The second leg of the Champions League group stage is less than 50 hours away and there are plenty of exciting matches as the first-round field starts to take shape.
In the first leg, Premier League teams went 1-3, losing to the likes of Juventus, PSV Eindhoven and even Dinamo Zagreb.
Chelsea, who defeated Maccabi Tel-Aviv, were the only EPL outfit to secure a win.
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But a lot has changed in the two short weeks since the first leg, and those changes can make for some much more exciting matches this week – if that were even possible.
Here are the 8 Champions League matches you absolutely MUST watch this week:
8. Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Manchester City
After losing three of their last four matches – including a stunning home loss to Juventus – the Citizens look vulnerable for the first time all season. A match against one of Bundesliga’s top clubs will either send them into a downward spiral or get them back on track.
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7. Malmo vs. Real Madrid
If you like games where Ronaldo is poised to absolutely dominate, you’ll enjoy the possible scoring show he puts on against the Swedish giants.
6. Lyon vs. Valencia
In one of the few Groups where the Pot 2 and Pot 3 teams arguably look much better than the Pot 1 team (Zenit), the winner of this match will get a major boost.
5. Arsenal vs. Olympiacos
Don’t sell the Greek giants short: they were able to hold off Bayern Munich’s overpowering scoring offence for the better part of an hour before the dam finally broke.
If Alexis Sanchez’s hat trick on Saturday was just a fluke, this will be a stiff challenge for the Gunners.
4. Atletico Madrid vs. Benfica
The bitter No. 3 club in La Liga takes on the Primeira Liga champs in what should be an exciting matchup of two of the Champions League’s most underrated clubs.
3. Manchester United vs. VfL Wolfsburg
In addition to Wolfsburg being arguably the toughest Pot 4 team in the Champions League, the prospect of Man United starlet Anthony Martial going up against the Bundesliga giants must be exciting to folks at Old Trafford.
After all, anyone who saw what Wolfsburg allowed Robert Lewandowski to do to them just over a week ago has to feel good about what the French wonderkid can achieve with a lucky break or two.
Going up against any team that gives up five goals in nine minutes has to be exciting (for United fans at least).
2. Barcelona vs. Bayer Leverkusen
When the schedules were first released, it looked like Barca would cruise to 15-18 points on the table against. But after getting a draw against Roma and even more importantly – losing Lionel Messi for 7-8 weeks to an injury – Barcelona looks vulnerable.
Meanwhile, over in Germany, Bayer Leverkusen were busy tearing BATE Borisov to shreds in a 4-1 romp. If Barcelona aren’t careful they could find themselves leaving much-needed points behind – hence the need to watch how this one unravels.
1. Porto vs. Chelsea
Undoubtedly the hardest task on Chelsea’s group-stage slate, the Blues head to Portugal to take on the reigning Primeira Liga runners-up. After three-straight victories, the Blues were almost upset on the road against lowly Newcastle United and are yet to truly rediscover their best form.
But if Jose Mourinho can put together a starting XI that can pull off the road win against Porto, the road to the knockout stage will be all but paved for him with three matches remaining between Dynamo Kyiv and Maccabi-Tel Aviv.