UCL Preview: Barca host Inter, PSG face Napoli in 'Groups of Death' battles

UEFA Champions League Week Three continues! Welcome to our All Football Champions League Preview!

Barcelona vs Inter

Kick off: 21:00 (CET)

Date: Wed, 24-Oct-18

Probable Lineups

Barcelona facts

Lionel Messi fractured his arm against Sevilla at the weekend and will miss out for Barcelona on Wednesday. Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele could flank Suarez here as a result.

Sergi Roberto will hope to start against Inter after having to settle for a place on the bench on Saturday night. He could play at right-back or in central midfield.

Inter facts

Inter have confirmed Radja Nainggolan will miss out against Barcelona due to an ankle injury picked up in their 1-0 win over AC Milan on Sunday.

Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic have both made Inter's squad but are huge doubts after picking up injuries at the weekend.

If neither are fit enough to start against Barcelona then Luciano Spalletti may be forced to change formation.

Dalbert, Roberto Gagliardini and João Mário are not eligible to play for Inter in this season's Champions League.

Focus

Barcelona are in the middle of an incredibly tough run of fixtures. They have already faced Tottenham, Valencia and Sevilla and now host Inter before playing Real Madrid at the weekend. They will be without star man Lionel Messi for both matches after the Argentine broke his arm at the weekend.

Inter have won seven matches in a row in all competitions for the first time since January 2017 but look set to be without Radja Nainggolan, Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic on Wednesday night. Losing all three would be a huge blow to their chances of getting a positive result at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona have won all three of their home matches against Inter without conceding. The outcome of this match could well depend on what XI Inter are able to field.

Prediction

Barcelona 1-0 Inter

PSV  vs  Tottenham

Kick off: 18:55

Date: Wed, 24-Oct-18

PSV facts

Ryan Thomas is PSV's only injury concern ahead of the welcome of Tottenham.

The Dutch side aren't expected to make wholesale changes to a side that has soared to the summit of the Eredivisie.

Tottenham facts

Dele Alli and Jan Vertonghen both remain sidelined for Tottenham, while Danny Rose and Victor Wanyama will be assessed ahead of the meeting with PSV.

Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele both featured from the bench upon their return from injury at West Ham and could start here, with Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko the players to drop out.

Mauricio Pochettino may also elect to start Serge Aurier and Son Heung-Min at the expense of Kieran Trippier and Erik Lamela to keep his squad fresh.

Focus

PSV come into this tie on the back of a resounding 6-0 win over FC Emmen to maintain their 100% start to the season. The Dutch giants have scored 36 goals and conceded just three in nine league outings this term, though two of their three defeats have come in the Champions League.

A hard-fought 1-0 win at West Ham on Saturday saw Tottenham secure their fourth successive league victory, but like PSV, they too have lost their two Champions League outings this season. With Barcelona facing off against Inter, both teams will be keen to capitalise to pick up their first win of the group stage of the competition.

Tottenham's last visit to Eindhoven ended in heartbreak as they crashed out of the Europa League on penalties 10 years ago. Nonetheless, this should be an enjoyable encounter between two teams looking to kickstart their Champions League campaign.

Prediction

PSV 2-2 Tottenham

PSG vs Napoli

Kick off: 21:00

Date: Wed, 24-Oct-18

Probable Lineups

PSG facts

Gianluigi Buffon is free to make his Champions League debut for Paris Saint-Germain after completing a two-match ban.

Neymar and Thomas Meunier were given the weekend off and will start against Napoli on Wednesday night.

Thiago Silva has been ruled out after failing to recover from injury in time.

Thomas Tuchel has also confirmed that Marco Verratti is over his thigh issue and will play against Napoli.

Napoli facts

Simone Verdi is unlikely to feature for Napoli after only lasting four minutes against Udinese at the weekend.

Lorenzo Insigne was not fit enough to feature in a 3-0 win over Udinese and will need to be assessed closer to kick-off here.

Faouzi Ghoulam, Amin Younes and Alex Meret are all back in training but none are expected to start against Paris Saint-Germain.

Carlo Ancelotti may go with the same team that started their 1-0 win over Liverpool last time out in the Champions League, though with Elseid Hysaj at right-back on this occasion.

Focus

Paris Saint-Germain have won six matches in a row in all competitions and have scored at least five goals in each of their last three outings.

Napoli have won three in a row since losing 3-1 to Juventus at the end of September and have not conceded a goal in that time.

Carlo Ancelotti was PSG manager between 2011 and 2013 but will face them as an opponent for the first time in his career.

Thomas Tuchel is now the PSG manager tasked with taking them to Champions League glory. Tuchel and Ancelotti have faced each other four times in the past, both winning two matches each.

Prediction

PSG 3-2 Napoli

Liverpool vs Crvena Zvezda

Kick off: 21:00

Date: Wed, 24-Oct-18

Probable Lineups

Liverpool facts

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Naby Keita and Jordan Henderson will not feature on Wednesday night.

Keita returned from international duty injured, while Henderson suffered a hamstring problem against Huddersfield. Fabinho and Adam Lallana will push for a starting berth in central midfield as a result.

Sadio Mane required hand surgery after the international break and missed the 1-0 win over Huddersfield on Saturday but has declared himself fit to play for Liverpool.

James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum are carrying knocks but Klopp expects both to be available in time for this match.

Trent Alexander-Arnold will hope to earn a recall at right-back after dropping to the bench against the Terriers, while Roberto Firmino will also return.

Crvena Zvezda facts

Few changes are expected from what we have already seen from FK Crvena Zvezda over their first two Champions League matches.

Focus

Liverpool ended a four-game winless run with a 1-0 victory over Huddersfield on Saturday but Jurgen Klopp was not happy with the performance. They are still yet to rediscover their best form going forward. They have failed to score more than once in each of their last five matches but Wednesday's encounter with FK Crvena Zvezda gives them a great opportunity to change that.

FK Crvena Zvezda pulled off a shock 0-0 draw with Napoli in their group stage opener before being thrashed 6-1 by Paris Saint-Germain last time out. Liverpool aren't at their best but it would still be a shock if they didn't win convincingly.

Prediction

Liverpool  3-0  Crvena Zvezda

Borussia Dortmund vs Atletico Madrid

Kick off: 21:00

Date: Wed, 24-Oct-18

Probable Lineups

Dortmund facts

Jeremy Toljan and Marcel Schmelzer will both be assessed ahead of the welcome of Atletico Madrid, with Raphael Guerreiro in line to make his first Champions League start of the season.

Manuel Akanji is sidelined for the home side, which means Dan-Axel Zagadou should get the nod ahead of Omer Toprak to start in defence.

Jacob Bruun Larsen could make his first Champions League start of his career after impressing from the bench against Monaco.

Atletico Madrid facts

Diego Simeone has a fully fit squad to select from and has plenty of options in all areas of the pitch.

Rodrigo may get the nod ahead of Thomas Lemar to start in midfield.

Focus

A fourth successive league win sees Borussia Dortmund sit at the top of the Bundesliga and they'll look to maintain their good European form in the welcome of Atletico Madrid. Level on points with their Spanish counterparts, they'll need to make home advantage count before their trip to Madrid next month.

After a slight hiccup at the start of the season, Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in their last eight. However, they have won only two of their last six away matches, but are unbeaten in their last six Champions League outings.

We can expect to see a vintage resolute Atletico Madrid showing here, but the hosts should have enough to secure all three points.

Prediction

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Atletico Madrid