{"id":660054,"date":"2025-09-29T11:00:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T15:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=660054"},"modified":"2025-09-29T17:51:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T21:51:04","slug":"uefa-champions-league-matchday-2-predictions-psg-vs-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2025\/09\/29\/uefa-champions-league-matchday-2-predictions-psg-vs-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 Predictions Including PSG vs Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 continues Wednesday with some big games on the schedule, including PSG visiting Barcelona and Athletic Club facing Borussia Dortmund. Also on the card is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2025\/09\/29\/uefa-champions-league-matchday-2-predictions-olympiacos-vs-arsenal\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Arsenal at Olympiacos<\/a>. With several teams looking to build momentum or bounce back, this round promises high drama and top-tier European football.<\/p>\n<h2>Paris Saint-Germain at Barcelona<\/h2>\n<p>This matchup is the potential Champions League final that many football fans felt they were denied in 2024-25. Barcelona fell in the semifinals, while PSG went on to become Champions of Europe. Barcelona will be hosting this game in the Olympic stadium, as Camp Nou, still hasn&#8217;t been cleared to open.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/psg-rocked-injuries-kvaratskhelia-vitinha-051500693.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PSG without Marquinhos, Joao Neves<\/a>, Desire Doue, and Ballon d&#8217;Or winner Ousmane Dembele is a more limited team, Vitinha and winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are also in doubt. Barcelona is missing their first-choice keeper Joan Garcia for a while, and they are still without top Brazilian Raphinha, but Lamine Yamal came back on the weekend and produced a stunning performance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2237485367\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 76.43098% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/2237485367?et=-MEYd1cdS1Zwn5fUQeTDJQ&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=XizN_JkWqLIEVypZhpxSMmaKMetW5KKmzxePw8Rl7Vk=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"454\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>PSG were kept in check in Marseille after their 4-0 win over Atalanta to open the Champions League campaign, their French rivals finally defeated them. A 2-0 win over Auxerre followed, but this moment is not PSG at its best. Barcelona&#8217;s opportunity in this moment is clear, they have won four straight games, they lead La Liga and beat Newcastle 2-1 to open the Champions League. Robert Lewandowski continues to lead the attack, they have a great midfield with Frenkie de Jong and Pedri, and loan player <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/live-blogs\/newcastle-vs-barcelona-live-updates-champions-league-score-result\/r2ZkaZSboUD7\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcus Rashford<\/a> has found a way to make meaningful contributions including the two goals against Newcastle. With Yamal back, Hansi Flick&#8217;s Barcelona has to be favored here and will expect the three points. Prediction: <strong>Barcelona<\/strong> 2 PSG 1<\/p>\n<h3>Athletic Club Bilbao at Borussia Dortmund<\/h3>\n<p>Bilbao is struggling, they were held scoreless against Arsenal in defeat, and they are winless in six consecutive matches. Now they face a tough game against Dortmund&#8217;s yellow wall. If they are without Serhou Guirassy, Dortmund will be more limited in attack, but they are in much better form. A 4-4 draw with Juventus was compelling on matchday 1 of the UCL, and Dortmund have begun the 2025-26 season without a loss. Dortmund&#8217;s comfortable start to the Bundesliga season is impressive and given the polar opposite direction that these clubs are taking, Dortmund should secure the three points at home. Prediction: <strong>Dortmund<\/strong> 2 Bilbao 0<\/p>\n<h3>Sporting CP at Napoli<\/h3>\n<p>Napoli host Sporting Club Portugal, aiming to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat against Manchester City on matchday 1. Defeated by AC Milan on the weekend, this Napoli side could use a jolt. Missing a pair of key defenders, they will need to be patient in the backline. Sporting CP rolled past Kairat Almaty 4-1 on matchday 1, they have lost two games this season to their top Portuguese rivals, Benfica (Super Cup), and FC Porto (Liga Portugal) but are otherwise on a winning streak. Colombian striker <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MauricioAndrsL6\/status\/1972384234385101249\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luis Suarez has been on a roll for CP<\/a>, while Kevin De Bruyne remains the focal point for Napoli. These are somewhat even squads, Napoli might have more talent but putting it together isn&#8217;t always the outcome. Sporting should have enough to manage a draw, their attack is fluent. Prediction: 1-1 <strong>Draw<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Juventus at Villarreal<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2237776518\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.835014% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/2237776518?et=vvn2feQKSMlczILaiDMxyQ&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=RhjoY92q_OYpm4cgItt6T8cI65O8K21sxLPChb-MamY=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"397\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Villarreal has improved rapidly since their dreadful performance against Tottenham to open the Champions League campaign. It&#8217;s been three consecutive wins for the Spanish side, and now they host the Italian giants. Juventus scored 4 but still drew against Dortmund, their league campaign in Serie A has cooled off, with two consecutive draws. New striker Lois Openda is still yet to find the scoresheet for Juve while 20-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ForzaJuveEN\/status\/1972543330576998706\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kenan Yildiz is a superstar<\/a> in the making. Georges Mikautadze and Villarreal have credible talent, and they badly need the three points. A draw feels more likely. Prediction: 2-2 <strong>Draw<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: IMAGO \/ AFLOSPORT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 continues Wednesday with some big games on the schedule, including PSG visiting Barcelona and Athletic Club facing Borussia Dortmund. Also on the card is Arsenal at Olympiacos. With several teams looking to build momentum or bounce back, this round promises high drama and top-tier European football. Paris Saint-Germain [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1442,"featured_media":648214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[378,1365,8383,2,1362,1367,9367],"tags":[464,86,2867,2685,323,9865,895,261,494,886],"class_list":["post-660054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-champions-league","category-barcelona","category-borussia-dortmund","category-featured","category-juventus","category-paris-saint-germain","category-predictions","tag-barcelona","tag-champions-league","tag-champions-league-predictions","tag-dortmund","tag-juventus","tag-lamine-yamal","tag-napoli","tag-psg","tag-sporting-cp","tag-villarreal"],"modified_by":"Steen Kirby","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660054"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":660100,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660054\/revisions\/660100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}