Matchday six of the Champions League got off to an earlier than normal start with Kairat and Olympiakos squaring off in the morning, and as we're reaching the business end of the league phase, the intensity will begin to rise. Bayern Munich suffered their first loss to Arsenal last time out, and they'll be faced with another tough task facing Luis Suarez -- no, not that one -- and Sporting CP, one of the surprise outfits of the phase so far. During the late slate, the San Siro will take center stage.
Inter have been rolling and will host a Liverpool side in turmoil. After Mohamed Salah spoke out about feeling as if he's been thrown under the bus during Liverpool's struggles, he won't be in the squad for this game, but the dark clouds around the Reds remain. Having won only one of their last five matches, Arne Slot's men have fallen out of the European places in the Premier League and could risk a significant slide in Champions League play if things don't improve now. The slight issue there is that Cristian Chivu's side have won their last three matches, scoring 11 goals and only allowing one. Lautaro Martinez alone will give the Liverpool defense plenty to think about, but this is far from a one man team.
Elsewhere, Barcelona will look to get back on track, hosting Eintracht Frankfurt, Chelsea will travel to face Atalanta without Cole Palmer, and Bayer Leverkusen will host Newcastle United. Strap in because this is a day that could bring the goals.
All matches can be streamed on Paramount+
The answer to this might well be Mohamed Salah if only he were in a position to be watched, Liverpool's star forward left behind on Merseyside following his explosive comments after Saturday's 3-3 draw with Leeds United. Salah is not the only title-winning veteran struggling for form lately and Inter's forwards will be hopeful that the stuttering, error-addled version of Van Dijk from recent weeks takes to the field in the San Siro. At his best Liverpool's captain played with a serenity that radiated across his team mates. Now his struggles seem to be doing the same. -- James Benge
Karl gets his goal now as Bayern score twice in four minutes to take the lead. Sporting may have been dreaming of a point in this one, but now they're up against it in what has become quite a second half of play at the Allianz Arena.
It's Gnabry this time as he was unmarked on a corner kick, and Sporting will now have to push for a winner. 23 minutes remain, so this one is far from over.
The Argentinian striker is in great form and scored three goals in his last two Serie A matches, and scored a total of 11 goals in 18 games in all competitions, including four in the Champions League. Considering the issues Liverpool are facing right now defensively, his skills can definitely become a problem for the team coached by Arne Slot. The Inter captain scored in all five of his Champions League games at the San Siro in 2025 (8 goals). The only player to score in more than six consecutive home appearances in the competition for an Italian club was Andriy Shevchenko for AC Milan (seven from March 2004 to September 2005). -- Francesco Porzio
At 18 years of age, Yamal is already one of the best wingers in the world. Pressed into central areas amid an injury crisis, Yamal proved he's not too shabby as a number 10 either, delivering gaudy chance creation and possession value numbers in a 5-3 win at Real Betis that cemented Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga. In a clash that is sure to offer plenty of space to operate, this could be another game for Yamal to unleash his precocious talents. -- James Benge
Sporting lead at Bayern! You can barely see with the flares, but after a turnover, they got the ball in well, and Kimmich set it into the back of the net for an own goal following a cross into the middle. Vincent Kompany's men may need Alphonso Davies to come off the bench to wrestle control here.
After losing 3-0 in the last Champions League game against Chelsea, the team coached by Hansi Flick got back on track in the league and have won three matches in a row and thanks to the results of their competitors, they are now four points ahead of Real Madrid. This is an important game for Lewandoski, who faced Frankfurt multiple times over his career. He has scored 15 goals in his last 15 starts against Eintracht Frankfurt across all competitions, including two hat-tricks in two 5-0 victories as a Bayern Munich player. -- Francesco Porzio
We've reached the half in Germany, and Bayern can't get much of anything going in the early stages of this match. Harry Kane did hit the post, but Sporting haven't had that much to worry about despite ceding possession so far. Games like this are when Vincent Kompany will miss Jamal Musiala, who is out with an injury until January.
A problem position in the Liverpool side this season can only mean one thing, get Dominik Szoboszlai in there. In true Trent Alexander-Arnold fashion, the Hungarian found a way to be the most impactful player on the pitch from full back during his sojourn there earlier in the season. When the rest of the midfield was faltering, the No.8 entered the fray. And now that Salah's mixed zone performance has made himself even more unpickable than his on field displays, it looks like Szoboszlai is going to have be the man for the right flank.
In the three games he has started in the position, Szoboszlai has proven impressive enough. In the 1-1 draw with Sunderland no one made more progressive carries while he and Florian Wirtz led the team in shots. In the 3-3 draw with Leeds Szoboszlai's performances took another step up, four chances created and what looked to be the winner only for the hosts to stun the champions at the death. You'd hardly confuse his output with prime Salah but for a stop-gap option 0.4 expected goals plus expected assists per 90 Premier League minutes is not to be sniffed at.
All the more encouraging is how his presence has brought a slight upswing in form out of Wirtz, who might still be hunting that first Premier League goal but is getting ever closer in recent weeks. When Salah is in the team there is a risk that his need to get up close with the striker forces Wirtz to drop deeper and wider so that he can create with others. With a more natural midfielder out to his right, he can cut out a bit of the ball progression duty he brought on himself and work on dovetailing with the center forward. It hasn't always worked -- the 22 year old was too much like his old self against Leeds -- but even in the positions he takes up, you can see the vision for how Wirtz, who Liverpool need to be a success, can excel with Szoboszlai at his side.
So if moving Szoboszlai to the right is giving passable output for a Salah-less Liverpool and could get the best out of Wirtz, why is there even a question to ask here? Partly because a front four with a repurposed attacking midfielder on one flank and whoever replaces Cody Gakpo on the other likely lacks enough of the stretch in behind factor that Liverpool need (though this is partially true with an ageing Salah in the XI too). More so, however, it is that any move that lessens Szoboszlai's involvement in the game is a bad one for Arne Slot.
In his three games on the right, the 25-year-old has averaged 72 touches per 90 minutes. Put him in midfield and that number swings up to just shy of 85. He uses them well and no wonder. Most teams are better when their best player touches the ball more. So far this season there is no more valuable player for Liverpool than Szosbozlai and when the need for results is as pressing as it is for this team right now, getting him on the ball might have to take priority over almost everything else, even Wirtz's development. -- James Benge
Even without the Mohamed Salah drama at Liverpool, this is quite a mismatch of teams. Since losing to Atletico Madrid in UCL, Milan have responded by winning their last three matches by an aggregate score of 11-1. Lautaro Martinez is going to give Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate nightmares in defense, but even if he's stopped, this squad is a unit that will be hard to stop.
Rui Silva is forced into another save as Serge Gnabry put a shot on target from distance. So far, Bayern have dominated possession, but they've been unable to turn that into a goal as 20 minutes remain in the first half of play.
This is almost an auto bet at this point. Barcelona games are box office for plenty of reasons, and the goals allowed are one of them. Both of these teams play an all gas, no brakes brand of soccer that leads to goals left and right. This is likely a ladder scenario especially when Barcelona needs points to make up for their loss to Chelsea.
Harry Kane was in an offside position during the buildup but 17-year-old Lennart Karl has the ball in the back of the net following a sweet finish for Bayern Munich. He already has two goals to his name and will be on the prowl for another in front of his home fans.
It's only up from here, both in temperature and hopefully in goals as well. It was -6 degrees Fahrenheit as Kairat fell to Olympiacos in Astana, as only one goal was scored in the match. With Harry Kane and Luis Suarez squaring off in Germany, Bayern Munich's match should see far more goals than that one as we'll keep a strong day of Champions League soccer going as the league phase rolls on.
