Here, the Faculty looks back on our predictions from Matchday Two, shares predictions for the week, and looks ahead to the top matches of the week.

Matchday Two Recap

Matchday 2 delivered the chaos that the opening round held back. A record 78 goals flew in across the two nights, and several of Europe’s heavyweights were left red-faced. Club Brugge erased the memory of a limp opening night against Villa by going to the San Siro and winning 4-3, helped along by Josep Martinez letting a shot slip through his legs. Bayern needed a Harry Kane-inspired fightback to lead in Stavanger, only for Michael Olise’s red card and Herman Haugen’s 90th-minute header to hand Viking a famous 3-3 draw. Debutants Sabah went one better and earned their first ever Champions League win, beating Slavia Praha 2-0. And Bodø/Glimt added Dortmund to their growing list of big-club scalps at home in the Arctic Circle.

The holders made a statement of their own. Désiré Doué ran riot as PSG went three up inside half an hour at the Etihad and saw out a 4-2 win over Manchester City as Pep Guardiola watched on. Mourinho’s Real Madrid were second best in Rome for most of the night but scored three times from corners in the final ten minutes to win 4-3. Arsenal cruised past Lille 3-0, Liverpool outlasted LASK 6-3 behind a Bradley Barcola hat-trick, and Aston Villa put six past Fenerbahçe. Further down the table, Napoli’s European slump continued with a 3-1 defeat at Villarreal. Manchester United’s evening in Madrid went from bad to bizarre: a 2-0 loss to Atlético was followed by Lisandro Martinez publicly calling out the club’s hierarchy.

The chaos was not kind to the Faculty. Josh took the week 15 to 11, with his featured pick of Atlético 2-0 United the only exact scoreline either of us managed. Neither of us saw Brugge winning at the San Siro, Viking holding Bayern, or Villa putting six past Fenerbahçe.

After two matchdays, Josh leads with a combined score of 33-27. On results alone, Josh picked correctly in 21 of the first 36 matches while Ollie has 19 correct, still better than half.

Matchday Three Predictions

A series of high-profile matches headline the coming week, as the English, German, French, and Spanish title-holders square off against each other. Bayern host Arsenal without the suspended Michael Olise, while PSG, who will be without Nuno Mendes for a few weeks, host Lamine Yamal & Barcelona. A pair of winless Italian clubs, Intern and Napoli, seek their first wins, while an embattled Manchester United side visit Como for their first ever competitive matchup.

Here’s what we’ll be paying close attention to.

Josh: Bodo/Glimt at Napoli (Tuesday, 21:00 CET)

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While other ties may be more glamorous, I’m curious how these two teams will respond after Matchday 2 results. Bodo, comfortable in Italy after taking out Serie A champions Inter in the round of 32 last year, are brimming with confidence after their win against Dortmund. Napoli, meanwhile, went ahead quickly on the road at Villareal last week before conceding 3 unanswered goals; their poor form continued domestically, where they went on to a shock 1-0 loss to Venezia, who hadn’t taken a single point in Serie A this season. Since the introduction of the new UCL format in 2024, only two teams have made the knockout rounds after going winless in their opening two matches. Max Allegri’s under real pressure to deliver in Naples, but Bodo are well-drilled and unfazed by strong opposition. Neither side have been overly prolific in front of goal. I expect an exciting, if slightly lacking in quality, affair; I’ll ultimately go with a draw.

Bodo/Glimt 1 – 1 Napoli

Ollie: Arsenal at Bayern Munich (Wednesday, 21:00 CET)

The headline tie of the week as the English titleholders visit Bayern at the Allianz. Arsenal haven’t conceded in Europe yet this season and have kept six clean sheets in their last eight Champions League games. They’ve made a habit of starting slowly, though, as all three goals against Lille arrived after the 64th minute, and they slipped past Forest on the weekend thanks to a deflected Noni Madueke strike (their first shot on target) in the 80th minute. Bayern will be without Michael Olise, suspended after his moment of impudence in Stavanger, but Harry Kane has scored in nine straight Champions League games and has 15 goals in 22 career meetings with Arsenal. Bayern have won eight of the 15 Champions League meetings between the sides, and Arsenal have won just once in seven trips to Munich. The Gunners’ only draw in Munich was a 1-1 in 2014, and I think a slow start, a Kane goal and a second-half response from Arsenal produce the same again.

Arsenal 1 – 1 Bayern Munich

Full Matchday Three Predictions