Liverpool vs. Maribor
Liverpool started the group stages in rather unspectacular fashion, with draws against Sevilla and Spartak Moscow, but really turned things around in the first game against Maribor. Away from home, they ran out 7-0 winners, a record away win in the Champions League. Up against a team that they thrashed in their last European game, and with the further boost of playing in front of their own fans, the 5-time European champions will be confident of taking another step towards qualification from the group stage.
Slovenian minnows Maribor were always likely to find it tough going in Europe’s elite club competition. They have looked to be a decent side at times, managing to pick up a point against Spartak Moscow. Their away form, however, has been abysmal. They have lost five of their last six games on the road, including a heavy 6-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea a couple of seasons ago. They will want to put in a better performance than they managed in their last visit to England, but they will do well just to keep the score respectable.
Prediction: Liverpool should win at a canter – it’s just a matter of how many goals they will rack up. Liverpool 5-0 Maribor
Liverpool will hope to welcome Coutinho back from a spell on the sidelines
Sevilla vs. Spartak Moscow
Inconsistent. If one word perfectly sums up Sevilla’s season thus far, this would be it. A good start to the group, with a win against Maribor and a draw at Liverpool, was followed up by a shambolic display in Russia, which saw them lose 5-1 to Spartak. Their overall form is similarly erratic, with three wins and three defeats in their last six games. Their saving grace has been their solid home form – five wins and two draws in seven games, meaning that they will be hopeful of exacting revenge on their Russian opponents.
Spartak are unlikely to be pushovers though. They are proving to be very difficult to beat, having gone 13 games without a loss. However, only six of these games have ended in victory for the Russian side.
Prediction: Sevilla’s excellent home form should see them come out on top, but don’t expect the Russian side to surrender easily. Sevilla 2-0 Spartak Moscow
Napoli vs. Manchester City
Napoli’s domestic form this season has been nothing short of phenomenal. They have won ten and drawn one of their opening eleven games In Serie A, and they sit at the top of the league table. On the European front, however, things have not gone so smoothly. They sit third in the group, with one win and two defeats from their first three games. They need to get a positive result on Wednesday to stay in touch with the teams at the top of the group.
Manchester City seem to have completed their evolution under Pep Guardiola. Last season saw flashes of what his team were capable of, but they were unable to produce these performances on a regular basis. This season has seen them develop into a team which looks capable of blowing away any side they come up against. Aside from a goalless draw against Wolves in the Carabao Cup, City have scored in all of their matches, and they have hit the back of the net 18 times in six games away from home. They will be confident of continuing that run against Napoli.
Prediction: Napoli have a good chance of getting on the scoresheet themselves, but their real task will be finding a way to stop City’s devastating attack. They won’t be able to. Napoli 1-3 Man City
Raheem Sterling has enjoyed a prolific season
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Feyenoord
These two sides were expected to be fighting it out for third spot, given the presence of Man City and Napoli in the group. However, Napoli’s poor European form means that Ukrainian champions Shakhtar are in with a good chance of claiming second spot. A win against out-of-sorts Feyenoord, coupled with a win for Man City in Italy, would give them a six point cushion over third place with only two games remaining. They will be confident of the win, having emerged victorious in 14 of their last 19 games.
Their opponents are a team in disarray. Having won the Eredivise last year, Feyenoord’s form has dropped off alarmingly. They have lost half of their last eight games, and sit in 6th place in the Dutch league.
Prediction: Shakhtar should win. Their home form is strong, and given Feyenoord’s defensive weakness, there could be a few goals. Shakhtar 3-0 Feyenoord
Besiktas vs Monaco
Besiktas, maybe surprisingly, sit atop Group G with a healthy five point lead over second-placed RB Leipzig. Victory on Wednesday would guarantee qualification. They seem to be keeping their best form for European competition, too. While their domestic form has been respectable, their best results have come in this competition, with wins away to Monaco and Porto to add to their home win against Leipzig.
Semi-finalists last year, Monaco have been unable to reach those same heights this time around. A draw against RB Leipzig was followed by defeats to both Porto and Besiktas. Their problems have been compounded by the news that forwards Radamel Falcao and Guido Carillo are both likely to miss the game through injury, with replacement Stevan Jovetic not fully match-fit, having recently returned from injury problems of his own.
Prediction: Besiktas have home advantage on their side. Their raucous fans, coupled with Monaco’s poor form and injury woes, should be enough to see the home side emerge with a victory. Besiktas 2-1 Monaco
Will Monaco miss Falcao's goalscoring prowess?
Porto vs. RB Leipzig
Porto come into this fixture sitting in third position in the group, but sitting just one point behind second placed Leipzig, with one win and two defeats from their opening trio of games. They know that a win would catapult them into second place with just two games left to play. Their home advantage could prove to be significant, as they have won five of their seven games at the Estadia Do Dragao so far this season.
A further bonus for the home side is the unkind fixture list that their opponents have had to endure. They have played Bayern Munich twice in the past seven days, with both matches ending in defeat (one of those in a penalty shoot-out). This will have left them feeling physically and mentally jaded, so the trip to Portugal could prove to be a formidable task.
Prediction: Porto are the fresher of the two teams, having played out a comfortable 3-0 victory over Boavista at the weekend. A tired RB Leipzig side will find it difficult to keep their opponents at bay for 90 minutes. Porto 2-0 RB Leipzig
Tottenham Hotspur vs Real Madrid
The undoubted pick of Wednesday’s games, these fixture sees both sides trying to turn around a period of shaky form. Spurs started the season very well, and followed up a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund with a very credible draw against Madrid at the Bernabeu. Since then, their form has fallen away a little. They squandered a two goal lead in the Carabao Cup to lose to West Ham, and fell to a 1-0 at Man Utd at the weekend. These defeats, perhaps unsurprisingly, have coincided with a hamstring injury to top scorer Harry Kane. Spurs will be hoping that he will be able to shake it off in time for this crunch fixture.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have worries of their own. They have looked impressive in European games, but some patchy performances mean that they now trail arch rivals by eight points in La Liga. While the overall form of the club hasn’t been great, it is the performances of Cristiano Ronaldo which are attracting the most attention. After missing the first four games of the season due to suspension, he has found the net only once in six league games. He, much like his club, has fared better in Europe, and has already notched five goals in the competition. He will be looking to add to his tally at Wembley.
Prediction: Spurs are yet to really find their feet at Wembley, only winning half of the fixtures at their adopted home, while Madrid will be keen to bounce back from a humiliating defeat to newly promoted Girona. Spurs 1-3 Madrid
Will either of these men get on the scoresheet?
Borussia Dortmund vs. APOEL
Borussia Dortmund have endured something of a nightmare start to the season. They have only won two of their last seven games, and the fact that they are only three points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich is attributable more to the fact that Bayern have struggled themselves than Dortmund’s own performances. While they still have time to turn it around in the league, they face a more urgent problem in the Champions League. With only one point from three games, they sit six points behind the teams in the qualifying spots. They know that only a victory on Wednesday will keep their slim hopes alive.
Group H underdogs APOEL haven’t embarrassed themselves in 3-0 defeats to Madrid and Spurs, and showed great spirit to draw 1-1 against Dortmund in Cyprus. They will likely come to Germany with a gameplan aimed at keeping the score respectable – don’t expect them to commit too many forward.
Prediction: Dortmund should have enough attacking quality to win, but APOEL will make it as difficult as possible. Dortmund 2-0 APOEL
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