CL conference in the ticker

Bayern, PSG, Barca, ManCity and Co. from 9pm LIVE

Barcelona, PSG and Bayern in Champions League action

(Bild: APA/AFP/Pedja Milosavljevic, APA/Anne-Christine POUJOULAT, ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Fifth matchday in the UEFA Champions League. With the sportkrone.at conference ticker, you can watch seven top-class clashes live - see below. 

Here is an overview of the matches:

The start of the second half of the UEFA Champions League is explosive. After four of the eight rounds, several big names are outside the top eight for direct promotion to the round of 16. Paris St. Germain and RB Leipzig, like Salzburg and Sturm Graz, are currently not even in the top 24 of the 36-team league and would therefore also miss out on the additional knockout round. To make matters worse for PSG, they face Bayern in Munich on Tuesday (9pm).

And the Bundesliga leaders have no gifts to hand out and need points themselves to reach the top eight. With six points, Vincent Kompany's side are just 17th, but since the 4-1 defeat at FC Barcelona just over a month ago, they have managed to string together six clean sheets with a defensively stable style of play - including a 1-0 home win over Benfica Lisbon in the top flight. "We've built up our confidence," said Kompany after Friday's 3-0 win over FC Augsburg in the league.

Bayern were clearly beaten by the Catalans.

(Bild: AFP/APA/Josep LAGO)

For Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl, the clash with the French champions is a "highlight game" and "the first celebration of a fantastic week", regardless of their position in the table. After all, the rematch of the 2020 Champions League final will be followed by the domestic matches against Dortmund in the league on Saturday and against defending champions Leverkusen in the cup next Tuesday. "We've got a big week coming up," said goalscorer Harry Kane. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer faces the program with confidence: "Every team knows how strong we are at the moment."

Manuel Neuer

(Bild: AFP/APA/Josep LAGO, Photoshop)

Pressure to score for Leipzig at Inter
Nobody in Leipzig is currently making such a statement. After an unbeaten run of 19 games across the season, coach Marco Rose's squad have recently run into some trouble - and not just in the league, where Leipzig are still third after a 4-3 defeat at Hoffenheim on Christian Ilzer's debut despite picking up just one point from their last three games. In the Champions League, they have not managed a single point so far. It won't be easy to make a noticeable improvement from 32nd place on Tuesday, as they now face Inter in Milan.

The team led by ÖFB record international Marko Arnautovic has not been defeated in eleven competitive matches and is in fifth place in Europe's top flight after three wins and a draw. Rose, on the other hand, felt his team lacked "fire and passion. One approach would be to play differently in Milan." The ex-Red Bull Salzburg coach also agreed with the assessment of ÖFB prop Christoph Baumgartner that "individuals are not at their top level at the moment". Rose: "Too little sharpness, too little defending in certain situations."

Marko Arnautovic

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Manchester City thirsty for victory
English champions Manchester City (10th) have also experienced better times. The 4-0 defeat to Tottenham in the Premier League at the weekend was the fifth defeat in a row, a first in Pep Guardiola's coaching career. "We have to find another way to win. That is my duty, my responsibility," said the Spaniard, referring to a number of absentees in the top-class squad. However, he is not thinking about new signings in the transfer window. The aim is to win at home against Feyenoord Rotterdam (21st) on Tuesday.

The key match on Tuesday is FC Barcelona (6th) against Sturm and Salzburg conquerors Stade Brest (4th). Sporting Lisbon (2nd), who have been successful against Sturm and others, will host Arsenal (12th) in a further match, while Atalanta Bergamo (9th) play host to Young Boys from Bern (34th), who are still without points.