Three Games to Watch During 2019-20 UEFA Champions League Week 2

Week 2 of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League will take place between Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Here are the three top matches to watch during this week’s slate.

Tottenham vs Bayern Munich (Tuesday, 20:00 BST)

The current UEFA Champions League runner-up, Tottenham Hotspur, stumbled to a 2-2 away draw at Olympiakos in their 2019-20 UEFA Champions League opener. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich secured a solid 3-0 win over Red Star Belgrade at home. Now, both sides will meet in London in what should be a key encounter in the battle for first place of the Group standings.

There are several things to watch ahead of this game. Bayern Munich will have to attempt to stop Harry Kane, while the Spurs will aim to do the same with Robert Lewandowski, who has been the hottest striker in Europe during the first two months of the season. Plus, Bayern have looked strong playing on the road in the Champions League since they are currently riding a nine-game undefeated streak (W6, D3). Can Tottenham stop that streak, knowing they have won three of their last four home UCL encounters (W3, L1)?

FC Barcelona vs Inter Milan (Wednesday, 20:00 BST)

It’s not a secret that FC Barcelona have not started the season as they would have liked to. Aside from suffering from an inconsistent start at the league level, Los Blaugranas also struggled in their opening Champions League match this season following a 0-0 draw at Dortmund where they could have easily lost. Meanwhile, Inter also performed below to expectations in their UCL opening match and couldn’t get past Slavia Prague. The Serie A giants had to settle for a 1-1 draw against the Czech side despite dominating the game.

Based on the star power on both sides, this could be top match in Week 2 of the UEFA Champions League. This contest will also represent Alexis Sanchez’s return to the Camp Nou, as he played for Barcelona before moving to Arsenal a few years ago. Furthermore, this match might be key on the race to secure a Round of 16 berth. All four sides in the Group have one point after one match. Can either team create separation and take one step closer towards the knockout stages?

Liverpool vs Salzburg (Wednesday, 20:00 hrs BST)

Who would have thought that Salzburg would be included as a top team to watch in the UEFA Champions League only a few years ago? Well, that’s the best example of how much the Austrian Bundesliga champions have grown over the past few years. They are coming off a huge 6-2 win over Genk in the tournament opener, but they will face a steep challenge here with a visit to Anfield to take on Liverpool. The reigning UEFA Champions League title holders have their backs against the wall after losing 2-0 at Napoli in their opening match.

Salzburg are undefeated in their last 17 competitive matches (W15, D2) but facing Liverpool will be their toughest test to date. Plus, how big will be the impact of striker Erling Braut Håland, who netted a hat-trick in the first match of the group stage against Genk? On the other hand, Liverpool have not lost at home in a competitive match during this calendar year. They need to keep that streak alive because otherwise, their qualification chances might complicate considerably. Undoubtedly, this will be a huge game for both sides. And the fact it will be played in one of Europe’s most historic venues should only spice things up even more.