Today and tomorrow we enter into Match day five in this seasons Champions League competition with only Manchester City qualified from England. Chelsea, Arsenal and even Celtic could all take another step toward qualification today, United fans will have that chance tomorrow.
So who will join City, Bayern, Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona and Atletico and progress to the next round, who will drop into the Europa League and who will go home to concentrate on their domestic competitions?
GROUP E (All kick off times 19:45 BST/2:45 ET)
FC Basel v Chelsea:
Back on match day one FC Basel stunned Chelsea with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge. A similar result is the only one which will stop Chelsea progressing to the knockout stage after today’s game. A tie will secure the progression but a win will secure the top spot.
For FC Basel the game comes with more pressure with the host’s Champions League future in the balance. They are odds on to drop into the Europa but they have two more games to try to change that.
Prediction: 1-2
Steaua Bucurest v Schalke 04:
‘It’s Now Or Never!’ should be the music of choice from all the speakers in the home dressing room today. Two points from four games see the Romanian side in danger of not participating in any European football in the New Year. Even two wins from the last two may not make anything certain but anything other than a win here will make no Champions League a absolute.
After back to back defeats to Chelsea, Schalke will be looking to get back on track with a win today. If they can get that with a Chelsea win then they too will progress to the knock out stage. Anything doubt at all will most likely set up a great match day six with the current second and third position sides facing off against each other.
Prediction: 0-3
GROUP F
Arsenal v Marseille:
Arsenal were cruising to qualification in what was a difficult Group until the defeat at home to Dortmund in Match day three. Match day four they redeemed themselves and now are in good shape at home to bottom side Marseille, who are already out of the Champions League.
That doesn’t mean that Marseille have nothing to fight for though with a victory today could keep their Europa League hopes alive, but barely.
Prediction: 2-1
Dortmund v Napoli:
Both sides in the previous game will be hoping for Napoli to win this fixture. If the Italians do then the English side will qualify just be getting any result and the French side will still have the door open for Europa League.
A win is a must for Dortmund who could face Champions League elimination with a defeat and a tie would not be much better with Napoli winning the opening game 2-1. I fully expect the Germans to rally and get the win today to set up a good final match day. Imagine a scenario where Dortmund win and Arsenal lose today and we enter a scenario with three teams on nine points. That would be fun, but I think maybe not a reality.
Prediction: 2-0
GROUP G
Zenit v Atletico: (5pm BST/12pm ET)
Atletico Madrid have already confirmed their qualification from this Group, and as Group winners too. So the question is, how much are they willing to give in these last two matches? A defeat for Zenit will not be the end of their hopes but could certainly make the last game very nervous.
Prediction: 2-2
Porto v Austria Vienna:
A win for Porto today, which is expected, will see the Portuguese side keep their qualification hopes alive and also end Austria Vienna’s European participation after match day 6. Porto beat Vienna on their own ground and I expect it to be a similar result today with an easy 3pts in the end for Porto.
Prediction: 3-0
GROUP H
Ajax v Barcelona:
The visitors have already qualified but will be looking to wrap up the top spot. Ajax need the win but will have to do it with a bunch of absentees. DeJong, Sigthorsson, Duarte, Ligeon and Krkic are all out for today’s game. A defeat to Ajax combined with a win for AC Milan in Scotland is the only result which will sort out the final team moving on, any other result will make the final match day very interesting.
Prediction:1-1
Celtic v Juventus:
Celtic were very unlucky not to get anything in Milan on Match day one holding Milan until the last part of the game before conceding two goals. If they can get a win or even a point then they will still be alive going into the final game, something I never thought would be a possibility when the groups were selected.
Prediction: 1-1
