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UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 Predictions Including Real Madrid vs Marseille

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports | By Steen Kirby | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 1:12 AM ET

The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League begins on Tuesday, and all of the European club football will kick off this week with the first matchday of eight for the initial league stage. Highlighting the Tuesday action are North London sides Tottenham and Arsenal playing La Liga opposition, while Italian giants Juventus take on Dortmund, and Real Madrid has an intriguing clash with Ligue 1’s Marseille. Here is your look at all of Tuesday’s action.

Olympique Marseille at Real Madrid

Perhaps the biggest club in world football, every Real Madrid Champions League match is a test of their pedigree. Their fans demand a home victory, while the opponent is looking for a memorable upset. This time, it’s Marseille, a storied French club that have been well behind French champions PSG in recent years, but have returned to the Champions League, who are stepping into the ring to face Real. Last year, the Real Madrid attacking trio of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe simply did not work, Marseille under Roberto De Zerbi are inconsistent, sometimes frustrating, and full of talented but controversial players like Mason Greenwood. Another name to watch for Marseille, the veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who is always a competitor on a European night. Benjamin Pavard is also in this makeshift Marseille side.

Real Madrid will likely start Arda Guler paired with Vini Jr. and Mbappe in the attack, new Argentine wonderkid Franco Mastantuono will be making his debut on European nights in the midfield. Marseille are likely not good enough to compete with Real Madrid. While Real are still trying to organize a Champions League title push, winning at home against Ligue 1’s second or third best side doesn’t look as difficult. Prediction: Real Madrid 3 Marseille 1

PSV at Union Saint-Gilloise

PSV had a successful 2024-25 campaign, winning the Dutch Eredivisie and defeating Juventus in the knockout phase of the Champions League. This is a side with a smaller budget, and realistically, they have punched above their weight in Dutch football for a while now. Taking on Belgian upstarts Union Saint-Gilloise, both clubs have a chance at a valuable three points before they face stiffer competition in later matchdays.

The champions of Belgium for the first time in their history, USG is finally in the Champions League and will be relishing every moment. Ecuadorian striker Kevin Rodriguez is a man to watch for USG, along with Norwegian midfielder Mathias Rasmusen. The Dutch champions will play through veteran Croatian leader Ivan Perisic, with American striker Ricardo Pepi up front. PSV are a sound and disciplined side, at home, they should come away winners to start the campaign. Prediction: PSV 2 USG 0

Arsenal at Athletic Club Bilbao

Arsenal remain one of the best sides in the Premier League, but they want to win the Champions League now to validate the project of Mikel Arteta. Last year, injuries partly derailed their UCL campaign in the semifinal, and they travel to face a Bilbao side that has been consistently solid in La Liga and were competitive in the Europa League last year. Winning away and getting out of the league phase with ease is the objective. Bilbao lost at home to Alaves over the weekend, while Arsenal ran past Nottingham Forest. With Martin Odegaard, the team captain, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, and Ben White, all out of the Arsenal lineup there will be fears about this game.

Nico Williams is out for Bilbao however, and their squad may not be quite as strong as last years. With Viktor Gyokeres now the target man for Arsenal, they play with a primary striker. They won’t want to slip up against Bilbao, even in a hostile environment. Prediction: Arsenal 2 Athletic Club Bilbao 1

Borussia Dortmund at Juventus

Juventus played one of the best matches of the early season when they hosted Inter Milan and came away late winners 4-3 in a thriller. With momentum, they have hope to silence a motivated Dortmund side and win at home. Juventus are a side aiming to get back to the peak of European football, and Dortmund continue to try to regenerate and renew their squad, after a successful run in the Club World Cup. Dortmund are far off the pace of Germany’s top club, Bayern Munich, and have been for a while, but they continue to compete in Europe, reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season.

Canadian star Jonathan David and Dusan Vlahovic are the key scorers for Juventus, Turkey’s Kenan Yildiz is another name to watch after an amazing match winning goal on the weekend, while Dortmund is a defensively sound team and won’t concede easily. Jobe Bellingham is the new name for Dortmund, while Serhou Guirassy is a rapidly developing striker who scored a lot in Europe last season. With Juventus form, they look capable of winning this matchup, but a draw is also possible. Prediction: 2-2 Draw

Qarabag FK at Benfica

Any points gained by Azeri side Qarabag FK in this competition is a massive achievement, traveling to Portugal to face a Benfica side that will again expect to compete in both Europe and win their domestic league. Greek international Vangelis Pavlidis is the top scorer for Benfica, a side that continues to be one of the “big three” in Portugal’s league. Qarabag reached the Champions League main stage for the second time in club history, they beat Hungary’s Ferencvarosi to reach this stage, but they are an inconsistent club when playing better opposition. Abdellah Zoubir is a player to watch for Qarabag, along with Brazilian Kady Borges. Benfica look set to dominate this match at home, they may struggle against the elite teams of the competition, but Qarabag would be mid table in even the Portugese league. Prediction: Benfica 3 Qarabag 0

Villarreal at Tottenham

Life under Thomas Frank has been better for Tottenham Hotspur, the Daniel Levy era is in the rear view mirror now, as the Europa League Champions are back in the Champions League for the first time since Antonio Conte was running the side. Villarreal’s 5th place finish in the 2024-25 La Liga table was enough to put them in this stage, while Tottenham famously sank in the Premier League but conquered Europe instead.

Under Frank, the Lilywhites have looked more defensively sound, the squad isn’t elite, but neither is Villarreal, and this matchup is a good test of where Tottenham is going this season. Xavi Simons is the new key man for Spurs, while ex-Arsenal player Nicolas Pepe is a top player for the yellow submarine. Villarreal’s captain is ex-Spur Juan Foyth, while young Swede Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus the new signing will have all eyes on them for Spurs. Villarreal playing in England feels like a hill to climb, so a winning start for Spurs feels fair. Prediction: Tottenham 1 Villarreal 0

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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