Mikel Arteta’s side enters the contest boasting one of the competition’s strongest defensive records, having not conceded in four straight victories during the expanded opening phase. Bayern, meanwhile, has thrived through clinical finishing, with former Tottenham star Harry Kane contributing five of the German club’s 14 goals. His return to North London adds an emotional layer to the encounter after a decade of prolific scoring just a few miles away in Tottenham colors.
Elsewhere, Inter Milan, the only other team sitting on 12 points, seeks to extend its perfect run with a fifth consecutive win as it visits Atletico Madrid. The Italian side has emerged as a quiet powerhouse in the tournament’s new 36-team league structure.
Real Madrid looks to rebound from a narrow defeat at Liverpool when it travels to face Olympiakos, while Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool side hosts PSV Eindhoven in a fixture that could shape momentum heading into the latter half of the campaign.
In Paris, PSG welcomes Tottenham Hotspur for a rematch of their dramatic August Super Cup meeting, which saw the French champions prevail via penalty shootout after a 2–2 draw. Their renewed meeting offers both teams a chance to measure their progress since the summer.
The slate also features clashes between recent Europa League champions, with Eintracht Frankfurt taking on Atalanta, and Sporting Lisbon hosting Club Brugge in Lisbon.
UEFA’s ongoing exclusion of Russian clubs — now in its fourth season — continues amid the war in Ukraine, though one fixture carries indirect Russian ties. Pafos faces Monaco in a matchup involving teams whose ownership includes Russian billionaires: Sergey Lomakin at Pafos and Dmitry Rybolovlev at Monaco, the latter known for once purchasing a Florida property from future U.S. president Donald Trump.
Rounding out Wednesday’s early games, Kairat Almaty travels from Kazakhstan to meet Copenhagen, with each team seeking just its second point of the campaign as they sit near the bottom of the standings.