A look at what’s happening around European soccer on Wednesday:
GERMANY
The first Klassiker of the season arrives as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund play for the rescheduled German Super Cup. Bayern is struggling with fixture congestion after shrinking its squad following the Champions League triumph and leaving coach Hansi Flick with few options to rotate the lineup. Playing 120 minutes against Sevilla in last week’s UEFA Super Cup didn’t help as Bayern lost 4-1 to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Sunday. Flick has been urging the club to make new signings before the window closes Oct. 5. Dortmund surprisingly lost 2-0 to Augsburg on Saturday despite having 71% of possession. No fans will be allowed at the Super Cup game in Munich owing to the comparatively high local infection rate for coronavirus.
ENGLAND
Manchester United returns to Brighton for a League Cup fourth-round match after winning at the south-coast stadium in the Premier League on Saturday thanks to a penalty in the 10th minute of stoppage time. But both teams will look very different. Brighton manager Graham Potter changed his entire starting lineup for victories over Portsmouth and Preston in the two previous rounds. Manchester City's League Cup defense continues at Burnley. Pep Guardiola looks set to turn to his youngsters again in the cup. Liam Delap, who scored against Bournemouth in the previous round last week, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tommy Doyle, Cole Palmer and Felix Nmecha could get chances. American Zack Steffen is again set to play in goal, while Aymeric Laporte and Oleksandr Zinchenko could get some game time to help build up fitness. Everton hosts West Ham in another all-Premier League meeting. Newcastle is at fourth-tier side Newport.
SPAIN
Real Madrid goes for its second victory in a row when it hosts winless Valladolid, with Eden Hazard possibly making his season debut after regaining his fitness following an injury. Coach Zinedine Zidane will not be able to count on Toni Kroos because of a muscle injury. Luis Suárez could make his first start for Atlético Madrid after impressing off the bench in the 6-1 win against Granada on Sunday, four days after he joined from Barcelona. Atlético will visit promoted Huesca, which is winless in its return to the first division.
ITALY
Three Serie A matches that were postponed from the opening round -- because they involved teams which played deep into last season -- will be played. Europa League finalist Inter Milan visits Serie B champion Benevento in what amounts to a derby for Benevento coach Filippo Inzaghi, who won two Champions League titles as a player with AC Milan. Also, Lazio hosts Atalanta in a matchup of two of last season’s surprises, with both sides having qualified for the Champions League. Spezia, which won the Serie B playoff to reach the top division, visits Udinese.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The final three places in the 32-team Champions League lineup will be decided with the completion of the qualifying playoff round. Salzburg and its American coach Jesse Marsch can make the group stage for the second season in a row if they complete a win at home against Israel's Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Salzburg leads 2-1 from the first leg when Maccabi was missing several players who tested positive for COVID-19. Russian club Krasnodar was eliminated at this stage last year by a Greek club, Olympiakos, but this year holds a 2-1 lead from the first leg against another Greek opponent, PAOK Thessaloniki. Danish club Midtjylland and Czech club Slavia Prague are poised at 0-0 ahead of their second leg in Denmark.
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