Champions League: Complete Guide to Tuesday's Champions League Matches

After two weeks off, the UEFA Champions League is around again, with the second of the group matches set to take place over Tuesday and Wednesday.

The opening round saw thrilling victories at home for Barcelona and Real Madrid, whilst Juventus' draw with Chelsea and Arsenal's 2-1 win over Montpellier on the road were both memorable and potentially huge results away from home.

What can we expect in Week 2 of the UEFA Champions League this year? Read on to find a complete preview and prediction for all of Tuesday's matches.

Spartak Moscow vs. Celtic

12 p.m. ET at Stadion Luzhniki, Moscow

Both Spartak Moscow and Celtic failed to pick up a win in their opening-round matches in the Champions League—losing 3-2 to Barcelona and having a 0-0 draw at home to Benfica, respectively.

The Russian side showed against Barca that they are not going to be an easy beat in this year's competition—pushing the Spanish giants for 85 minutes at Camp Nou and probably unlucky not to pick up a point against the La Liga powerhouse.

Celtic, on the other hand, couldn't quite hit that final pass against Benfica and was disappointed to walk away from a home fixture without a single goal to their name. If they bring that form on their road trip to Russia, then the tournament could nearly be all over for Celtic already.

Russia is a truly imposing place to travel to and given how well Spartak Moscow did on the road in Spain, you'd have to fancy them to pick up all three points at home in this one and put themselves in great position to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.

Spartak Moscow 3, Celtic 0

Benfica vs. Barcelona

2:45 p.m. ET at Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon, Portugal

After picking up a handy point on the road in their first match, Benfica must now translate that result into a solid home performance—the only problem is, they're going to have to do it against Spanish side Barcelona, one of the top teams in world football.

Despite taking the full 90 minutes to dispose of Spartak Moscow in their opening Champions League match, Barca will still enter this match as the strong favorites—particularly if they bring their current league form with them.

Lionel Messi and the Catalan side are yet to drop a single point through their opening six La Liga matches—chalking up an incredible 17 goals in that time—to sit on top of the table and eight points clear of rivals Real Madrid.

They simply cannot be underestimated in any match in world football, regardless of the score and how they've played up until that point. At home, on the road, in rain, hail or shine—this is an incredible football team and one that simply won't be beaten by Benfica in this one.

Benfica 0, Barcelona 2

BATE Borisov vs. Bayern Munich

2:45 p.m. ET at Dinamo Stadion, Minsk, Belarus

The German giants will take on BATE Borisov in the second round of the Champions League, and with a win away from home, they would take a huge step toward qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament in the process.

They picked up what could turn out to be a huge win at home in the opening round against Valencia, but despite the notion that the Spanish side were probably their toughest competition in this group, BATE Borisov are certainly not to be underestimated.

The Belarussian side were very strong in disposing of Lille 3-1 in Week 1 and are not deterred by the quality of their opponents, with manager Iktor Goncharenko stating that his side have all the features necessary to stop the streaking Germans (per UEFA.com).

Having said that, BATE themselves haven't been beaten in their last 16 matches across all competitions and could put up a real fight against Bayern Munich.

A result here would be massive for the Belarussian team and whilst they won't get all three points, they'll certainly make a statement for the rest of their group and league to watch out for.

BATE Borisov 2, Bayern Munich 2

CFR Cluj vs. Manchester United

2:45 p.m. ET at Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Manchester United picked up an unconvincing win over Turkish side Galatasaray in their opening match of the Champions League this season and now face another hard-to-predict match against Romanian side CFR Cluj.

Cluj picked a surprise 2-0 victory away from home against Braga—while looking very solid throughout midfield—and will now have the added advantage of playing at home when they take on the Red Devils.

United have been crippled in defense by the injury bug already this season, with Nemanja Vidic, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones all unavailable for this match due to different injuries. That could mean we see a bit more of a conservative look from Sir Alex Ferguson, who will be desperate not to make the same mistake that they made last year in the Champions League—failing to qualify from the group stage.

Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie could both also be rested—which will reduce the potency of United's attack—as the Red Devils look to sure up their back line with added assistance.

That should be enough to get them the result they desired away from home, but don't expect it to be a high-scoring affair and certainly don't expect it to be a confidence-boosting result once more from Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

CFR Cluj 0, Manchester United 1

Galatasaray vs. Braga

2:45 p.m. ET at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul

Galatasaray were impressive in their opening-round defeat at Old Trafford—showing plenty of promise in attack and control defensively, perhaps even more significantly considering that they were playing one of the top attacks in world football away from home.

They'll take on Braga, who were particularly poor in their 2-0 loss to CFR Cluj, and looking very unlikely to pick up a win away from home in this one.

I'd expect this one to be a typical grinding style of football, with the home side looking to dominate possession and pressure their opponents into making mistakes that will lead to easy goals.

Manager Fatih Terim has already stated (via UEFA.com) that "three points are more important than entertaining football," and that looks certain to be the motto coming out of this one.

Galatasaray 2, Braga 1

FC Nordjaelland vs. Chelsea

2:45 p.m. ET at Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark

The defending champions were held to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge by Italian champions Juventus in the opening round of the tournament and will be keen to get their maiden win of the competition when they take on Danish side Nordjaelland.

It will be the first time that the Wild Tigers have played against an English opponent in the club's short history, and they'll need players like defender Jores Okore to step it up to a whole new level against the likes of Eden Hazard, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata.

The Blues will be riding high after their big win over Arsenal at the Emirates in the Premier League last weekend, and whilst we might not see their best team possible on the pitch, they should do enough to prove why they are one of the teams to beat this season.

Nordjaelland might represent the feel-good story of the tournament, but they aren't a winning team. Not against the might of Chelsea, anyway.

FC Nordjaelland 0, Chelsea 3

Juventus vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

2:45 p.m. ET at Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italty

Of all Tuesday's matchups, this is one that could certainly turn out to be a memorable match, with both teams possessing the attacking ability and sheer class required to win a football match and create goals simply out of nothing.

The defending Italian champions were very solid in their 2-2 draw to Chelsea in the opening Champions League match and will be tough to beat at home. And as far as domestic form goes, they haven't been beaten this season in Serie A and sit on top of the table, with a league-leading goal difference of 12 through their opening six matches.

Their Ukrainian opponents, however, could churn out an upset when required and definitely have the class and talent available to pick up a win against any of the top teams in world football. They have 10 wins from 10 matches so far in their domestic league—scoring an average of 3.4 goals per game and conceding just one every two matches.

So can they perform against a top-class club like Juventus in Italy? I think yes. The Italian giants were sound against Chelsea and played world-class football for 90 minutes, and they have absolutely no reason to suggest why they won't do so at home in this one.

But there's just something going on at Shakhtar Donetsk at the moment—a certain aura of confidence and a plethora of goal-scoring options to go to throughout midfield and attack. They won't play beautiful, skillful football like their opponents might, but they can certainly cause problems on the counter and through the middle of the pitch.

Which might just be enough to get them home. I'm calling upset.

Juventus 1, Shakhtar Donetsk 2

Valencia vs. Lille

2:45 p.m. ET at Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia, Spain

After losing star Eden Hazard to Chelsea over the summer transfer window, Lille simply haven't been the same football team.

They were easily beaten by BATE Borisov in their first Champions League match and currently sit just two points out of the relegation zone in the French domestic competition—with just one win from their opening seven matches.

Valencia, on the other hand, have just come off a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at home to Zaragoza, despite having a man sent off in the second half. Their defense snuffed out anything that the visitors had to offer and you'd have to think that the Spanish giants look primed to do the same thing again in their match against Lille.

Not that Lille will offer that much, anyway. This should be a comfortable win for Valencia at home, who will pick up their maiden win of the Champions League competition.

Valencia 3, Lille 0

Any predictions for the matches in the Champions League this week?

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