Here are score predictions for the three biggest Champions League matchups of Matchday 3 of the 2024/25 season.
Real Madrid vs. Dortmund
Real Madrid will host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night in a rematch of the 2024 Champions League Final, which Los Merengues unsurprisingly won 2-0 behind an inspired performance from 2024 Ballon d’Or favorite Vinicius Junior.
The Brazilian winger scored the decisive goal this past weekend in a 2-1 win over underdogs Celta Vigo, while Dortmund also won 2-1 on Friday night against the scrappy St. Pauli, courtesy of a winner from their star man in new striker Serhou Guirassy.
Dortmund are actually a little more dangerous this season thanks to Guirassy’s presence at striker and a breakout season from younger winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, but as their blowout loss to Stuttgart a few weeks ago showed, this is still a deeply flawed squad.
Real Madrid have question marks of their own, but they are quietly showing signs of dominance. Kylian Mbappe scored a brilliant opener from the edge of the box against Celta, and his all-around play makes Los Blancos that much more resilient against defensive sides.
Expect nothing less than a Real Madrid win on a Champions League night at the Santiago Bernabeu, even if a goal from Guirassy makes the second half just that much more interesting for Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Dortmund
RB Leipzig vs. Liverpool
Dominik Szoboszlai will face his former club on Wednesday nigh in the Champions League, and while he made a name for himself with clutch goals for Hungary, Kopites want to see more decisive actions from their high-priced attacking midfielder.
Even without Alisson Becker in goal against the dangerous duo of Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda, Liverpool remain the overwhelming favorites, as they are seasoned veterans of the Champions League and currently first in the Premier League.
As with long-time Champions League rivals Real Madrid, Liverpool will be put to the test by one of the Bundesliga’s biggest clubs this week, but you have to like their chances of using their experience to gut out a win.
The main thing is that when they are at their best, the back line is incredibly solid, and you’d trust Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate over any other partnership on this planet to be up to the tall task of keeping both Openda and Sesko quiet.
Prediction: RB Leipzig 0-1 Liverpool
Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich
There’s no doubt that the battle between Barcelona and Bayern Munich is the best of Matchday 3 in the Champions League, as these two European heavyweights have had so many unforgettable battles over the years.
Of course, Barcelona have been on the wrong side of those matchups, except, now, they have turned over a new leaf under Hansi Flick, the architect of the most humiliating of those encounters.
Flick’s Barcelona have been the most electrifying side in European football, sitting atop La Liga above a Kylian Mbappe-clad Real Madrid. They just tossed Sevilla in the spin cycle with another 3+ goal showing, as star striker Robert Lewandowski continues to bag goals for fun under Flick.
However, Bayern Munich have been just as impressive this season under Vincent Kompany, and even when the slumped to third in the Bundesliga last season, Thomas Tuchel still guided them within one very controversial goal of a Champions League Final – and likely victory – against Dortmund.
Kompany has turned Bayern back into killers capable of putting up eight on their opponents, and Harry Kane just had a hat trick of his own in a dominant win over fellow Champions League side Stuttgart.
Barcelona won’t be shuddering, though. There’s almost nothing to split between these two sides, and while it can be argued that Bayern have a better Champions League pedigree right now, there’s something about the Raphinha, Dani Olmo, and Lewandowski trio that makes me feel as though Barca have the hotter hand coming into Wednesday’s game.
Prediction: Barcelona 2-2 Bayern Munich
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.