Champions League Matchday 4 Preview: Matches on 4 November
Dirk Kuyt against Liverpool, Martín Demichelis against Manchester City — on 4 November, former players of English giants will try to take points off their old teams.
But the Champions League's fourth matchday offers more than managerial reunions: Liverpool arrive in Istanbul with three wins from three matches, while City must stop opponents who have won ten consecutive home games. Familiar faces in the opposing dugout are unlikely to make these away trips any more welcoming. We take a closer look at these and the other Tuesday fixtures in our regular Champions League preview.
AEK Athens vs Real Madrid
For Luka Jović, Real Madrid's visit is a chance to remind his former club of his qualities after they began this Champions League campaign with three wins. Following their 5–1 defeat to Manchester City, AEK look like accommodating opponents for extending that run, but the Greek side's home record warns against jumping to conclusions: ten wins and just one defeat in their last 12 European home games. The main question is how differently the Athens side will perform against another giant on their own ground.
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Fenerbahçe vs Liverpool
Dirk Kuyt took temporary charge of Fenerbahçe following İsmail Kartal's departure and is now preparing to stop the club where he spent six years of his playing career. Liverpool arrive with three wins from three matchdays, but both of their trips to Turkey last season, to face Galatasaray, ended in defeat.
For the Istanbul side, who have yet to win in this season's Champions League, their fiercest neighbours have provided an encouraging example. For Kuyt, it is an opportunity to give his interim appointment greater significance straight away by taking points off his former team.
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Borussia Dortmund vs Real Betis
Betis have won three consecutive Champions League matches for the first time in their history and arrive in Dortmund above their hosts in the table. Yet this is precisely where Spanish teams have regularly run into trouble recently: Borussia's previous four European home meetings with La Liga representatives all ended in victories for the German side.
Manuel Pellegrini's team will try to remain among the sides with a perfect record, while a win would allow Dortmund to draw level with their visitors on points. The Seville club's strong start turns this encounter into a direct battle for the leading positions.
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Borussia Dortmund vs Real Betis
Porto vs Napoli
Four consecutive European defeats have already equalled Porto's worst run; a fifth would make the current sequence the worst in the club's history. Napoli have a prolonged problem of their own: seven away Champions League matches without a win, six of which ended in defeat.
This is less a meeting of two famous clubs than a contest between two teams that need to break an unwelcome pattern: the hosts must stop losing, while the visitors need to learn how to win away from Naples.
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Slavia Prague vs Arsenal
The fixture list seems to be offering Slavia a chance to replay last year: once again it is matchday four, once again a home game against Arsenal, and even the date is the same — 4 November. The London side won 3–0 then; now the Prague team welcome them on a club-record run of 18 European matches without a victory.
The draw against Fenerbahçe, earned after conceding twice by the 11th minute, showed the hosts' character. But against opponents Slavia have never scored against at home, another poor start would be particularly dangerous.
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Viking vs Sabah
After their 3–3 home draw with Bayern, Viking face a very different task: not to surprise the favourites, but to claim their first victory in the main stage of the Champions League. Sabah have already reached that milestone by beating Slavia 2–0.
This meeting between two debutants gives each a chance to add to their points tally against opponents without a big European reputation. That is especially important as the schedule becomes more difficult again afterwards: the next matchday sends the Norwegians to Atlético and pairs the Azerbaijani club with Barcelona.
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Lens vs Como
After thrashing Manchester United 4–1, Como bring Nico Paz to France, a player who has been involved in five of their ten Champions League goals. Lens have a threat of their own in Florian Thauvin, who leads the competition for chances created after three matchdays, with 15.
However, the French side have failed to score in their last two matches. That makes this battle between the creators particularly revealing: Paz's performances are already earning Como points, while Lens need Thauvin's teammates to finally turn his creative work into goals.
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PSV vs Club Brugge
Club Brugge have scored seven goals over the last two matchdays, beating Inter and Lens, and will now try to maintain that momentum against PSV. The hosts, by contrast, have just offered a reminder of the value of solid defending: a 1–0 win over Porto ended a run of 18 Champions League games without a clean sheet.
Maintaining that discipline against the free-scoring Belgians is especially important, because PSV's own attack rarely lets them down at home — they have scored in 18 consecutive matches in the competition. A victory would allow the Dutch side to move above their visitors in the table.
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RB Leipzig vs Manchester City
Martín Demichelis will face Manchester City as an opponent for the first time: the English club's former defender is now in charge of Leipzig. His task is very specific — to stop Erling Haaland, who has scored 12 goals against this team in eight matches for Borussia Dortmund and City.
Those figures look particularly worrying after the German club's two 4–1 defeats, against Como and Real Madrid. The manager's personal story is closely linked to the footballing challenge: to spoil his former club's evening, Demichelis must first put his own defence right.
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Conclusion
After the matches on 4 November, each team will have just four games left to determine their position in the final league-phase standings. That makes a potential success for Fenerbahçe or Leipzig important less as a satisfying story of a manager beating his former club than as an opportunity to change the course of their own European campaign.
At this stage, it is particularly interesting to see who can back up their status with results and who can force us to reconsider familiar expectations. Do not miss the week's biggest matches, and take a look at our bookmaker rankings: https://scores24.live/en/sportbooks
