The stakes are higher as we hit the halfway stage with some giants in trouble, as PSG head to Bayern, Liverpool host Real

Madrid has lost two of four games in the eight-round opening phase — and against teams that are far from challenging for domestic league titles: Lille and AC Milan.

Real Madrid playing Liverpool in the Champions League has twice in recent years been a final between arguably the two best teams in the competition. Their next meeting, however, finds two storied powers in starkly different positions at the midway point of the 36-team single league standings format.