Champions League

LIVE from 9pm: Conference with Bayern, Real & Juve

Bayern Munich's Dayot Upamecano and Co. will be on the hunt for points against Aston Villa ...

(Bild: Associated Press)

Second matchday of the new Champions League: In Wednesday's late games, FC Bayern will play at Aston Villa, Real Madrid at OSC Lille and Juventus Turin at RB Leipzig. We'll be reporting live (see below)! 

Here is the LIVETICKER:

On his return to the island, Harry Kane wants to follow up his four-goal show at the start of the Premier League. "I hope we put in a great performance and pick up where we left off in the Champions League," said England's team captain ahead of the clash with Aston Villa. Bayern are preparing for an euphoric host in Birmingham: Villa are playing in the highest European Cup competition for the first time in more than four decades.

Vincent Kompany

(Bild: AFP/APA/Oli SCARFF, FC Bayern)

"The coach will know them better than any of us!"
As well as Kane, Vincent Kompany was also expecting a great atmosphere. For the Belgian, it is his first European Cup trip as Munich's head coach. As a long-time professional at Manchester City and briefly coach at Burnley, Kompany has amassed plenty of Premier League expertise. "The coach will know them better than any of us," said Bayern captain Manuel Neuer.

When Aston Villa and FC Bayern met for the only time internationally, Kompany was not yet born. The Munich side lost 1-0 in the final of the European Champions Cup in May 1982. The Villans also played in the 1982/83 Champions Cup, after which they were out of the big time.

Unai Emery

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

The team from the second-largest city in the UK qualified for the Premier League last season in fourth place. A former Bayern shocker is on the sidelines. Two years ago, coach Unai Emery surprisingly knocked the German record champions out of the title race with Villarreal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Spaniard is said to have been a candidate for the coaching job in Munich in the summer, but according to media reports, he turned it down. Kompany eventually took over.

Bayern sports director Freund: "They play very intense soccer!"
"They play very intense soccer and I think it will be a really thrilling game," said Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund on the starting position. Kane, who was substituted at the weekend against Leverkusen with a knock, will be looking to bounce back after scoring four goals in the 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb. In six competitive games with Tottenham at Villa Park, the goalscorer has been involved in seven goals (five goals, two assists). Konrad Laimer was substituted against Leverkusen a quarter of an hour before the end of the game, and a place in the starting eleven is currently hard to come by for the Salzburg man.

Christoph Baumgartner, Nicolas Seiwald and Co. are challenged at home against Juventus Turin

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

RB Leipzig are another Bundesliga side in action. Christoph Baumgartner, Nicolas Seiwald and Co. are at home against Juventus Turin. The Turin side won their Champions League opener, unlike the Saxons (1:2 at Atletico). Real Madrid will be looking for their second win in their second game in Lille, while coach Adi Hütter will also be looking to add to his tally with Monaco on their away trip to bottom club Zagreb. National team defender Stefan Posch will also visit Liverpool with newcomers FC Bologna.