Man City try to salvage their Champions League hopes, Roberto Di Matteo renews acquaintances with Chelsea and the battle for first place in Group F continues…
Manchester City v Bayern Munich
Manchester City and the Champions League go together like Fox News and subtlety; they just don’t suit. The Citizens have struggled to reach any sort of stride in the tournament in recent years.
This season has been no different, with a single-point return from two encounters against CSKA, a defeat against Bayern and a home draw against Roma.
The final nail isn’t in their Champions League coffin just yet as they can still go through with a series of wins and a great deal of luck. However, if they fail to beat Bayern and there is a winner in the CSKA Moscow v Roma match, they will be facing another early exit.
There is hope as Bayern are already through to the next stage, so may take their foot off the pedal. Of course, City depending on whether arguably the best team in tournament are motivated or not isn’t ideal. We fancy the draw and another season of European ignominy for the Premier League Champions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vg42_TwwY8
Video via: 1900FCBFreak
Schalke v Chelsea
If Schalke win they will be joint top of Group G with Chelsea. But that’s probably not as interesting as Roberto Di Matteo facing the side he managed to Champions League success and played for 175 times. He also did this for them…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FedS8T9hBS8
Video via: Gianfranco Zola (it’s probably not that one.)
Many Chelsea fans felt the way Di Matteo was treated at Stamford Bridge wasn’t very fair; the Italian was sacked six months after delivering a Champions League to the club.
Since taking over Schalke last month, his side has kept a 100% home record. If Chelsea can crack that record and win in Germany, they will qualify for the next round.
We reckon a draw is a likely result here, with Chelsea then only needing a point from their final group game to be guaranteed qualification.
Group F games
PSG and Barcelona continue their battle for top spot in this group with games against Ajax and APOEL respectively. PSG host Ajax knowing they are already through, but a slip up will give Barcelona the upper hand when they face each other on December 10.
Barcelona, who are also through, will be confident they can claim three points against an APOEL side that will have one eye on their Europa League shoot-out with Ajax. We fancy tonight to go to plan and expect two massive final day clashes, albeit for very different reasons.
