Inter have a chance to become the first Italian side to ever beat Barcelona twice in a Champions League campaign when they meet at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Club Brugge are on the brink of their first trip to the knockout stages as they play Atletico Madrid.
Mohamed Salah can make history with one more Champions League goal for Liverpool on their trip to Scotland to take on Rangers, and Bayern Munich are one win away from their own record as they try to win an 11th consecutive group stage match.
Tottenham will look to break out of a scoring slump when they host Eintracht Frankfurt, while Porto and Bayer Leverkusen are battling it out in Group B.
With plenty of important matchups, Stats Perform has parsed through the data to preview the eight fixtures on Wednesday and shine a light on some of the more interesting angles.
Barcelona v Inter
Inter's 1-0 victory against Barcelona at San Siro last week was their first triumph over the Spanish giants since April 2010, with Barca collecting four wins and one draw since.
With another win, Inter can become the first Italian side to ever beat Barcelona twice in the same Champions League campaign, although they have lost all five of their away fixtures at Camp Nou – their most losses at any away venue in the competition.
In fact, Camp Nou has not been a happy hunting ground for Italian sides in general, with a 3-0 victory for Juventus in 2020 marking the country's only win at the venue in the last 17 tries (L13 D3).
It is not just Barcelona who have given Inter trouble on away days, with their last away win in the Champions League against a Spanish opponent coming back in 2004 against Valencia.
Working in Inter's favour is road warrior Lautaro Martinez, who has scored six of his seven Champions League goals away from home.
Tottenham v Eintracht Frankfurt
After banking four consecutive wins against Borussia Dortmund between 2017 and 2019, Tottenham are now winless in their past five Champions League fixtures against German sides (D1 L4).
On the other side, Eintracht have enjoyed success when travelling to England in European competition, winning both of their previous two attempts – against Arsenal in 2019, and West Ham in April this year – in the Europa League.
However, this is a clear step up from the Europa League, and after winning their first ever Champions League away game last month (1-0 at Marseille), Frankfurt will be looking to become the only German team to ever win their first two away fixtures in the competition.
The 0-0 draw between these two sides in Frankfurt a week ago was the second consecutive Champions League game where Tottenham have failed to score a goal – also losing 2-0 to Sporting. The last time they went three games in the competition without scoring was back in 2011.
Striker Harry Kane will be key, as he boasts the best minutes-per-goal figure – 20 goals in 27 appearances for a goal every 118 minutes – of any English player with at least 10 goals in the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid v Club Brugge
Not many, if any, would have tipped Club Brugge to top Group B ahead of Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Porto, but they have defeated all three to lead with a perfect nine points and zero goals conceded.
One more win for Brugge would see them progress past the group stage for the first time, in their 10th Champions League campaign. By defeating Atletico, they would become the first Belgian side since Anderlecht in 2000 to win four games in a row in the competition.
Brugge are also one goal away from matching their highest goal tally from a single Champions League campaign, with eight goals in 2020-21.
Surprisingly, Atletico have struggled at home in the Champions League, snapping a streak of eight games without a win (D5 L3) by defeating Porto this season.
Brugge's Ferran Jutgla has registered a goal and an assist in each of his past two Champions League games, and if he can manage to do it again, he will join Robert Lewandowski and Leroy Sane as the only players since 2003-04 to have a goal and an assist in three straight games in the competition.
Bayer Leverkusen v Porto
With Brugge seemingly cruising, Porto, Leverkusen and Atletico are likely fighting it out for one automatic qualification spot, and Leverkusen will feel good about their chances as Porto are winless in their last seven away games against German teams (D2 L5).
After defeating Atletico at home on the second matchday, Leverkusen will be looking to win consecutive Champions League home fixtures in the same campaign for the first time since 2014.
Patrick Schick is Leverkusen's focal point going forward, attempting more than twice as many shots (12) as any of his team-mates this Champions League season, but he is yet to score, having missed a penalty against Porto in last week's 2-0 loss.
Porto's Mehdi Taremi assisted both goals in the reverse fixture, marking the first time he has been involved in multiple goals in a Champions League game, while the sending-off of Jeremie Frimpong gave Leverkusen their 11th red card in their history in the competition, trailing only Bayern Munich (21) amongst German sides.
Other fixtures:
Napoli v Ajax
5 – Napoli beat Ajax 6-1 in the reverse fixture at Johan Cruyff Arena, with the five-goal margin marking the heaviest defeat Ajax have ever suffered in European competition.
10 – With one more win, Napoli would become the fourth Italian club to ever mount a 10-game unbeaten streak in the Champions League, with six wins and three draws from their past nine fixtures.
Rangers v Liverpool
5 – Rangers have failed to score in their past five European games against English competition, including a 2-0 loss against Liverpool last week.
35 – Mohamed Salah has scored 35 Champions League goals for Liverpool – only Didier Droga (36 for Chelsea) and Sergio Aguero (36 for Manchester City) have scored more for a single Premier League club in the competition.
Sporting v Marseille
9 – Marseille have lost their past nine away fixtures in the Champions League, and with one more loss they would become the sixth team to ever post 10 consecutive away defeats in the competition, and the first from France.
18 – It has been 18 years since Sporting lost a home fixture against a French side in European competition, with that loss coming against Sochaux in the 2004 UEFA Cup.
Viktoria Plzen v Bayern Munich
31 – Bayern Munich are undefeated in their past 31 Champions League group stage matches (28W 3D) – which is an all-time high – and with one more win they will set the new record for consecutive group stage wins with 11.
32 – Viktoria Plzen have faced 32 shots on target in their first three games of this Champions League campaign – more than any other side. In the reverse fixture, Bayern had 13 shots on target.
Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth: Gunners put pressure back on Man City in title race
Arsenal put the pressure back onto Manchester City in the Premier League title race after their comprehensive 3-0 triumph over Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta's side moved four points clear at the league summit with this victory but Man City have two games in hand, the first of which comes at home to Wolves later on Saturday.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time, with Arsenal securing a deserved reward for their first-half dominance.
Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice made sure of three points with late finishes as defeat left Bournemouth – who had an Antoine Semenyo strike ruled out in the closing stages – 10th in the table.
A flowing Arsenal move almost ended in Trossard converting Ben White's 10th-minute cross, only for a last-gasp Marcos Senesi block to thwart the Belgium forward.
Bournemouth had Mark Travers to thank soon after as the goalkeeper denied fizzing efforts from Kai Havertz and Saka, as well as a one-on-one with William Saliba.
Travers' one-man resistance continued when pushing away Thomas Partey's low left-footed curling attempt before Rice fired narrowly wide following Havertz's delicate header.
Yet Arsenal finally got their breakthrough as Travers felled the marauding Havertz – with the VAR confirming the spot-kick decision – before Saka coolly swept into the bottom-left corner from 12 yards.
Saka should have doubled his tally after the interval but arrowed a glorious opportunity straight at Travers following a smart offload from Havertz, who went close minutes later.
The otherwise unneeded David Raya was forced into action at the other end to deny Dominic Solanke after 53 minutes, while Justin Kluivert whipped a free-kick just over.
That spell of Bournemouth pressure came to an abrupt end with 20 minutes to go when Rice twisted to play through for Trossard, who slotted a smart right-footed finish into the bottom-right corner.
The Cherries thought they had snatched a goal back just three minutes later but Semenyo's rebounded strike after Ryan Christie hit the crossbar was ruled out for a Solanke foul on Raya, with the VAR confirming the on-field decision.
Arsenal then suffered a similar fate with the officials as Gabriel Magalhaes' rocketed volley was disallowed for offside, but Rice was not to be denied in stoppage-time as he fired Gabriel Jesus' throughball under the helpless Travers.
Advantage Arsenal thanks to super Saka
Arsenal have won 14 of their 16 Premier League games so far in 2024, dropping points only against Man City (0-0) and Aston Villa (0-2) this year.
That incredible run of form ensures a tantalising title race will continue towards the final two games of the season, when Arsenal travel to Manchester United and then host Everton on the last day.
Their success this term can be somewhat apportioned to star winger Saka, who became the first player to score 20 goals for Arsenal in a season across all competitions since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019-20 (29 goals).
Saka is also the first Englishman to do so for the club since Theo Walcott in 2012-13 (21 goals) as the England international continues to deliver in key moments for the Gunners.
Cherries blunted by dominant Gunners
Bournemouth had won 1-0 at Wolves and 3-0 against Brighton in their last two Premier League games before this – but they have never triumphed in three consecutive top-flight games without conceding.
A wait for three straight such victories will go on into next season, though Andoni Iraola will look back on this campaign with fond memories.
They have never won more matches in a top-flight season than their 13 in 2023-24 (also 13 in 2018-19) and – despite this underwhelming performance – will have another chance to set an outright club record when they host Brentford before visiting Chelsea on the final day, with a top-half finish still possible.
Slot focused on Feyenoord task as Liverpool speculation swirls
Arne Slot insists his focus remains on Feyenoord but acknowledged his confidence that an expected move to Liverpool will come to fruition.
Jurgen Klopp will depart the Reds at the end of this season, with widespread reports in the Dutch media suggesting Liverpool have already agreed a compensation deal to bring Slot to Anfield.
As speculation swirls over the Dutchman's future, Slot was keen to reiterate his commitment to Feyenoord, who are second in the league and face Zwolle in Sunday's Eredivisie fixture.
"For the 25th time, I really can't answer it," Slot said as questions continue to flow over the Liverpool links.
"There is nothing official yet and I am sitting here with a Feyenoord emblem on my chest, so the intention is for this press conference to be about Feyenoord, but I think you will try [and ask about Liverpool] anyway."
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
"I still have the confidence that things will turn out well, but I really can't give any further answers," Slot admitted, in his only concession over a move to the Premier League.
"If this continues, this will be an unpleasant press conference.
"I just think it's appropriate to give all the answers to these questions at the end of the season, because I'm still busy with Feyenoord here and Liverpool are also still busy with their season."
Feyenoord finished seven points ahead of second-placed PSV to secure only their second title since the turn of the millennium in the 2022-23 season.
In doing so, Slot became the third-youngest manager to guide Feyenoord to an Eredivisie title, after Giovanni van Bronckhorst (42) and Thijs Libregts (43).
Feyenoord won 42 points away from home during that season, the Dutch club’s highest such tally in their history, while they also scored in 31 consecutive Eredivisie games, their longest such streak since 1961 (37).
Therefore, Liverpool's interest comes as no surprise – but Slot was not keen for praise over the links to the Reds just yet.
"You can always congratulate me, but it is most appropriate to do so at the end of the season when it is really official," he added.
"We have made incredible progress. When I started here, we received 5.5 million euros for our striker and we were able to invest just about that amount.
"Now we are going into the Champions League for the second season in a row and the money is a lot more."
Slot also rubbished reports he visited England this week.
"I was in Italy with my daughter, otherwise I wouldn't have such a nice tan," he concluded.
Klopp has '500 reasons' for Liverpool revenge against Spurs after VAR controversy
Jurgen Klopp may be out for a slight revenge on Sunday when Liverpool meet Tottenham at Anfield, having fallen foul of VAR controversy in the reverse Premier League clash.
Spurs won 2-1 at home in the previous meeting in September thanks to Joel Matip's last-gasp own goal as a nine-man Liverpool were unable to hold on at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Reds also had a first-half goal from Luis Diaz ruled out for offside by the VAR after a miscommunication between the video officials and the assistant referee.
With third-placed Liverpool winless in two league games after their 2-2 draw with West Ham last time out, Klopp has that controversy on his mind ahead of the second clash at Anfield.
"It's always a challenge [against Spurs]," the Liverpool manager said at his pre-match press conference.
"I don't want to make it the biggest subject, but I can't forget the Tottenham game as well, it's just so strange.
"So, now we play Tottenham and that was obviously not their fault that night, they just played the game, but I would like to win that game for 500 reasons, that we lost there and the way we lost is one of them."
Tottenham have struggled recently, losing each of their last three after a 2-0 defeat against Chelsea that left them seven points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa, who have played a game more.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou was visibly furious in the first half at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, and acknowledged Tottenham have a long way to go to compete with the elite.
He said: "We need change. Change has to happen. You can’t want to alter your course, and quite dramatically for this club because we went down a certain direction and now we’re pivoting to a whole different direction.
"To expect the same people are going to be on that… it's just not going to happen.
"We've had two windows and we've had some development of players but when I say we've still got a long way to go, that's what I'm talking about."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah may have a point to prove against Tottenham, after his disagreement with Klopp before coming on at London Stadium in Liverpool's last outing.
The Egypt forward has gone four Premier League games without a goal or assist – and now is the time for Salah to step up and deliver for the Reds.
Tottenham – Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min has scored in each of his last four Premier League appearances against Liverpool, putting Spurs 1-0 up in the reverse fixture in September.
The only player to score in five consecutive Premier League games against the Reds is Jamie Vardy (between 2016 and 2017).
MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool may not have won in two Premier League games but they are the favourites in this clash, owing to their remarkable head-to-head record with Spurs at Anfield.
The Reds have lost just one of their last 29 home league matches against Tottenham (W19 D9), a 2-0 defeat way back in May 2011.
Yet it will be no walkover as Spurs are looking to complete their first league double over Liverpool since the 2010-11 season, beating two different Reds managers that season (Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish).
Their last league double over the Reds beating the same manager twice was in Dalglish’s first spell in 1986-87, and this one could be filled with more late drama, too.
Liverpool (3) v Tottenham (3) has provided six 90th-minute winners in the Premier League, the most of any fixture in the competition’s history.
Indeed, both of the last two league meetings between the two sides have been won courtesy of a 90th-minute winner for the home team – will there be another here?
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Liverpool win – 55.7%
Tottenham win – 19.5%
Draw – 24.8%
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