Small teams but big trips - UEFA Champions League MD7 22 January 2025

The penultimate round of the League Phase goes into the second day with another nine fixtures across Europe. By the end of these matches, some more entrants to the round of 16 and the play-off phase will be known for sure.

22 January 2025

RB Leipzig vs. Sporting CP

34th/0 pts vs. 17th/10 pts

18.45h CET, Leipzig

Formerly a powerhouse of Champions League football, Leipzig found life really difficult this season. With zero points from six games, they are in the bottom group without a chance on making the knockout stages. Sporting need some points from this game to stay in the competition and maybe still make it directly into the round of 16.

HFM881 LIS xxxx-1920 LEJ A343 (21/01/25)

AC Milan vs. Girona FC

12th/12 pts vs. 30th/3 pts

21.00h CET, San Siro, Milan

After a promising start, Girona have tailed off considerably in the last few matches of the league phase. They are now playing for pure survival and need points from the away game in Milan. This does not promise to be an easy task however. It has historically been proven that San Siro is a very difficult place to win a game as the away side.

AP1985 GRO 1500-1625 MXP B738 EI-HIL (21/01/25)

AP1986 MXP xxxx-0315 GRO B738 (23/01/25)

The AlbaStar flight for Girona is actually operated by a Milan-based Neos Boeing 737-800.

Real Madrid vs. RB Salzburg

20th/9 pts vs. 32nd/3 pts

21.00h CET, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

No matter the situation on the table, away days at the mighty Bernabeu are always big for smaller teams. That Salzburg is making that trip with quite a lot of supporters should not be a surprise in this context. On the field however, Salzburg need a win or they go bust with one game to spare in the league phase. Real's rather low position on the table will not help the visitors however, even if Real are in some injury misery and therefore cannot count on their full squad for this important match.

KK900P MUC 0950-1030 SZG A320 D-ANNE (21/01/25, ferry flt)

KK902P VNO 1230-1335 SZG A320 9H-GTS (21/01/25, ferry flt)

KK7122 SZG 1420-1700 MAD A320 9H-GTS (21/01/25)

KK7120 SZG 1140-1420 MAD A320 D-ANNE (21/01/25)

QS430P PRG xxxx-0700 SZG B739 (22/01/25, ferry flt)

ENT547P KTW xxxx-0720 SZG B738 (22/01/25, ferry flt)

ENT547 SZG 0815-1105 MAD B738 (22/01/25)

QS4301 SZG 0815-1100 MAD B739 (22/01/25)

QS4302 MAD 1030-1300 SZG B739 (23/01/25)

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ENT548 MAD 1040-1330 SZG B738 (23/01/25)

ENT548P SZG 1425-xxxx KTW B738 (23/01/25, ferry flt)

KK6123 MAD 1100-1340 SZG A320 (23/01/25)

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KK6121 MAD 1420-1655 SZG A320 (23/01/25)

KK901P SZG 1735-xxxx CGN A320 (23/01/25, ferry flt)

Sparta Prague vs. Inter Milan

28th/4 pts vs. 6th/13 pts

21.00h CET, Prague

The situation on the table could not be more different for both these sides. Sparta will be trying their best to add to their four points in order to save a spot in the knock-out stages. Most probably, they will need two wins from two games to stand a chance for that though. Inter on their hand are looking for a finish in the top 8 and will therefore look to get maximum points from this fixture themselves.

NO9260 MXP 1645-1815 PRG B38M EI-RZA (21/01/25)

Shakhtar Donezk vs. Stade Brestois

27th/4 pts vs. 7th/13 pts

18.45h, Arena auf Schalke, Gelsenkirchen

The French visitors are still flying high and look like the favourites for this match. They surely want to maintain their good run and beat Shakhtar to improve their chances for a direct entry into the round of 16.

YW8042 BES 0830-1020 FMO CRJX EC-LJX (21/01/25)

YW8068 BES 0800-0940 DUS CRJX (22/01/25)

Arsenal vs. Dinamo Zagreb

3rd/13 pts vs. 24th/8 pts

21.00h CET (20.00h local time), Emirates Stadium, London

Dinamo sit right on the edge of making it to the next stage of the competition. They face a lot of pressure from teams like PSG or VfB Stuttgart from behind however. A trip to London may not be the easiest thing in this situation. After all, Arsenal sit pretty well on the table, with 13 points from six matches.

OU1490 ZAG 1130-1235 STN A320 9A-CTK (21/01/25)

Celtic Glasgow vs BSC Young Boys

21st/9 pts vs. 36th/0 pts

21.00h CET (20.00h local time), Celtic Park, Glasgow

It is one final away trip for Young Boys before their European campaign is over. They will face a Celtic side in fine European form that still dreams of making it through to the knockout stages. YB on their side will hope to finally get some points from the league phase however. They are one of three teams already eliminated before the penultimate round of the league phase.

QS432P BTS 1710-1830 BRN B38M OK-SWI (20/01/25, ferry flight)

QS4320 BRN 1100-1230 GLA B38M OK-SWI (21/01/25)

Feyenoord Rotterdam vs. FC Bayern München

18th/10 pts vs. 10th/12 pts

21.00h, De Kuip, Rotterdam

Leaders of the German Bundesliga, Bayern travel to Rotterdam to improve their chances on a direct entry into the round of 16. Before the game, they sit just behind the top 8, but a win should help them to put pressure on direct opponents like Borussia Dortmund or the French competitors from Lille and Brest.

LH2570 MUC 1720-1900 RTM A21N D-AIEL (21/01/25)

Paris St-Germain vs. Manchester City

25th/7 pts vs. 22nd/8 pts

21.00h, Parc des Princes, Paris

Both these teams sit surprisingly low in the table. PSG absolutely need points to at least make it into the knockout stages. A direct entry into the round of 16 seems almost impossible already. Man City face similar challenges, although at least they got one more point from their previous six matches.

AGR1008 MAN 1000-1225 LBG E145 PH-DWA (21/01/25)

BRO987A MAN 1600-1825 LBG B733 G-SWRD (21/01/25)

2Excel Aviation Boeing 737-300 G-SWRD
seen at Copenhagen in July 2022

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Shakhtar Donetsk vs. BSC Young Boys

18.45h, Arena auf Schalke, Gelsenkirchen (D)

29th/1pt vs. 34th/0pts

Two of the very bottom teams face off in Germany, where Shakhtar are once again playing their home fixtures. Young Boys will look to open their account against what actually could be the first beatable opposition this season, despite a good performance in the tight loss against Inter a couple of weeks ago.

QS267F ERF 1720-1830 BRN B38M OK-SWJ (04/11/24, ferry flight)

QS4316 BRN 1100-1230 DTM B38M OK-SWJ (05/11/24)

Club Brugge vs. Aston Villa

18.45h, Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges

26th/3pts vs. 1st/9pts

It may come as a surprise that Aston Villa are in the lead of the Champions League three games into the season. Their wins over Bayern München, Young Boys and Bologna came well-earned though. Against the Belgian champions Brugge they will look to maintain their perfect start and make another big stride towards the knockout phase.

BRO989A BHX 1600-1755 OST B733 G-SWRD (05/11/24)

BRO985P OST 1905-1920 STN B733 G-SWRD (05/11/24, ferry flight)

Red Star Belgrade vs. FC Barcelona

21.00h, Marakana, Belgrade

33rd/0pts vs. 10th/6pts

Barcelona should be clear favourites away in Belgrade. However, the Marakana is a very noisy ground with the enthusiasm of their home supporters, Red Star will be keen to book their first points of the season. For the outbound flight, Barcelona appears to use Air Europa Express, while the return flight is set to be a regular Air Europa aircraft.

OVA937 BCN 1100-1330 BEG B738 (05/11/24)

UX938 BEG xxxx-1335 BCN B738 (07/11/24)

FC Bayern München vs. SL Benfica

21.00h, Allianz Arena, Munich

23rd/3pts vs. 13th/6pts

Bayern find themselves in a delicate situation, having lost two out of three games so far. Benfica on their behalf sit about where one could expect them to be, with two wins and one loss.

TP9022 LIS 1500-1900 MUC A339 CS-TUI (05/11/24)

Inter Milan vs. Arsenal

21.00h, San Siro, Milan

7th/7pts vs. 9th/7pts

Another clash with two opponents who are level on points. A win in this match could be a big step forward for those two heavyweights of international football in Europe. Winning away games in Italy is not the easiest thing at the best of times though - even for teams from the strong league in England.

HAT2260 LTN 1545-1825 MXP B734 (05/11/24)

YD114 LTN 1615-1915 MXP B738 (05/11/24)

Paris St-Germain vs. Atlético Madrid

21.00h, Parc des Princes, Paris

19th/4pts vs. 27th/3pts

There would have been mixed emotions in Paris and Madrid so far about the respective UCL campaigns. PSG dropped valuable points against Arsenal and PSV. Atlético even has to make up for two losses against Lille and Benfica. The Rojiblancos will travel to Paris with Privilege Style, enjoying the trip on one of their Airbus A321 aircraft.

PVG1903 MAD 1055-1300 CDG A321 (05/11/24)

PVG2003 CDG 0030-0230 MAD A321 (07/11/24)

Sparta Prague vs. Stade Brestois 29

21.00h, Stadion Letna, Prague

21st/4pts vs. 5th/7pts

Sparta are hosting one of the big surprises of the Champions League season so far. Nobody would have expected Brest to sit in the top group with seven points from their first three matches, although the wins over both Austrian teams Salzburg and Sturm Graz may not have come as a complete surprise. In their third game, Brest mixed it with German champions Leverkusen and held out for a 1-1 draw.

VOE9228 BES 0900-1120 PRG A320 EC-ISI (05/11/24)

VOE9218 BES 0900-1120 PRG A320 (06/11/24)

VOE9229 PRG 0030-xxxx BES A320 (07/11/24)

VOE9219 PRG 1630-xxxx BES A320 (07/11/24)

Volotea Airbus A320 EC-OEH
seen arriving at Barcelona in August 2024

Feyenoord Rotterdam vs. FC Salzburg

21.00h, De Kuip, Rotterdam

16th/6pts vs. 34th/0pts

The Dutch home team may just about be ranked where expected. But Salzburg would definitely have hoped for a lot more than zero points and nine goals conceded in the first three matches of the campaign. Points are a must for the Austrian team - but are Feyenoord the right opponents for this mission?

KK902P CGN 1240-1420 SZG A320 D-ANNE (05/11/24, ferry flight)

KK6122 SZG 1510-1640 RTM A320 D-ANNE (05/11/24)

KK900P CGN 1300-1440 SZG A320 D-ANDI (05/11/24, ferry flight)

KK6120 SZG 1530-1700 RTM A320 D-ANDI (05/11/24)

KK6123 RTM xxxx-1250 SZG A320 (07/11/24)

KK903P SZG 1330-xxxx CGN A320 (07/11/24, ferry flight)

KK6121 RTM xxxx-1550 SZG A320 (07/11/24)

KK901P SZG 1630-xxxx CGN A320 (07/11/24, ferry flight)

VfB Stuttgart vs. Atalanta Bergamo

21.00h, MHPArena, Stuttgart

18th/4pts vs. 17th/5pts

Atalanta and Stuttgart are neighbors on the table, separated by just the one point. Both are of course hoping for knockout football in 2025, but they will both still have their work cut out in games to come. Whoever wins this one has valuable points in the bank.

AZ9070 BGY 1630-1735 STR A21N (05/11/24)

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VfB Stuttgart vs. Sparta Prague

18.45h, MHPArena (Neckarstadion), Stuttgart

After a surprisingly convincing win over RB Salzburg, Sparta travel to Germany to face the German vice-champions Stuttgart. The home team lost their opening game in Madrid against Real Madrid, but only after conceding some late goals in an otherwise impressive performance.

QS4454 PRG 1210-1315 STR B738 OK-TSU (30/09/24)

QS4522 PRG 1210-1315 STR B738 OK-TVX (30/09/24)

QS4523 STR 1335-1440 PRG B738 (02/10/24)

QS4455 STR 1400-1505 PRG B738 (02/10/24)

FC Salzburg vs. Stade Brestois

18.45h, Red Bull Arena, Wals-Siezenheim

It is Austrian opposition for the second time in as many weeks for Stade Brestois. In the first round, Brest beat Sturm Graz at home by 2-1. Now they will travel to Salzburg where the hosts are looking to bounce back from the drubbing they got at the hands of Sparta Prague.

TLJ357K BES 1030-1215 SZG E145 F-HFCN (30/09/24)

TLJ449W BES 1300-1445 SZG E145 (30/09/24)

5O751 BES xxxx-1110 SZG B737 (01/10/24)

TLJ449W SZG 2130-xxxx BES E145 (01/10/24)

TLJ357K SZG 2155-xxxx BES E145 (01/10/24)

5O752 SZG 1600-xxxx BES B737 (02/10/24)

ASL Airlines Boeing 737-700 F-GZTP
seen at Basel-Mulhouse in August 2019

FC Barcelona vs. BSC Young Boys

21.00h, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Montjuic/Barcelona

Swiss champions YB are rank outsiders in the league phase - and it showed first up against Aston Villa in Berne. Their tasks are not becoming any easier however. Their second match is away at none less than FC Barcelona. Maybe YB can take some heart from not having to play at the Camp Nou as Barça are currently playing their home fixtures up on Montjuic, in the old Olympic Stadion.

LWG5322 BZO 0815-0910 BRN DH8D 9H-LWA (30/09/24, ferry flight)

LWG1655 BRN 1030-1210 BCN DH8D 9H-LWA (30/09/24)

IMX401F LYS 0800-0840 BRN AT45 HB-ALN (30/09/24, ferry flight)

IMX401 BRN 1040-1220 BCN AT45 HB-ALN (30/09/24)

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IMX402 BCN 1120-1300 BRN 1330-1400 BSL AT45 HB-ALN (02/10/24)

Borussia Dortmund vs. Celtic Glasgow

21.00h, Westfalenstadion, Dortmund

Germany had lots of joy with Scottish football fans during EURO 2024 and they will get some more. Celtic's famous green and white supporters will flood the football city of Dortmund. And the emblematic club will get a great day out in one of Europe's biggest football stadiums. Both sides enjoyed emphatic wins in the first round. Celtic beat Slovan Bratislava 5-1 while Dortmund returned from Bruges with a 3-0 over Club Brugge.

LS6963 GLA xxxx-1645 DTM B733 G-GDFG (30/09/24)

LS055C DTM 1740-xxxx FMO B733 G-GDFG (30/09/24)

HAT2160 GLA xxxx-1750 DTM B734 9H-ZAZ (30/09/24)

HAT261P DTM 1850-xxxx FMO B734 9H-ZAZ (30/09/24)

ENT587 GLA 0725-1010 DUS B738 (01/10/24)

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HAT2271 FMO 0215-xxxx GLA B734 9H-ZAZ (02/10/24)

ENT588 DUS 1400-1445 GLA B738 (02/10/24)

Inter Milan vs. Red Star Belgrade

21.00h, San Siro, Milan

A supposedly easier task than in the first round awaits Inter at the San Siro. Having taken home a point from the away game at Manchester City, Simone Inzaghi's men will look to make sure they bag the full three points against Red Star. The reigning Serbian champions lost their first match at home against Benfica. So, despite yet another tricky opponent, they will look to bounce back and score their first points of the league phase.

JU9040 BEG 1430-1615 MXP A320 LY-GYM (30/09/24)

JU9041 MXP xxxx-xxxx BEG A320 (02/10/24)

Arsenal vs. Paris St-Germain

21.00h (20.00h local time), Emirates Stadium, London

After a disappointing draw away at Atlalanta, Arsenal will look to bounce back and score a win against PSG. The visiting team from Paris however just about got away with it in the first game, beating Girona thanks to a late own-goal.

ED8168 CDG 1200-1205 LTN B733 LY-CHF (30/09/24)

NL172 LTN 0020-0225 CDG E145 (02/10/24)

Slovan Bratislava vs. Manchester City

21.00h, Tehelne Pole, Bratislava

Surely a goalless draw can not be Manchester City's preferred result, even if the opposition was Inter Milan in the first game of the Champions League season. Could Slovan Bratislava just be the side that will have to pay for the missed chances in the opening match? City will have to find ways without Rodri, out with an ACL injury for large parts of this season. With Manchester Airport being very congested, City once again fly out of Liverpool for their away trip to Slovakia.

HT5491 LPL 1330-1710 BTS B734 9H-GTC (30/09/24)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. AC Milan

21.00h, BayArena, Leverkusen

Four goals within the first 45 minutes - the start into the new Champions League season could not have been better for Bayer 04. Milan on the other hand have some work to do. They lost their opening encounter 1-3 at home against Liverpool. Definitely time for Milan to make up lost ground. But will Bayer let them do so at home?

NO9035 MXP 1630-1805 CGN B738 I-NEOU (30/09/24)

NO9080 CGN 0115-0250 MXP B738 (02/10/24)

PSV Eindoven vs. Sporting CP

21.00h, Philips Stadium, Eindhoven

Visitors Sporting had a winning opening match against Lille a fortnight ago. But the Dutch hosts have some ground to make up, having lost their first game away in Italy against Juventus 1-3. A rather unusual trip for Sporting, departing from HiFly's home base Beja rather than Lisbon for once.

3L810 BYJ 1530-1855 EIN A343 9H-SUN (30/09/24)