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The Kosovo striker Vedat Muriqi has scored seven goals despite starting only five league games, but he is yet to break his duck in this competition.

In the first three matchdays this term, the only player with a higher xG than Muriqi (1.44) who failed to score was Jude Bellingham (1.61).

Muriqi signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahce in the summer after scoring 23 La Liga goals for Mallorca last season, the best return of his club career.

He starts on the bench tonight, though, with Romelu Lukaku and Mason Greenwood preferred up top.

Aadam Patel
Football Reporter in Istanbul

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For Archie Brown, playing for Fenerbahce against Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday will mark another step in the justification of his own "unorthodox" journey that began as a young boy in the Midlands.

Brown, 24, was born in Birmingham and started his youth career at West Brom before joining Derby, where he helped them to their only youth top-flight title.

He scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over an Arsenal U18s side that included Bukayo Saka in the final between the North and South division winners.

Yet come 2021, the Englishman was frustrated by a lack of first-team opportunities and left to join Lausanne Sport in Switzerland at the age of 19.

"I've had quite an unorthodox journey to get here. I won't say that was always the plan," Brown tells BBC Sport.

"It was a mixture of two things. I'd seen so many talented players stay on the fringes of the first-team, playing with the U21s and then by 22, 23, they have no real first-team experience.

"And they have to go down into the lower leagues or non-league to try and build their career up from there. I didn't want to fall victim to that.

"Secondly, I felt it was important to get out of my environment, to learn a new language, experience a new culture, to help me grow up and mature as a person," Brown adds.

The left-back - who also plays in central defence and midfield - joined Belgian side Gent in 2023, before moving to Fenerbahce in a £7m deal in 2025.

The Turkish Super Lig side may be struggling for form - they are sixth and nine points adrift of leaders Galatasaray after 10 games - but Brown is adamant that Andoni Iraola's Liverpool will face an almighty challenge at the 48,000-capacity Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.

AEK Athens make three changes as Aboubakary Koita, Mijat Gacinovic and Kaan Kairinen come in.

AEK Athens XI: Brignoli, Rota, Moukoudi, Relvas, Pilios, Majer, Arriaga, Kairinen, Koita, Gacinovic, Jovic.

Subs: Strakosha, Balamotis, Zubkov, Marin, Varga, Mantalos, Vida, Lykogiannis, Vitalis, Zini.

There four changes for Real Madrid from their previous Champions League outing as Denzel Dumfries, Eder Militao, Marc Cucurella and Yan Diomande all come back in.

Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Dumfries, Eder Militao, Rudiger, Cucurella, Silva, Camavinga, Diomande, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Mbappe.

Subs: Lunin, Mestre, Huijsen, Valverde, Endrick, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Carreras, Espi, Diaz, Pitarch, Martinez.

It is looking pretty damp at Chobani Stadyumu Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Spor Kompleksi this evening.

On which note, you'll have to forgive me if I don't refer to the stadium by its full name too often during tonight's game.

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Liverpool have the chance to join Paris St-Germain on 12 points from four games with victory in Istanbul, although it would take something quite remarkable to go top given the defending champions' goal difference...

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Meanwhile, Fenerbahce are down in 31st after taking only two points from their first three games. They need to start turning things around quickly if they're to stay in the mix for a play-off place...

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It'll be interesting to see how that Liverpool team lines up. Will it be Bradley Barcola through the middle?

We shall see. Either way, with Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo on the bench, the visitors aren't short of attacking quality to bring on should they need a goal late in the game.

Aadam Patel
Football Reporter in Istanbul

It's an interesting team selection from Andoni Iraola. There's no recognised centre-forward but still plenty of quality going up, with the likes of Bradley Barcola, Rio Ngumoha and Victor Munoz.

In total, there are five changes from Sunday's defeat to Arsenal.

Liverpool: Alisson; Gomez, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Nyoni, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Munoz, Ngumoha, Barcola.

Subs: Mamardashvili, Woodman, Kerkez, Wirtz, Isak, Gakpo, Araujo, Chambers, McConnell, Koumas, Danns.

There's plenty of ex-Premier League names in Dirk Kuyt's Fenerbahce side. Ederson, Nelson Semedo, Ngolo Kante, Mason Greenwood and Romelu Lukaku all start.

Fenerbahce: Ederson, Semedo, Oppong, Skriniar, Brown, Ismail, Guendouzi, Kante, Can, Greenwood, Lukaku.

Subs: Gunok, Tarik, Efe, Levent, Muldur, Mimovic, Bartug, Nene, Oguz, Kerem, Vedat.

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Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has rotated fairly heavily in the club's past two Champions League fixtures - and the approach has worked as the Reds have beaten both LASK and Villarreal.

After an intense game against Arsenal on Sunday and a trip to face Crystal Palace this weekend, will the Basque take the same approach tonight?

Given Ryan Gravenberch has joined on injury list that already includes Jeremie Frimping as well as long-term absentees Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Hugo Ekitike, keeping those that are fit as fresh as possible is increasingly important for Liverpool so expect at least a couple of tweaks to the XI.

How many? Well, the team news has just dropped so let's find out...

Those of you paying attention will have spotted that there are three English teams in action this evening and all three on on the road.

Liverpool are in Turkey to face Fenerbahce at 17:45 GMT with Arsenal at Slavia Prague and Manchester City away to RB Leipzig, those two games start at 20:00 GMT.

It's just over an hour until the first of games, so let's get stuck into that one now...

Champions League

Yes, we have nine games in total so let's have a look at what we have to enjoy across the course of the evening...

• AEK Athens v Real Madrid (17:45)
• Fenerbahce v Liverpool (17:45)
• Borussia Dortmund v Real Betis
• Lens v Como
• PSV Eindhoven v Club Brugge
• Porto v Napoli
• RB Leipzig v Manchester City
• Slavia Prague v Arsenal
• Viking v Sabah FK

All times GMT, all kick-offs 20:00 unless stated

Another action-packed night of Champions League football awaits...

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