Matchday 2 of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League continues Wednesday, with Arsenal hosting Olympiacos and Manchester City traveling to face Monaco among the exciting fixtures set to take place. Which teams will build on their early momentum and which will see rising pressure after a consecutive failure? We have previews and predictions for every match on Wednesday including PSG vs Barcelona.
Olympiacos at Arsenal
Olympiacos have proven to be an uncompelling side thus far. They drew 0-0 against Pafos from Cyprus, despite having a man advantage, and a pair of narrow wins and a draw followed in the Greek Super League and Cup. Mehdi Taremi and others will need to wake up if they have any hope of leaving London with points. Arsenal may be missing three first choice starters, including Piero Hincapie in the back. Arsenal won their Champions League opener against Bilbao, and have drawn Manchester City and beaten Newcastle since. Mikel Arteta’s team has shown improvements and this is far from the most difficult game they will have in 2025. Prediction: Arsenal 3 Olympiacos 0
FC Copenhagen at Qarabağ
Qarabag’s stunning win over Benfica in the opener of the Champions League campaign was historic. It has also reset expectations, and hosting Copenhagen they might even be the favorites. 23-year-old Colombian Camilo Duran was among the revelations for this Qarabag side. Copenhagen managed a draw against Bayer Leverkusen on matchday 1, they won their Danish Superliga game on the weekend and are 6-2-2 on the season, sitting second in the table. You won’t see as many famous names in the lineup for this game, but these are good teams, the standouts of their respective leagues, who relish the opportunity to play on European nights. A draw feels fitting. Prediction: 2-2 Draw
Newcastle at Union Saint-Gilloise
A rocky start to the Premier League season has Newcastle 15th in the table with just one win in six matches. 23-year-old striker Nick Woltemade has scored twice for Newcastle this season, while Yoane Wissa may still miss this game. Promise David and USG are 7-2-0 and leading the Belgian league table to begin the season. A big win to open the Champions League campaign against PSV will give them confidence hosting a Premier League side. With Newcastle not reliable at the moment, USG can secure points here. Prediction: 1-1 Draw
Manchester City at AS Monaco
A win over Napoli showed Manchester City are still hard to get break down in most matches. A 5-1 win over Burnley on the weekend showed firepower as Erling Haaland had a brace and an assist, and Jeremy Doku was also outstanding. Rayan Cherki remains out for Man City and Rodri is unlikely to play. AS Monaco are a wounded side, they are going to be without up to five preferred starters, with Lamine Camara the latest to be injured. Having been destroyed by Club Brugge on matchday 1, and losing 3-1 to Lorient on the weekend, Monaco may be run out of their own stadium against a talented Manchester City side. Prediction: Manchester City 4 Monaco 0
PSV Eindhoven at Bayer Leverkusen
After drawing with USG on matchday 1, PSV was forced to settle for a draw against Ajax in the De Topper derby, as they sit second in the Dutch league table behind Feyenoord after 7 games. Joey Veeerman leads this PSG side, while Ruben van Bommel is out for the season in a significant blow. Leverkusen’s rebuilt squad continued to adjust, a win over St. Pauli on the weekend leaves them at 2-2-1 on the season but forward Patrik Schick has a thigh injury. Former PSV player Malik Tillman will lineup against his old team while 19-year-old Christian Michel Kofane from Cameroon may see minutes at forward.
Leverkusen has the more expensive squad, and they are at home, but they are yet to settle, PSV has a chance here and this isn’t the easiest match to predict. Prediction: 1-1 Draw
Main Photo Credit: IMAGO / Sportimage,
