FACTMAN: The best head-to-head facts for Matchday Four of the Champions League.
Napoli v Ajax
● Napoli have won two of their three meetings with Ajax in all competitions (L1), beating them 1-0 in their only previous home match against them in December 1969 (Fairs Cup).
● Ajax’s 6-1 defeat in the reverse fixture against Napoli last week was their biggest ever defeat in any European competition.
● Victory for Napoli will see them through the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League – it will be the fourth time in seven appearances they’ve reached the latter stages, and the first time they’ve done so in consecutive appearances (also 2019-20).
Spurs v Frankfurt
● Spurs are winless in their last five matches against German sides in the UEFA Champions League (D1 L4), after winning four in a row prior to this run – all four wins were against Borussia Dortmund between 2017 and 2019.
● Eintracht Frankfurt have won on their last two trips to face English sides in European competition, with both of those victories coming in London – 2-1 v Arsenal in November 2019 and 2-1 v West Ham in April 2022, both in the UEFA Europa League.
● Spurs have lost four of their previous six home games when hosting German opposition (W2), including each of the last two. Their four defeats in this run have all come against different teams, losing to Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Europa League in 2016, and Bayer Leverkusen (2016), Borussia Dortmund (2019) and Bayern Munich (2020) in the UEFA Champions League.
Spurs v Eintracht Frankfurt markets
Barcelona v Inter
● Barcelona’s defeat against Internazionale on MD3 was only the second time they’ve lost against them in the UEFA Champions League (P11 W6 D3 L2). They’ve never previously lost consecutive meetings with Inter in the competition, while no Italian side has ever beaten Barcelona twice in a single UEFA Champions League campaign.
● Internazionale have lost every away match they’ve played against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions
League, suffering five defeats and failing to score in four of those matches (only one goal in total). The
Italian side have lost more games at the Spotify Camp Nou than at any other away venue in the competition (5).
● Barcelona have only suffered one defeat from the last 17 times they’ve hosted an Italian side in the UEFA Champions League (W13 D3), although that did come in the most recent instance – 0-3 versus Juventus in December 2020.
Rangers v Liverpool
● Rangers are winless (D1 L4) and have failed to score in their last five European meetings with English sides, losing 2-0 in their first ever meeting with Liverpool last week.
● Liverpool have won three of their seven away games against Scottish sides in all competitions (D2 L2). However, they’ve never won consecutive such games, beating Hearts 1-0 in their last visit in August 2012.
● Rangers have scored just seven goals in their last 16 UEFA Champions League games, and never more than once in a game in that run. They’ve failed to score in each of their three games this season, but have never gone four without a goal in the competition.
