Gunners firing, Woltemade conundrum and unstoppable Haaland - Five key Champions League talking points

Matchday Two of this season's Champions League continues on Wednesday night when the second half of this week's fixtures will be played.

There is a mouthwatering clash between Barcelona and defending champions Paris St-Germain plus several other tasty encounters.

Here, DAZN News looks at some of main talking points surrounding Wednesday's nine games.

• Click here to watch the Champions League on DAZN in Canada, New Zealand and the U.S (Spanish Language)

• Click here to watch the Champions League in the U.S. in English with CBS 

 

Barca to stand their ground?

It does not get much tougher than facing PSG following their remarkable treble-winning campaign last season.

Luis Enrique's men won Ligue 1, Coupe de France and lifted the European Cup for the first time in their history before also reaching the final of the Club World Cup this summer.

Yet Barca, the La Liga champions, will aim to cut PSG down to size and their hopes will be boosted by the absence through injury of some key players from their French visitors.

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele is a major doubt for the clash after picking up an injury on France duty earlier this month.

Captain Marquinhos has a quadriceps problem and could also miss out along with Desire Doue and Joao Neves, who are nursing injury concerns.

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Gunners on a high

Arsenal host Greek side Olympiakos buoyed by a huge win at Newcastle on Sunday.

Late headers from Mikel Merino and Gabriel saw Mikel Arteta’s side come from behind to beat the Magpies 2-1 at St James’ Park.

That sparked wild scenes between the Arsenal players, staff and travelling supporters as the Gunners underlined their title credentials.

It was the perfect tonic as they bid to make it two wins from two in this season’s Champions League.

(Getty Images)

Woltemade to start?

Nick Woltemade joined Newcastle in a £69million club-record move from Stuttgart shortly before the transfer window closed.

He scored his second goal for the club in Sunday’s home defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League.

Crucially, however, he was not trusted by Magpies boss Eddie Howe to start against Barcelona in Matchday One of the Champions League.

Newcastle lost that game 2-1 and it remains to be seen if Woltemade, all 6ft 6in of him, will start away to Belgian outfit Union St Gilloise on Wednesday night.

The onus is on Newcastle to get a win – and it would be no surprise to see Woltemade named in Howe’s starting line-up.

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Haaland looking unstoppable but what about City?

Nothing, it seems, can stop Erling Haaland right now.

The Manchester City striker has scored an incredible 15 goals in just nine appearances for the club and country so far this season.

Back to his very best? You would certainly think so.

The giant Norwegian bagged two against Burnley at the weekend in City’s 5-1 home win and will relish the challenge of scoring again in tomorrow’s trip to Monaco.

Pep Guardiola’s men opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 home win over Napoli and will fancy their chances of dispatching Monaco.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Can Conte get Napoli up and running?

Antonio Conte’s defending Serie A champions saw their 100% start to the domestic campaign ended on Sunday with a 2-1 defeat at AC Milan.

Hardly the ideal preparation as they bid to ignite their Champions League campaign with a home clash against Sporting Club.

Their Portuguese visitors have made an impressive start to their domestic season with six wins from seven to sit second behind leaders Porto.

Sporting hammered Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan 4-1 in their Champions League opener and will head to Naples in quietly confident mood.

An intriguing battle awaits.

(C)Getty images

 

Full Champions League fixture list for Matchday Two 

Tuesday 30 September 

• Atalanta vs Club Brugge
• Kairat vs Real Madrid 
• Atletico Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt
• Bodø / Glimt vs Tottenham Hotspur
• Chelsea vs Benfica  
• Galatasaray vs Liverpool 
• Inter Milan vs Slavia Prague 
• Marseille vs Ajax 
• Pafos vs Bayern Munich

Wednesday 1 October

• Qarabağ vs Copenhagen
• Union Saint-Gilloise vs Newcastle United 
• Arsenal vs Olympiakos 
• Barcelona vs PSG
• Bayer Leverkusen vs PSV 
• Borussia Dortmund vs Athletic Club 
• Monaco vs Manchester City
• Napoli vs Sporting CP
• Villarreal vs Juventus 

How to watch the Champions League in the U.S. on DAZN

Soccer fans in the US can watch select matches in the Champions League in Spanish language as part of their DAZN subscription package.

Between September 25 - October 3, 2025 new customers can get a 20% discount on annual subscription.

An annual upfront payment is now $179.99 reduced from $224.99, while paying monthly for 12 months is $15.99  (down from $19.99) and also provides access to 185 fight nights a year across boxing, MMA, PFL, BKFC, Glory and much more.

CBS has coverage of every Champions League match in English language this season.  You can get more details and subscribe to CBS's Champions League coverage here.

Fans can watch extra Champions League games in Spanish on ViX. A selection of those matches are also available on UNIMÁS and TUDN.

• For a list of the selected Champions League fixtures to be broadcast live in the U.S. on DAZN in Spanish, click here

How to watch the Champions League in New Zealand on DAZN 

Every Champions League game during the 2025-26 season is streamed in high-definition and comes as part of a DAZN subscription.

An annual subscription costs $14.99 per month for 12 months and also provides access to 185 fight nights a year across boxing, MMA, PFL, BKFC, Glory and much more.

How to watch the Champions League in Canada on DAZN

Watch every game of the Champions League this season in Canada with a DAZN subscription. 

There are three subscription options, offering differing selections of sports in each. Access to every Champions League match is included in all three package offerings, ranging from $29.99 to $44.99 per month (for 12 months)