UEFA Champions League Predictions – Matchday 9/17

Juventus, Aston Villa, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Liverpool are all in action on the first day of the new Champions League campaign.

Real Madrid's star trio in training ahead of its first Champions League match of the season / IMAGO/Federico Titone

The 2024–25 UEFA Champions League campaign kicks off Sept. 17 with European giants like Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Juventus in action. SI Soccer's editorial team gives our predictions across every fixture.

Champions League Predictions – Matchday 9/17

1. Juventus vs. PSV Eindhoven
2. Young Boys vs. Aston Villa
3. Real Madrid vs. VfB Stuttgart
4. Bayern Munich vs. Dinamo Zagreb
5. Sporting CP vs. LOSC Lille
6. AC Milan vs. Liverpool

Juventus vs. PSV Eindhoven

Prediction: Juventus 2–1 PSV (Braden Chalker)

Juventus's first Champions League game under Thiago Motta sees The Old Lady host the Eredivisie champion. Juventus is unbeaten in Serie A through four games and has yet to concede a goal. PSV comes in with a perfect league form winning its first five Eredivisie games scoring 20 goals.

Multiple USMNT players could feature in the match with Weston McKennie available for Juventus and PSV's duo of Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi available for the fixture. Motta's side gets the job done at home.

Young Boys vs. Aston Villa

Prediction: Young Boys 1–2 Aston Villa (Braden Chalker)

Unai Emery brought Aston Villa back to the Champions League for the first time since the 1982–83 season. Young Boys failed to qualify for the knockout stage last season, but the Swiss Super League side had a difficult group with Manchester City and RB Leipzig finishing first and second respectively.

Fresh off a resounding 3–2 come-from-behind victory on the weekend against Everton, Ollie Watkins will be the difference maker at the Wankdorf Stadium.

Real Madrid vs. VfB Stuttgart

Prediction: Real Madrid 2–0 VfB Stuttgart (Amanda Langell)

With Jude Bellingham and Aurélien Tchouaméni back from injury, Real Madrid should comfortably defeat Stuttgart, who is winless in its last six European fixtures.

Bayern Munich vs. Dinamo Zagreb

Prediction: Bayern Munich 3–0 Dinamo Zagreb (Max Mallow)

Vincent Kompany takes charge of his first Champions League game against Dinamo Zagreb at home missing both Sacha Boey and Josip Stanisic in defense. Kompany should opt to start Joshua Kimmich at right-back bringing Aleksandr Pavlovic into the midfield.

Harry Kane will do what Harry Kane does best: score goals. The Bundesliga side picks up a big win to kick off its UCL campaign.

Sporting CP vs. LOSC Lille

Prediction: Sporting CP 1–1 LOSC Lille (Braden Chalker)

Sporting and Lille's fixture will end with points shared to open their Champions League campaigns.

AC Milan vs. Liverpool

Prediction: AC Milan 1–1 Liverpool (Dan Willis)

The best fixture of the day sees Paulo Fonseca host Arne Slot at the San Siro.

Slot might be off to a better start at his club compared to Fonseca, but this past weekend's results might be more indicative of what to expect in the fixture. Liverpool was blanked at home by Nottingham Forest in what was Forest's first win at Anfield in 55 years.

The Rossoneri picked up its first win of the Serie A season crushing promoted Venezia 4-0 thanks to a strong performance from USMNT captain Christian Pulisic. It'll be a nervy game with both teams hesitant to concede first, but there's more than enough star power on both sides for both teams to get on the scoresheet.