Paris: The Premier League is on the verge of having five teams in the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time. It has been four years since four English teams made it that far, but the additional qualification spot earned by Manchester United’s Europa League triumph last season created the possibility of an English record.
United have four wins from four games in Group A and a draw at Basel on Wednesday will be enough to secure qualification and top spot.
Also boasting a perfect record, and already through, are Manchester City. A win at home to Feyenoord on Tuesday will secure Pep Guardiola’s team top spot in Group F if Shakhtar fail to defeat Napoli.
Chelsea have rallied from a humbling 3-0 loss in Rome with two impressive league wins and can now get their European campaign back on track at Qarabag on Wednesday in Group C. A win in Azerbaijan will guarantee the Blues a place in the Round of 16.
Liverpool scored 10 goals in their two games against Maribor to go top of Group E and a win at Sevilla on Tuesday would guarantee Juergen Klopp’s side advances.
Tottenham are already through and a win at troubled Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday will see Spurs finish above Real Madrid at the top of Group H.
How do you stop a team that has scored 60 goals in 17 games?
That’s the dilemma facing Scottish champions Celtic as they prepare for a daunting trip to play Paris St-Germain on Wednesday.
PSG are unbeaten this season and comfortably lead the French league. In the Champions League, PSG have won their four Group B games while scoring 17 goals and conceding none.
Having lost the corresponding fixture 5-0 at home, Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side have every reason to fear an even worse humiliation, particularly since top scorer Edinson Cavani has scored 19 goals in 17 games.
Worse still for Celtic: PSG rested 18-year-old Kylian Mbappe against Nantes on Saturday, meaning the pacey forward will be fresh to attack the Celtic defence as he did in Glasgow.
How Monaco must wish they had kept Mbappe, rather than selling him to PSG.
He combined with striker Radamel Falcao as they helped Monaco win the league and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.
Having thrilled Europe with an attacking style of football, Monaco are last in Group G and on the verge of going out. To prevent this huge embarrassment, Monaco must win their last two matches while hoping for favourable results elsewhere. First up for Monaco is a home game against Leipzig on Tuesday.
Already through to the last 16 of Europe’s top club competition, Bayern travels to Anderlecht for Wednesday’s game knowing they will most likely finish behind PSG in Group B.
Bayern are on a roll since Jupp Heynckes returned as coach, with eight wins in eight games across all competitions. In just five Bundesliga games, the 72-year-old Heynckes has overseen a five-point deficit turn into a six-point lead.
Bayern were able to conserve energy in their 3-0 win over Augsburg on Saturday and Heynckes is taking a holistic approach as he primes the side for more decisive battles after the winter break.
Heynckes has been here before. Bayern won the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble in his last stint in charge in 2013.
It’s a decisive week for crisis-hit Borussia Dortmund. Yet to win in the Champions League this season, the team needs to beat Group H leader Tottenham at home to maintain any slim hope of progressing to the last 16.
Dortmund is also looking to Saturday’s Ruhr derby against Schalke in the Bundesliga, where another defeat might be the beginning of the end for Peter Bosz as coach.
Even Europa League qualification is far from certain for Dortmund, which has slumped in the Bundesliga to fifth, having previously led the league. Five points clear of Bayern Munich last month, Dortmund is now nine behind the leader.
“At some point we’ll manage to turn things around and pick up victories again,” Dortmund midfielder Andre Schuerrle said. “Then lots of things will get easier for us.”
Spanish sides Barcelona, Real Madrid and Sevilla will be aiming to seal their spots in the knockout stage with a game to spare.
Barcelona take a run of 17 games without a loss to Juventus on Wednesday and need just a point to win Group D.
Even if Lionel Messi’s team lose, they will still advance if Sporting Lisbon fail to beat Olympiakos.
Real will book their spot if they win at Cypriot team APOEL on Tuesday.
Sevilla host Liverpool on Tuesday and trails the visitors by just one point at the top of Group E. Sevilla can advance with a win.
Atletico Madrid are the only one of the Spanish quartet staring at an early exit. With three draws and a loss, Diego Simeone’s squad have to beat Roma on Wednesday to have hope of catching the Italian team or Chelsea for the two qualifying spots in Group C.
After a difficult week for club and country, Giorgio Chiellini is looking to the Champions League to boost morale and is confident Juventus will return to their best against Barca.
Chiellini played in both legs of the play-off loss to Sweden which resulted in Italy failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years.
While teammates Andrea Barzagli and Gianluigi Buffon were rested after that disappointment, Chiellini also played in Juventus’s surprise 3-2 loss at Sampdoria on Sunday.
“This match has to make us reflect. If we want to win, technical skills are not enough, we need something more and everyone has to give that,” Chiellini said. “We have been missing something so far this season.”
