Scandal-hit Man City return to Champions League, hosting PSG In-form Barcelona face Galatasaray

GENEVA, Switzerland:

The soccer schedule gods had a sense of humour, making Manchester City’s return to the Champions League after a devastating verdict of financial rule-breaking a game against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Man City host title holders PSG on Wednesday in a standout meeting of Middle East state-backed clubs who were on parallel narratives for much of the past 15 years that have now wildly diverged.

Barcelona are still Europe’s best team this season, five weeks after the opening round of Champions League games, and take a run of nine straight wins to Galatasaray on Tuesday.

Arsenal host Lille on Tuesday, looking for a 14th straight win in the league phase across all three seasons of the current format.

Bayern Munich also play on Tuesday, at Norwegian champions Viking, and Real Madrid have a Wednesday visit to one of coach José Mourinho’s former clubs, Roma.

Tale of two cities

Manchester City and PSG had much in common before combining to win three of the past four Champions League titles. They had won none in the previous 67 seasons of the marquee competition.

They were underachieving big city clubs transformed by soccer’s new wave of petrostate wealth: Man City in 2008 backed by Abu Dhabi’s royal family and a Qatari takeover of PSG in 2011.

Ambitious investment with sponsors from home created issues complying with UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rules, and both were fined 20 million euros ($22.4 million) in 2014.

Each lost their first Champions League final — PSG to Bayern in 2020 and Man City the next year to Chelsea — then broke through in title games against Inter Milan led by coaches who previously won it with Barcelona. Man City won in 2023 and PSG in 2025.

Under Luis Enrique, PSG are playing widely admired soccer, chasing a hat-trick of European titles.

Just months after Pep Guardiola left, Man City risk becoming a pariah after long-held suspicion about the club’s financial success was proven last month by an English Premier League tribunal. The pending sanctions could force years of Champions League exile for the club, which is appealing.

Galatasaray vs Barca

Rodri and Ilkay Gündogan were the heart of Man City’s midfield in the 2023 final, and the Spanish star scored the only goal in Istanbul to defeat Inter.

On Tuesday, they will be back in Istanbul but on opposite sides when Gündogan and Turkish champions Galatasaray welcome Barcelona, having added Rodri in the offseason to an already powerful line-up.

Barcelona are averaging more than four goals per game this season, and started the Champions League beating Feyenoord 5-1.

Norway vs Germany double-header, again

Viking and Bodø/Glimt are locked in a fascinating fight for the Norwegian league title that has eight more rounds to run until December.

They get a break in the Champions League from identical records in their domestic title race: Same numbers of points, wins, draws, losses, goals scored, and conceded.

Germany send their two powers due north this week for testing games on artificial turf: Viking host Bayern Munich in Stavanger on Tuesday and Bodø /Glimt welcome Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

It’s back-to-back Norway-Germany duels after Bayern opened last month by beating Bodø /Glimt 5-0 and Viking lost 3-1 at Stuttgart.