Man United make the long journey to face Galatasaray in Istanbul
Needing to avoid defeat to stand any chance of a place in the Champions League knockout rounds, Manchester United make the long journey to Rams Park in Istanbul to face Galatasaray in Wednesday’s Group A fixture.
The Red Devils sit at the foot of the section with a paltry three points under their belt, although their hosts are only one point and one place better off heading into the penultimate gameweek.
The visitors will live to fight another day in Group A so long as they draw or win against Galatasaray, but a fourth defeat from five Champions League games will send the Red Devils packing, and they will be condemned to finish bottom if they lose and Copenhagen put Bayern to the sword.
As if Man United did not already have enough incentives to make their long journey to Rams Park worthwhile, the Red Devils are out to avenge their crushing 3-2 loss to Galatasaray at Old Trafford last month, and they have failed to score in three away games versus the Turkish side, their longest such run against a single opponent in Europe.
With an abundance of youthful and experienced attacking talent at their disposal, Galatasaray have already given Man United a taste of their offensive power and ought to ask more questions of Ten Hag’s backline in front of their own supporters.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Arsenal welcome upstarts Lens to the Emirates Stadium
Requiring just one more point to advance to the last 16 of the Champions League, Arsenal welcome Ligue 1 upstarts Lens to the Emirates Stadium for Wednesday’s Group B clash.
The Gunners have accrued nine points from a possible 12 to render themselves uncatchable at this stage of proceedings, although their one slip-up so far came against Lens.
Holding a four-point advantage over Lens and PSV Eindhoven in first place, and with Sevilla out of the top-spot running, Arsenal will be guaranteed to finish in the top two if they avoid defeat on Wednesday, and the Gunners will also win the group if they can defeat Lens this week.
Even if Arsenal fall short against Lens for a second time this season, their knockout ticket will be confirmed if PSV lose to Sevilla, although Mikel Arteta‘s side will be in no mood to ride their luck, as was the case in their most recent Premier League clash with Brentford.
Defensive excellence has been the theme for Lens over the past couple of weeks, but with the greatest respect to their Ligue 1 counterparts, facing Arsenal at the Emirates will be a completely different kettle of fish for Haise’s troops.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Real Madrid host Napoli in top of the table clash
The top two in Group C of the Champions League meet at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, when Real Madrid host Napoli.
Carlo Ancelotti will face his former club already safe in the knowledge that his Real team will be in the knockouts in the new year, with top spot all that is left to play for.
Four wins from four in the group so far mean Real Madrid are huge favourites to progress as winners of the section, and they only need a point here to ensure they will be seeded for the last 16 draw in December.
That is something that is highly likely, considering Los Blancos have not lost at home since early April, and have won eight of their last nine Champions League home games, with a draw against Manchester City in last season’s semi-final the outlier.
Real’s recent record against Italian opposition has been formidable too, as they have won all of their last nine encounters against sides from Serie A.
A clean sheet is all Real need, and their defence on home soil has been fantastic this season, despite serious injuries to the likes of Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao.
It has been an extremely difficult start for Mazzarri at Napoli, and they have Inter Milan and Juventus to come in the next two domestically, but even after coming through a stern test in Bergamo at the weekend, it will be tough to replicate that here.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Benfica and Inter Milan face off at the Estadio da Luz
Benfica and Inter Milan meet for the fourth time in 2023 when they face off at the Estadio da Luz in the Champions League on Wednesday.
In a repeat of last season’s quarter-final, Benfica come into this one already eliminated and Inter have sealed their place in the knockout stage, but group positions could still be very important for both.
While progression is already beyond them, Benfica will look to finish off a rotten group campaign by at least salvaging a Europa League spot, and in doing so, not being the only team to finish on zero points.
Along with Royal Antwerp, Benfica are the only other side still yet to pick up a point in the group stage so far following four defeats from four.
Their European form is in stark contrast to how impressive they have been domestically, where they currently top the tree thanks to a recent win over Sporting Lisbon in their fierce derby.
Despite their fine domestic start, Benfica have looked miles off it on the continent, especially in the reverse where the Nerazzurri were utterly dominant despite the narrow scoreline, and any sort of repeat will yield the same outcome here. Benfica face an Inter side in imperious form.
Regardless of what happens here, the structure of the group means that a win over Real Sociedad on matchday six will see Inter top the section, either by points or on head-to-head.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
