Can Arsenal break the Basel curse? The Champions League in Opta Numbers

Arsenal need to better Paris Saint-Germain’s result on matchday six in order to finish top of Champions League Group A, but they must be careful not to fall victim to English clubs’ dreadful run away to Basel.

Manchester City are through as runners-up to Barcelona but their game with Celtic could be a good chance for Sergio Aguero to improve upon a poor run of form at the Etihad Stadium.

Atletico Madrid are looking to end Bayern Munich’s record-breaking home form, while Napoli are out to set the record straight for Italian clubs in Portugal and Lionel Messi can build on a fearsome Camp Nou record.

Here are some of the best stats from the first set of games of the final round of the group stage, courtesy of Opta.

Paris Saint-Germain v Ludogorets:

27 –  PSG have only failed to score in one of their last 27 games at Parc des Princes in European competition. It was against Real Madrid in October 2015 (0-0).

0 –  Ludogorets have won none of their five Champions League away games (D1 L4), scoring only two goals and conceding 17.

Basel v Arsenal:

3 –  Basel have won their last three Champions League home games against English clubs (Manchester United in November 2011, Chelsea in November 2013, Liverpool in October 2014). In fact, Basel have only lost two of their 11 Champions League encounters with English clubs (W4 D5).

40 –  None of Basel’s 25 home games in the Champions League has ended goalless. Meanwhile, none of Arsenal’s last 40 away games in the Champions League has ended 0-0. Their last goalless draw was at Slavia Prague in November 2007.

Dynamo Kiev v Besiktas:

8 –  Vincent Aboubakar has scored eight goals in his last 12 Champions League starts, including three in his last three. Besiktas, however, haven’t scored a single goal in their four away games against Dynamo Kiev in all competitions.

1 –  Trabzonspor are the only Turkish side to beat Dynamo Kiev on their own turf. It was in August 2004 in the Champions League qualifiers (2-1).

Benfica v Napoli:

9 –  Italian clubs are winless in their last nine visits to Portugal in the Champions League (D7 L2). AC Milan were the last Italian team to win on Portuguese soil, back in the 1992-93 edition against Porto (1-0).

2 –  Benfica have lost only two of their last 15 Champions League home games (W9 D4). They’ve also found the net in 13 of those matches.

Barcelona v Borussia Monchengladbach:

50 –  Lionel Messi has scored 50 goals in 50 Champions League games at Camp Nou, including two hat-tricks this season. He has scored nine goals in four games in this season’s Champions League, already more than he achieved in the whole of last season (six).

7 –  Neymar’s seven assists in this season’s Champions League is a record in a group stage since Opta records began in 2003-04.

Manchester City v Celtic:

26 –  Celtic have lost 26 of their 29 Champions League games away from home (W1 D2) and have never kept a clean sheet.

1 –  Sergio Aguero has scored in only one of his last six Champions League games at the Etihad (a hat-trick v Borussia Monchengladbach).

Bayern Munich v Atletico Madrid:

14 – Bayern Munich have won their last 14 home Champions League games (52 goals scored, eight conceded), the longest winning run in the history of the competition. Real Madrid are the last team to have beaten them at the Allianz Arena, in April 2014 (0-4).

54 – Antoine Griezmann has been involved in Atletico’s last two goals against Bayern Munich, scoring the first and assisting the second. Since last season, the French striker has netted 10 and assisted three of Atletico’s 24 goals in the competition (54 per cent).

PSV v Rostov:

43 – PSV haven’t scored more than two goals in their last 43 Champions League games. The last time was in the 2005 semi-final second leg against AC Milan (3-1).

71 –  A total of 71 per cent of Rostov’s shots have been on target (blocked shots excluded), the highest ratio in this season’s Champions League