The second half of the UEFA Champions League's league phase begins this week, with pressure on several top sides to collect much-needed points with the race to advance to the next round fully underway.
The headlining act of Matchday 5 action takes place in England on Wednesday, when Liverpool host Real Madrid in a battle between the league phase leaders and the reigning European champions. Points will also be at a premium on Tuesday in Germany, where Bayern Munich welcome a struggling Paris Saint-Germain side. Sporting Lisbon will also host Arsenal in one of the week's more notable matchups during a consequential week in Europe.
Here's what you need to know before tuning in.
How to watch
Paramount+ will once again have every minute of Champions League action, with CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network offering additional coverage as well as airing select matches. Paramount+ will also air The Golazo Show on both days this week. CBS Sports Golazo Network will kick off coverage each day before the UEFA Champions League Today pre-match show airs on Paramount+, withCBS Sports Golazo Network also broadcasting the show on Tuesday and CBS Sports Network doing so on Wednesday. After the games conclude, the UEFA Champions League Today post-match show will air on Paramount+, as well as CBS Sports Golazo Network on Tuesday and CBS Sports Network on Wednesday, before CBS Sports Golazo Network anchors each day's coverage with new editions of Scoreline and The Champions Club.
Champions League standings
Key: Positions 1-8 qualify for Round of 16 while positions 9-24 qualify for Knockout Phase Play-Offs and positions 25-36 are eliminated.
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 12 |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 10 |
| 3 | Monaco | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 10 |
| 4 | Brest | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 10 |
| 5 | Inter | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 10 |
| 6 | Barcelona | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 9 |
| 7 | Borussia Dortmund | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 9 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 |
| 9 | Atalanta | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 8 |
| 10 | Manchester City | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 7 |
| 11 | Juventus | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 7 |
| 12 | Arsenal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 7 |
| 13 | Bayer Leverkusen | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 |
| 14 | Lille | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 |
| 15 | Celtic | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 7 |
| 16 | Dinamo Zagreb | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 7 |
| 17 | Bayern Munich | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 6 |
| 18 | Real Madrid | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 6 |
| 19 | Benfica | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 |
| 20 | AC Milan | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 |
| 21 | Feyenoord | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 6 |
| 22 | Club Brugge | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 6 |
| 23 | Atletico Madrid | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 6 |
| 24 | PSV | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 5 |
| 25 | PSG | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 26 | Sparta Praha | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 4 |
| 27 | Stuttgart | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 4 |
| 28 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 4 |
| 29 | Girona | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 3 |
| 30 | RB Salzburg | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 3 |
| 31 | Bologna | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 1 |
| 32 | RB Leipzig | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 0 |
| 33 | SK Sturm Graz | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 |
| 34 | Young Boys | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 11 | -10 | 0 |
| 35 | Red Star Belgrade | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | -12 | 0 |
| 36 | Slovan Bratislava | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 15 | -13 | 0 |
Matchday 5 TV schedule
All times Eastern
| TUESDAY, NOV. 26 | TIME | HOW TO WATCH |
|---|---|---|
Champions League Matchday | 12 p.m. | |
| Slovan Bratislava vs. AC Milan | 12:45 p.m. | |
Sparta Praha vs. Atletico Madrid | 12:45 p.m. | |
UEFA Champions League Today pre-match | 2 p.m. | |
The Golazo Show | 3 p.m. | |
Manchester City vs. Feyenoord | 3 p.m. | |
Barcelona vs. Brest | 3 p.m. | |
Bayern Munich vs. Paris Saint-Germain | 3 p.m. | |
Inter vs. RB Leipzig | 3 p.m. | |
Young Boys vs. Atalanta | 3 p.m. | |
Bayer Leverkusen vs. RB Salzburg | 3 p.m. | |
Sporting Lisbon vs. Arsenal | 3 p.m. | |
UEFA Champions League Today post-match | 5 p.m. | |
Scoreline | 6 p.m. | |
The Champions Club | 7 p.m. |
| WEDNESDAY, NOV. 27 | TIME | HOW TO WATCH |
|---|---|---|
Champions League Matchday | 12 p.m. | |
Crvena Zvezda vs. Stuttgart | 12:45 p.m. | |
Sturm Graz vs. Girona | 12:45 p.m. | |
UEFA Champions League Today pre-match | 2 p.m. | |
| Champions League Matchday | 2:30 p.m. | CBS Sports Golazo Network |
| The Golazo Show | 3 p.m. | Paramount+ |
Aston Villa vs. Juventus | 3 p.m. | |
Monaco vs. Benfica | 3 p.m. | |
PSV vs. Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 p.m. | |
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid | 3 p.m. | |
Celtic vs. Cub Brugge | 3 p.m. | |
Bologna vs. Lille | 3 p.m. | |
Dinamo Zagreb vs. Borussia Dortmund | 3 p.m. | |
UEFA Champions League Today post-match | 5 p.m. | |
Scoreline | 5 p.m. | |
The Champions Club | 7 p.m. |
Storylines for Matchday 5
1. Can Liverpool keep things up against Real Madrid?
Liverpool's nearly perfect start under new manager Arne Slot has yet to slow down, with the Reds boasting an eight point lead in the Premier League table and a two point advantage in the Champions League. Slot's unstoppable side, though, will face their biggest test yet on Wednesday, when they host reigning European champions Real Madrid.
Slot has turned Liverpool into a defense-minded team, conceding just eight goals in domestic league play and just once in the Champions League. It might be a strong tactic for a handful of reasons, not least of which is the fact that this season could be a last dance of sorts for Jurgen Klopp's version of Liverpool. Mohamed Salah is still contributing at impressive rates with 11 goals and 10 assists so far this season, but his form is starting to slide as he climbs up in age, perhaps forcing him to concede that he's "probably more out than in" with less than a year to go on his current deal at Anfield.
As much as Liverpool's offensive production might be slowing, there's another reason the defensive strategy might pay off for Slot on Wednesday. They will be facing a Real Madrid team that boasts plenty of goalscorers, but has a somewhat spotty track record in front of goal. With two wins and two losses to start their Champions League campaign, they have been wasteful at times in front of goal and not lived up to the promise of a star-studded attack. That was particularly true in losses to AC Milan and Lille – in the former, they posted 23 shots but managed just one goal, while in the latter they took just 12 shots overall and could not score at all.
Making things worse for Real Madrid is the fact that Vini Junior, their most reliable goalscorer with 12 goals this season, will miss the game with a short-term hamstring injury. His absence, though, could afford Kylian Mbappe a long-awaited chance to shine after some unimpressive performances for his new club in recent weeks.
2. Bayern, PSG face off in must-win game
Another much-anticipated match this week comes in Germany, where Bayern Munich will host Paris Saint-Germain as both sides are in big need of points.
Bayern sit outside of the top eight with two wins and two losses so far this season, though remain in touching distance and a win on Tuesday could undoubtedly boost their case. Vincent Kompany's side has been all over the place in European competition, at times looking completely dominant like they did in their 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb and at other times outclassed, as they were in a 4-1 loss to Barcelona. Kompany and company can use Tuesday's game as another true measuring stick for their project as they start adding high-caliber games against European heavyweights to the schedule.
It could help Bayern's case that PSG are very much a work in progress themselves. The French champions are perilously sitting outside the top 24 on the league phase table, earning just four points from four games and scoring just three goals along the way. Their difficult schedule has not helped, but PSG's goal-shy tendencies in European play demonstrate some real room for improvement, especially since the fixture list does not get any easier. They will play Bayern on Tuesday and still have a game against Manchester City before the end of the league phase, requiring a young-skewing PSG team to not only deliver, but do so in big games, if they want to ensure passageway to the next round.
3. Sporting take on Arsenal in post-Amorim era
The league phase has offered a batch of surprises so far, perhaps chief amongst them is the fact that Sporting Lisbon sit in second place halfway through the competition. They will have a big opportunity to prove they are capable of staying there on Tuesday, when they host Arsenal.
Lisbon are just a few weeks removed from a 3-1 win over Manchester City on Matchday 4, a match that was arguably as much a terrific sendoff for outgoing manager Ruben Amorim as it was a demonstration that Sporting might be just fine without him. They have been one of the higher-scoring teams so far in the Champions League this season, led in large part by Viktor Gyokeres' five goals in Europe so far. How the group stacks up against the defensively sound Arsenal, though, will be worth keeping an eye on.
The Gunners have not always been at their defensive best this season, but the Champions League offers a reminder of their preferred tactical style. They have conceded just once in European play this season, helping to offset the fact that they have scored just three goals along the way. Things could change on the goalscoring front for Matchday 5, though, with Martin Odegaard back in the mix after recovering from an ankle injury and notched an assist against Nottingham Forest over the weekend.
