Arsenal will look to continue their strong form when they welcome Spanish giants Atletico Madrid to the Emirates Stadium tonight.
The Gunners are riding high after a professional 1-0 away win over Fulham on Saturday their fifth straight victory across all competitions.
While the result at Craven Cottage was narrow, Mikel Arteta’s side dominated the game and comfortably won the expected goals (xG) tally 1.8 to 0.4, further underlining their status as Premier League title favourites.
Their Champions League campaign has also begun in impressive fashion, with backto-back 2-0 victories over Athletic Bilbao and Olympiakos.
The North London club have shown tactical discipline and attacking sharpness in Europe, and many observers believe they are genuine contenders for the title.
Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, have regained some domestic form with a five-game unbeaten streak, including four wins.
However, Diego Simeone’s men have yet to win away from home this season, and the fortress-like Emirates — where Arsenal are unbeaten in six — presents a serious challenge.
Unless Atleti can find another gear away from home, Arsenal may well brush past them with another composed performance.
Elsewhere, Barcelona are heavily favoured to get back to winning ways when they host Greek side Olympiakos.
The Catalans started their Champions League campaign with a hardfought 2-1 victory at Newcastle, but a home defeat to reigning champions PSG has put pressure on Xavi’s team to deliver.
Fortunately for them, Olympiakos have struggled in Europe, failing to score in their first two games and losing 2-0 to Arsenal last time out.
Their recent domestic form hasn’t been encouraging either, with only one win in their last three matches.
In one of the more intriguing fixtures, Bayer Leverkusen host PSG in what could prove to be a banana skin for the French champions.
PSG have made a perfect start in Europe, thrashing Atalanta 4-0 and edging Barcelona 2-1, even amid an injury crisis.
However, their domestic form has dipped, with two consecutive draws in Ligue 1, including a late 1-1 equaliser against Strasbourg on Friday, suggesting that all is not smooth at Parc des Princes. Leverkusen, on the other hand, are on the rise after a managerial change. Since replacing Erik ten Hag with Kasper Hjulmand, the German side have gone seven games unbeaten and look revitalised.
