Crunch time in the Champions League

Champions League | Preview

01/11/16

It’s match day four of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage and this is where things begin to get interesting.

Starting on Tuesday night, Groups C and D are of particular interest. In Group C, three teams remain in contention for the two qualifying places and they are Napoli, Besiktas and Benfica.

Match day four sees Napoli travel to Istanbul to take on Besiktas, in a game which could really set-up either team for a place in the knockout stages of the competition. Having defeated the Italian’s away from home, Besiktas will be confident of claiming the win in-front of their own fans and with another home match against Benfica to follow, a victory would put them in the driving seat.

Benfica will be expecting maximum points against Dynamo Kiev and it could all go down to the final round of matches, to decide who is going to progress. Napoli were favourites before a ball was kicked but it could easily be Benfica and Besiktas who qualify.

All eyes will be on the Etihad Stadium, as Manchester City host Barcelona in Group D. This group looked like being a two-horse race, with Manchester City and Barcelona competing to see who would finish first and second. However, Borussia Monchengladbach’s win at Celtic last time out, has made things a little more interesting. If Barcelona were to defeat Manchester City for the second time, which is very plausible given their 100% record against the Premier League club, Monchengladbach could find themselves 2 points clear of City, with two games remaining, if the German’s beat Celtic at home.

With City facing a trip to Monchengladbach on match day five, Pep Guardiola’s team would need to win that match, to remain in the hunt for the knockout stages. Should they lose that game, they would be out. So, it’s a big night for City, not only in terms of trying to get their first win over Barcelona but also to remain in control of second place in the group.

Elsewhere and in Group D, it looks good for both Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, who could seal their place in the next round of the Champions League with a win. Atletico will be expecting a comfortable night at home to Rostov, but Bayern have a tougher looking fixture at PSV Eindhoven.

The Dutch champions general form has not been great this season but they have lost only one of their last seven home Champions League games, including wins over Manchester United and Wolfsburg. This could be a tough game for Bayern and a PSV win would keep things interesting, going into match day five.

Finally, in Group A, there is little to play for, other than top spot for Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. With 7 points each, all they must do is draw their matches in Ludogorets and Basel respectively, to guarantee their places in the knockout stages. The only thing left to play for is top spot and having fallen foul of finishing second in the past, Arsene Wenger will want his team to do everything to win the group and possibly receive an easier draw in the next round.