Before the international break we first have 2 evening of Champions League Football, followed by a day of Europa League games.
After 3 games played, some groups can already be decided today! So let's see what is at stake this evening!
Group A
We knew for the start that Dortmund and Atl Madrid were the favorites to go through to the next round and that Monaco and Club Brugge had to fight for the third place.
And after 3 rounds played that is exactly the situation in group A.
Dortmund will have the away game in Madrid and Monaco will host the game against Club Brugge.
If Dortmund wins this evening it will be assured of playing in the Champions league after the winter, which still could place Atl Madrid is a nasty situation. If Monaco or Brugge wins their game, there will only be a 2 point gap.
Club Brugge know what it has to do and that is to score. In case the teams are tied within a group the ranking is based on the results between the 2 teams. Club Brugge - Monaco was 1-1, which gives Monaco a little head start for this evening game. But Club Brugge is playing better and their home game against Monaco was the lesser of their 3 CL games. So, I do predict a victory for Club Brugge here.
Dortmund won easily at home against Atl Madrid, so the scenario described above is not unthinkable. I do Dortmund taking the 3 points again. This will implicate that they will rest players against Club Brugge and Monaco, which could be the start of a surprise scenario in this group!
Group B
In group B Tottenham will have to win their home game against PSV to keep their hopes alive. In the away game in Eindhoven a lack of concentration did cost them 2 points.
But even if they win this game, they still have a though away game in Barcelona and the home game against Inter also will not be an easy win.
But will all the injuries Tottenham is facing even winning against PSV will not be an easy task. I would even go here for PSV +1 if I am going to place a bet. PSV always scores and will do the same on Wembley!
Just like Dortmund, Barcelona can be mathematically assured of the next CL round, if they win against Inter. The home game was won with 2-0 and after a slow season start they have now 5 wins in a row.
Inter on the other side only lost once in their last 10 games! Correct against Barcelona!
I would go for an over 2.5 goals for this game. I do think that Inter will at least draw at home against Barcelona!
Group C
Lots of scenario which are still possible in this group! Red Star will probably be eliminated but all other 3 teams still have a chance!
Imagine that you are a multi billionaire and have a dream to win the Champions League. The first thing you do is you buy a rather famous club. Than you decided to break all transfer records and have the 2 most expensive players in the world, with only one goal in mind and that is to win the Champions League. Last season they did have a great campaign but if they loose in Napels, they could be doomed to the Europa League! How about that!
But this is exactly what can happen after this evening. I do think that we can agree that most of us see Liverpool winning against Red Star.
But if Napoli wins against PSG, that they will have a 4 point lead and with a fixture against Red Star on the agenda, they will probably stay ahead.
Liverpool will have a lead of 5 points then, meaning that PSG will have to win against Liverpool and Red Star and also need to hope that Napoli will beat Liverpool.
Liverpool and Napoli will win this evening. Creating another surprise and nightmare scenario in this group!
Group D
Here we can easily say that Lokomotiv Moscow is eliminated.
Schalke will have the home game against Galatasaray, while Porto will have the home game against Lokomotiv.
Let's asume that Porto will win their home game, which will put them on 10 points. This would mean that for both Schalke and Galatasaray a draw would be a bad scenario.
Both team will probably also win against Lokomotiv, meaning that this game could already be the decider. Schalke will be my favorite! Not that they are playing like a dream but based on the away stats from Galatasaray this season. They only won one of their last 5 away games, loosing the other 4!
I do believe that if Schalke wins, Schalke and Porto will go through to the next round!
Cheers,
Peter
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