Uefa Champions League Matchday 4: What to look out for on ...

The Uefa Champions League continues on Tuesday with 36 teams in Matchday 4 action. We detail the key stats and storylines as we reach the halfway mark in the new-look league phase. Catch all the action live on SuperSport. All kick-off times 10pm CAT unless stated.

Tuesday 5 November

PSV Eindhoven v Girona (7:45pm CAT)

PSV have made a strong start to their title defence in the Netherlands, winning ten of their first 11 Eredivisie games, but they are still on the lookout for a first league phase win, a 3-1 loss at Juventus being followed by two 1-1 draws. "If you only base it on the points, it’s not that good," midfielder Ismael Saibari told Uefa.com.

Performances have been encouraging, but Girona will be no pushovers. The debutants lost 3-2 at home to PSV's Dutch rivals Feyenoord on Matchday 2, then got their first win at this level last time out: 2-0 against Slovan Bratislava. "The victory helps us to catch our breath," said coach Míchel. Will they breathe easier in Eindhoven?

Did you know? PSV have won just one of their last nine home games against Spanish opponents (D4 L4).

Slovan Bratislava v GNK Dinamo (7:45pm CAT)

Bottom of the league phase table after losing their opening three games by an aggregate score of 11-1, Slovan are not too downhearted, with coach Vladimír Weiss adamant there have been plenty of positives.

"We have shown good defensive organisation as a team," he said. Dinamo lost their opening league phase fixture 9-2 at Bayern, but have taken four points in their subsequent two fixtures under returning coach Nenad Bjelica, and their tails are up as they head for Slovakia. "Our goal is to be in the first 24 teams to go through," said forward Sandro Kulenović. Three more points in Bratislava will keep that target in sight.

Did you know? Slovan have yet to win in four Uefa competition games against Dinamo (D2 L2); they trail Dinamo 7-1 on aggregate from those fixtures.

Bologna v Monaco

Back in Europe for the first time in a generation, Bologna have not found the going easy, with pre-season upheaval preceding a stop-start campaign. They have just one point and no goals in the Champions League, though they hit the post in their 2-0 loss at Aston Villa last time out. "We didn't manage to score, but we showed something," said coach Vincenzo Italiano.

Matchday 4 opponents Monaco, meanwhile, have been delivering, their seven-point haul including three from a 2-1 win against Barcelona on Matchday 1. "We take on every team wanting to beat them," forward Breel Embolo told Uefa.com. "If we can qualify in the top eight then we'll go after it but there is still a long way to go."

Did you know? Bologna's four previous games against Ligue 1 opponents all came in the 1998/99 Uefa Cup, beating Lyon on aggregate in the quarterfinals before losing on away goals to Marseille in the next round.

Borussia Dortmund v Sturm Graz

The top scorers in this season's league stage with 12 goals, Dortmund came unstuck after leading 2-0 at Real Madrid on Matchday 3, coach Nuri Şahin concluding of the 5-2 loss: "We need to draw important lessons and, overall, we defended very badly."

They will look to rebound against Sturm Graz, with the Austrian champions having lost all three of their league phase games and scoring their only goal on Matchday 1, but defender Dimitri Lavalée felt optimistic in the wake of their 2-0 home loss to Sporting CP. "We got shots on target, so it feels like we've improved," he told Uefa.com. "We'll take that into the next game and the next one, and try to improve even more things."

Did you know? Sturm have not played a Bundesliga team since losing 5-3 on aggregate against Wolfsburg in the 2005 Uefa Intertoto Cup second round (2-2 a, 1-3 h).

Celtic v Leipzig

Leipzig's search for their first league phase points takes them to Celtic Park on Matchday 4. The German side have lost all three of their games by a one-goal margin – Darwin Núñez's lone strike continuing that trend as they hosted Liverpool. Speaking to Uefa.com after the defeat, captain Willi Orbán conceded that "right now, our situation is just not satisfactory, so we'll try to get three points in Glasgow."

Celtic, meanwhile, bounced back from a 7-1 Matchday 2 loss against Dortmund to hold Atalanta to a 0-0 draw in Bergamo. "It was an incredible defensive performance," said goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, whose seven stops took his season saves tally to 15 – fourth highest in the competition.

Did you know? Leipzig won both encounters when the two sides met in the 2022/23 Champions League group stage.

Liverpool v Bayer Leverkusen

Liverpool are one of two sides carrying three wins into Matchday 4, the other being Aston Villa, after a narrow victory in Leipzig. Following a nervous end to the match, Player of the Match Kostas Tsimikas warned that "we have to score more goals if we want to win more easily."

That will be no mean feat against Leverkusen, who travel to Anfield undefeated with only one goal conceded. Milan and Feyenoord had tried and failed before Brest midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou finally breached their defence, cancelling out Florian Wirtz's opener and earning a draw for his side on Matchday 3. "It's the Champions League and getting a point away from home is never bad," said coach Xabi Alonso, who returns to face the club he won a Champions League title with in 2005.

Did you know? Liverpool are undefeated in their last 13 Uefa competition matches against German teams (W10 D3).

LOSC Lille v Juventus

Only separated by goal difference, 15th meets 14th as Lille take on Juventus at the Stade Pierre Mauroy. The French side followed up their 1-0 home win over Real Madrid with a 3-1 victory over Los Blancos' city rivals Atleti in Madrid. "This was an even better performance than the one against Real Madrid," said coach Bruno Génésio, who took charge of the French club in July.

Elsewhere, Juventus ceded undefeated status as a late goal from El Bilal Touré handed Stuttgart a 1-0 win on Matchday 3. "We were below them in character and attitude," said a downcast Mattia Perin, who earned Player of the Match for his performance in goal despite the result. The Turin club will be hoping to bounce back in their first Champions League meeting with Lille.

Did you know? Both sides have positive records against teams from their opponent's nation. Lille have won six and lost four against Italian sides in Uefa competitions, while Juventus have won 18 and lost eight against French teams.

Real Madrid v Milan

Vinícius Júnior's hat-trick spared Real Madrid blushes as they overturned a two-goal deficit to defeat Dortmund 5-2 on Matchday 3. Returning to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Los Blancos will want to recreate the magic of that night, as opposed to the gloomy 4-0 Clásico loss that followed. Coach Carlo Ancelotti, who won Europe's premier competitions as a player and a coach with Milan, has warned against a direct repeat of the performance against Dortmund, though. "The big thing is to start well, to begin with focus and intensity – not to wait till we are 2-0 down," the 65-year-old said.

Milan picked up their first win of the league phase last time out, beating Club Brugge 3-1 at the Stadio San Siro. There was further cause for celebration as 16-year-old forward Francesco Camarda became the youngest Italian to feature in the competition proper, but the seven-time European champions remain in the elimination places nonetheless. They also have the weight of history to contend with, having lost 26 and won 19 against Spanish sides in Uefa competitions.

Did you know? Real Madrid and Milan have perfectly split their 15 meetings in the Champions League, recording six wins apiece as well as three draws.

Sporting CP v Manchester City

Two of ten remaining unbeaten sides butt heads as Sporting face Man City in Lisbon. A sublime Viktor Gyökeres goal sealed a 2-0 win over Sturm Graz for the Portuguese side, who have conceded just once ahead of their meeting with the fourth-highest scoring team in the competition. "We know that there are tough games to come in November, but we'll prepare for them and keep improving," said Gyökeres.

Man City have been one of the most dominant offensive sides in the Champions League this season, ranking first for possession (70 per cent) and passing accuracy (93 per cent), and added to that reputation with the five goals they fired past Sparta Praha on Matchday 3, including an acrobatic stunner from Erling Haaland. "He scores goals that no-one else can," said teammate Phil Foden.

Did you know? Sporting are the only Portuguese side to have defeated Man City in Uefa competitions, winning 1-0 in March 2012.