We have reached the last matchday of the UEFA Champions League for the 2025 calendar year.
After five weeks of league phase action between September and November, December’s matchday 6 could make or break the hopes of several sides in getting past this stage of the competition. Only Arsenal has secured a spot in the knockout rounds with a perfect record, while Ajax has yet to even grab a point from their previous clashes. A further five clubs have not won a match in the tournament this fall.
Here is The Deck’s preview of the Champions League’s matchday 6 play.
UEFA Champions League: Matchday 6
Bayern Hoping to Bounce Back
This round has an unusually early start in Kazakhstan, where Kairat Almaty (1 point, 35th place) welcomes Olympiakos Pireaus (2, 33rd). This is the only game this matchweek between clubs who have no wins to their credit in this season’s Champions League proper. Kairat has a strange home record in Europe this term, having kept five clean sheets in six matches, qualifiers included, but has failed to score in their last three. For Olympiakos, they earned a win and a draw against Astana in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League group stage, finishing second in their group.
The other early kickoff on Tuesday sees Bayern Munich (12, 3rd) take on Sporting CP (10, 8th). The Bavarians will be looking to bounce back from their matchday 5 reverse in North London. They will be aiming to avoid losing consecutive UCL league phase games for the second season in a row. Sporting has never beaten their opponent in Europe before. In fact, the Portuguese champions endured their heaviest-ever defeat in a UEFA club competition to them back in 2008/09 at the round of 16.
Atalanta (10, 10th) and Chelsea (10, 7th) do battle in what is an important matchup for both sides in their hopes of a top eight finish. The Bergamaschi have never beaten an English team at home in the UCL across four previous attempts (0-3-1). They have also kept three clean sheets in a row in the tournament this campaign. Since an opening round reverse, Chelsea has gone 3-1-0, scoring 11 times in the process. The Blues have prevailed in their last three outings versus Serie A clubs.
In a repeat of a 2021/22 Europa League quarterfinal, Barcelona (7, 18th) will be out for revenge at home to Eintracht Frankfurt (4, 28th). The Catalans have conceded in all five of their games this term, failing to live up to their impressive league phase showing from last fall. Frankfurt enjoyed European glory three and a half years ago, beating their Spanish-based opponent 4-3 on aggregate. That included a shock 3-2 win at Camp Nou in the return leg.
Tuesday’s biggest clash is in Italy, where Internazionale (12, 4th) plays at home to Liverpool (9, 13th). The Nerazzurri conceded at the death two weeks ago to suffer their only defeat so far. Only Arsenal has conceded less than the three Inter has across five matches. Since losing to Manchester City in the 2022/23 final, they have yet to concede in the two subsequent games against Premier League sides. Liverpool has come out on top in each of their last three against Italian teams, outscoring them six to one in the process.
AS Monaco (6, 23rd) plays host to Galatasaray (9, 14th). It is the ninth time that Monaco will play a side from Türkiye, owning a 4-1-3 record overall. However, Les Monegasques are in desperate need of three points at home if they are to increase their chances of progressing from the league phase for the second year running. Galatarasaray fell at home to Union Saint-Gilloise a fortnight ago, ending a run of three straight victories. They beat Marseille 4-2 at home in their last win against a French club four years ago in the UEL.
PSV Eindhoven (8, 15th) looks to continue their unbeaten run in the UCL as they welcome Atlético Madrid (9, 12th). The Eredivisie champions have not lost in their last four versus Spanish clubs (3-1-0), scoring 11 times during that run. They have reached the round of 16 in their last two UCL appearances. Atleti has been beaten in their last three away games in the Champions League, though they did beat Feyenoord home and away two falls ago.
Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise (6, 25th) will do battle with Olympique Marseille (6, 21st) in a pivotal clash for both clubs. It was a second away victory for the debutants last time out, with their 1-0 defeat of Galatasaray keeping them in contention for a top 24 spot. They sit outside of the knockout round places on goal difference, but Les Unionistes have never lost to a French side (1-2-0). In a similar vein, Marseille has a 3-3-0 record versus teams from Belgium, having beaten KV Oostende home and away in the 2017/18 UEL third qualifying round. Both of their wins in this season’s UCL have come at home.
Sitting near the middle of the pack, Tottenham (8, 16th) faces the winless Slavia Praha (3, 31st). Spurs suffered their first defeat of this season’s league phase against PSG two weeks ago, conceding five times. Only once have they conceded more in a European game. As for the Czech-based Slavia, not only are they awaiting a maiden success in the UCL this term, but they are also looking for a first-ever win against their North-London based opponent. All four of the previous head-to-heads occurred in the UEFA Cup in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons.
Arsenal Aiming to Stay Perfect as Real Madrid Faces Familiar Foe
One of the competition’s revelations this fall, Qarabağ (7, 19th), will face Ajax (0, 36th) in their game. The Azeri champions are winless in their last three (0-1-2), but still have a more than decent shot at progression. Victory at home, where they have yet to be beaten in this term’s league phase, would put them on the cusp of a shocking knockout round appearance – a first for a club from their country. Meanwhile, Ajax has had a horrific showing in the Champions League in the 2025/26 campaign, scoring only once. Defeat will eliminate them from the competition with two games left.
In the other early kickoff on Wednesday, Villarreal (1, 34th) and FC København (4, 29th) square off. It has been a poor performance from the Yellow Submarine, who have conceded in each of the five games. It is a far cry from their last appearance in the UCL, where they reached the semifinals in 2021/22. A similar thing could be said about FCK, who edged Kairat 3-2 at home two weeks ago to rejuvenate their push to make it past this stage for the second straight time. Before that, they had lost three in a row to go with their opening round draw.
Moving to Wednesday’s late kickoffs, Athletic Club (4, 27th) looks for a reversal of fortune in their home match against Paris Saint-Germain (12, 2nd). The club from the Basque region in Spain has failed to impress in what is their third appearance in the Champions League proper, winning just once. They have never gotten past this stage in Europe’s premier club competition, with defeat on Wednesday likely to end their run in January. PSG has continued to look solid, scoring a tournament-leading 19 times in the league phase. They also defeated a Spanish team already, ousting Barcelona away on matchday 2.
After pulling off an upset last round, Bayer Leverkusen (8, 17th) will aim to make it back-to-back wins against English sides as they host Newcastle (9, 11th). Die Werkself topped Manchester City on the road two weeks ago, putting them in a stronger position to advance. That was their sixth win across 25 games against Premier League opposition (6-6-13). Both of Newcastle’s defeats against German sides came two years ago against Borussia Dortmund, where the Magpies crashed out of the tournament in the group stage.
Benfica (3, 30th) still has a lot of work to do to get past the league phase, with the two-time winners hosting Napoli (7, 20th). The famous Portuguese club defeated Ajax on the road to end a four-game losing skid, and will need at least seven more points from their final three clashes to stand a chance at advancing. As for the defending Serie A champions, they have won three of the four head-to-heads between the two teams. They also won their last match, with another victory likely to put them in a position to move past this round.
Club Brugge (4, 26th) has a tough game ahead of them as they play the league phase pacesetters Arsenal (15, 1st). This is a first-ever meeting for the sides. Club did get a home win versus a Premier League side last fall when they topped Aston Villa 1-0 thanks to a second half penalty. They are up for a much bigger challenge though, as Arsenal is 7-2-1 against Belgian teams. Moreover, the Gunners have kept four clean sheets in this league phase, scoring the fourth most goals (14).
It will be a battle of the yellow and black teams as Borussia Dortmund (10, 6th) facing Bodø/Glimt (2, 32nd). Dortmund’s matches in the Champions League this term have been entertaining, with 28 goals scored their first five clashes. Die Schwarzgelben have won four of their six previous outings with Norwegian teams (4-1-1). Bodø will need a win in Germany if they are to have any hope of playing knockout football, especially after losing their last three.
Juventus (6. 22nd) and Paphos (6, 24th), who have identical records, will play against each other in Italy. The Bianconeri have beaten Cypriot opposition in each of their six previous matches. Making it a seventh in as many games will put the two-time UCL champions in a better position to make it through. Cyprus’ Paphos is enjoying a maiden campaign in the Champions League, and has been quite competitive thus far. They will be in search of their biggest scalp on the continental scene in what is just their second season playing in a UEFA club competition.
Our tie of the round will see familiar foes Real Madrid (12, 5th) play Manchester City (10, 9th) for the fifth season in a row. The Spanish side edges the all-time head-to-head, with five wins to City’s four, along with five draws. The Galacticos have scored more goals against the Cityzens (24) than they have against any other English club. On the other hand, City has lost five times in Europe to just one other side (Barcelona), with Juventus being the only other team with more than three victories at against them.
