on Wednesday, falling behind twice and trailing 3-1 in the 82nd minute of their 4-3 win to stay perfect following their home victory over Inter on Matchday 1.
Madrid are perfect in six home matches in all competitions this season, which is ominous for a Leipzig side who have lost all four of their away matches in the 2026/27 Bundesliga and Champions League, including a 6-1 hammering at Bayern on Saturday.
Head coach Martin Demichelis apologised afterwards to Leipzig’s supporters, who also saw their team lose 4-1 at Como on Matchday 1 to extend their losing run in group stage and league phase games to six matches.
Prediction: Real Madrid 4-1 Leipzig
Como vs Manchester United: Premier League strugglers on road
Cesc Fabregas’ Como won for the first time in four matches in all competitions with a 3-1 victory at Fiorentina on Sunday and the Champions League newcomers may feel the visit of Manchester United is a particularly presentable chance to recover from their 3-2 defeat at Feyenoord on Wednesday.
Winger Assane Diao scored the opener against the Dutch side, while Tasos Douvikas’ late consolation means that each of the duo has scored in each of the club’s league phase games, following up a 4-1 home win over Leipzig.
Back in the misty days of Michael Carrick’s first spell as United caretaker, the former Red Devils midfielder oversaw their only win in their last 10 Champions League away matches with a 2-0 victory at Villarreal in November 2021.
United have lost six times across that poor run on the road and their performance in a 1-1 draw at Leeds United on Sunday – increasing their malaise around Carrick and leaving them with one win from their first seven league games – gave little indication that their form is about to improve.
Prediction: Como 3-1 Manchester United
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal: Harry Kane chases perfect 10
Invincible runs meet unstoppable forces when the reigning German and English champions meet in a mightily unpredictable-looking early-season clash of contenders in Munich.
Viking showed that Bayern can be troubled but Harry Kane scored twice for Vincent Kompany’s team and the Tottenham all-time top scorer now has the chance to score in a 10th straight Champions League outing and enhance a record of 15 goals in 22 appearances against Arsenal.
The Gunners were functional rather than flowing in winning at Nottingham Forest on Sunday but have won their last 14 league phase matches, although they have five defeats and one victory in their eight most recent visits to Germany.
A hard-earned 3-0 home win over Lille was on-par for Arsenal on Wednesday and their achievement will be far more special if they end Bayern’s 39-match unbeaten home run in league phase and group stage games, dropping points twice along the way.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3-2 Arsenal
Aston Villa vs Viking: Premier League club target 12 in a row
After a slow start in the Premier League, Aston Villa and an injury-free Johan Manzambi are starting to purr and the £51.1m signing took his tally to three goals in his last four appearances by netting in the 6-0 home win over Fenerbahce on Wednesday and 1-0 victory at Newcastle on Saturday.
Villa are the only team who can match PSG and Barca’s six points and plus-seven goal difference in this season’s league phase, although Viking – making their debut in the competition proper – proved they can upset the odds with that draw against Bayern.
Captain Zlatko Tripic has a goal and two assists and Viking have previous with English sides, knocking Chelsea out of the 2002/03 UEFA Cup.
That defeat at Stuttgart and Villa’s record suggests the Dark Blues will need to step up their performance again, aiming to end two of their opponents’ dazzling club-record runs.
The Villans are on a 14-match unbeaten European home stretch and have won their last 11 such games at Villa Park. As Fener can testify, Villa look hard to halt.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-0 Viking
Champions League fixtures this week: Matchday 3 2026/27
Here’s the full list of fixtures on Matchday 3, as well as UK broadcaster details.
| Date | Fixture | BST start time | ET | PT | UK broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Oct 20 | Fenerbahce vs Slavia Prague | 17:45 | 12:45 | 09:45 | TNT Sports 3 |
| Tue, Oct 20 | Sabah vs Borussia Dortmund | 17:45 | 12:45 | 09:45 | TNT Sports 2 |
| Tue, Oct 20 | Roma vs Slovan Bratislava | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 7 |
| Tue, Oct 20 | Porto vs PSV | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 8 |
| Tue, Oct 20 | Liverpool vs Villarreal | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | Prime Video |
| Tue, Oct 20 | Man City vs AEK | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 1, Ultimate |
| Tue, Oct 20 | PSG vs Barcelona | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 2 |
| Tue, Oct 20 | Napoli vs Bodo/Glimt | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 5 |
| Tue, Oct 20 | Stuttgart vs Atleti | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 6 |
| Weds, Oct 21 | Como vs Man United | 17:45 | 12:45 | 09:45 | TNT Sports 2 |
| Weds, Oct 21 | Lille vs Galatasaray | 17:45 | 12:45 | 09:45 | TNT Sports 4 |
| Weds, Oct 21 | Villa vs Viking | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 2, 9, Ultimate |
| Weds, Oct 21 | Club Brugge vs Lens | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports |
| Weds, Oct 21 | Bayern vs Arsenal | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Weds, Oct 21 | Inter vs Shakhtar | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 5 |
| Weds, Oct 21 | Madrid vs Leipzig | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 4 |
| Weds, Oct 21 | Real Betis vs Feyenoord | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 6 |
| Weds, Oct 21 | Sporting vs LASK | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | TNT Sports 8 |
Champions League standings: Full updated table
- Position 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 : Promotion – Champions League (Play Offs: 1/8-finals)
- Position 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 : Promotion – Champions League (Play Offs: 1/16-finals)
Where to watch the Champions League: TV channel, live online stream
TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video have the live broadcast rights to the Champions League in the UK.
Amazon have first pick of the Tuesday games, with all the other matches shown on TNT Sports. BBC Sport also has highlights rights.
Matches on TNT Sports can be streamed through the HBO Max app. Subscriptions start at £30.99 including Eurosport and entertainment and are available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Matches on Prime Video can be streamed through the accompanying app. Subscriptions cost between £7.99 and £8.99 a month or £95 annually, with a half-price offer for students.
The standard UK BBC TV licence costs £180 a year.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
