UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 schedule, live stream, storylines: How to watch UCL on Paramount+

The UEFA Champions League returns this week with a high-profile set of games that could make Matchday 4 the most entertaining round of the league phase yet. Tuesday's action in particular is jam-packed with reigning champions Real Madrid hosting Christian Pulisic's AC Milan and Liverpool facing Bayer Leverkusen. Most notably, though, Ruben Amorim will lead Sporting Lisbon in one of his final games before joining Manchester United, and will face a future foe in doing so – Manchester City. Wednesday's action, meanwhile, is headlined by Arsenal's trip to Inter as two teams with identical records face off.

Ahead of Matchday 4's slate, here's what you need to know.

How to watch

Paramount+ will have every minute of action on Matchday 4, with supplemental coverage on CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network. Each day kicks off with Champions League Matchday on CBS Sports Golazo Network before the UEFA Champions League Today pre-game show begins, which will air on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network. Select matches will air on CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network while Paramount+ will carry the whole slate, as well as The Golazo Show. Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network will have the UEFA Champions League Today post-game show, while CBS Sports Golazo Network closes out the day's action with new editions of Scoreline and The Champions Club.

Matchday 4 TV schedule

All times Eastern

Storylines for Matchday 4

1. Ruben Amorim's soft launch

A few weeks ago, Sporting Lisbon's clash with Manchester City was fascinating in its own right. Both teams have seven out of nine points in Champions League action so far, but City's vulnerabilities would face quite the test from an impressive Sporting side that boast one of Europe's most in-form forwards in Viktor Gyokeres.

When the two sides finally meet on Tuesday, though, it will be the most notable game in Amorim's farewell tour in his final week at Sporting. The incoming Manchester United manager is already off to a strong start in his final matches with the Portuguese champions, beating Estrela Amadora 5-1 on Friday. This week's game against City will be considered by some to be a preview of what's to come for United, though Amorim's Sporting team are naturally much more of a finished product than the Red Devils currently are. Amorim played a big role in not just crafting a tactical identity for a resurgent Sporting, who expertly use defensive stability in a 3-4-3 as a foundation for their fluid attack, but also in selecting the team's current personnel. A wave of players who graduated to some of Europe's top clubs worked with Amorim on the way, and others are likely to follow. Though the pressure to perform will be on him as Amorim nears his United arrival, he will also play without the baggage of the Red Devils' squad imperfections.

To make matters more intriguing, Sporting come up against a City team that is particularly vulnerable. They land in Lisbon after a 2-1 loss to Bournemouth over the weekend, one in which they out-possessed and outshot the opponent but failed to create enough quality chances. City generated 1.56 expected goals from 18 shots, while Bournemouth had 2.04 expected goals from 12 shots. It was not exactly the first time City had this problem, either, and so Saturday's performance fails to eliminate concerns that Pep Guardiola's team has finally run out of steam after nearly a decade of dominance. As much as the pressure is on Amorim to impress, there's perhaps an equal amount of emphasis on Guardiola to correct course.

2. Real Madrid, AC Milan focus on form

AC Milan may be coming off of a 1-0 win over Monza on Saturday and finally collected their first Champions League win on Matchday 3 against Club Brugge, but their up-and-down season has yet to quit. They have three wins and three losses in their last six games across all competitions, demonstrating that manager Paulo Fonseca is still figuring out the balance at Milan, which is not exactly encouraging news ahead of a trip to Real Madrid on Tuesday.

While U.S. men's national team star Christian Pulisic remains Milan's most consistent performer with seven goals and three assists in 13 games, Fonseca has made the big call to limit Rafael Leao's starting role after a poor start to the season that coincides with the new manager's tactical shifts. Even as Fonseca works through Milan's issues, their inconsistencies will still be considered vulnerabilities by the time the game kicks off at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

This will also be Madrid's first game since the crushing 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in El Clasico, with their match at Valencia postponed after flooding in southeastern Spain. The reigning European champions are in the midst of their own season of inconsistency, but tend to win more often than not and will no doubt eye a big response when they return to the pitch. With extra rest, manager Carlo Ancelotti will have a full roster of stars to choose from, including Ballon d'Or runner-up Vinicius Junior, so a statement-making performance could be in the cards for the hosts.

3. All eyes on top spot

Only two teams enter Matchday 4 with a perfect nine out of nine points – Aston Villa and Liverpool. The former have a strong chance of keeping that winning streak alive with a clash at Club Brugge on Wednesday, but Liverpool face a major test on Tuesday if they are to keep their perfect run active – German champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Leverkusen have seven points out of nine, coming out with a surprise draw at Brest on Matchday 3. The signs of last season's impressive title-winning run are still very present for Xabi Alonso's side, who are sixth in the Champions League table and have conceded just one goal in three European games. Things are not trending quite the same way in the Bundesliga, though – they are seven points behind leaders Bayern Munich after nine games and have won only four games. Their particular vulnerability has been their defense, conceding 15 goals in league play – the joint-worst for anyone in Germany's top seven.

Liverpool, meanwhile, enter Tuesday's game with few complications. New manager Arne Slot has won all but one match so far this season, his team boasting a defensive stability that serves as the foundation for an effective attack. The Reds have conceded just one goal in three Champions League games and still boast the Premier League's best defensive record with just six goals conceded in 10 games. This game will serve as another test of Slot's approach of restraint, in which Liverpool are more methodical with their shot-taking, but it's also worth keeping an eye on Alonso. This match is a battle between rising managerial stars, though Leverkusen's first Champions League campaign post-title win will be a measuring stick for the squad – and the manager's – ability to keep pace with Europe's elite.