UEFA Champions League Match Day 4 Preview (2017/11/01)

Tottenham vs. Real Madrid:

Tottenham Hotspur welcome Real Madrid to Wembley Stadium on Wednesday night, with the two teams locked on the same points and goal difference at the top of UEFA Champions League Group H after three games.

Spurs go into the game on the back of two defeats to West Ham United in the Carabao Cup and Manchester United in the Premier League, but having earned an impressive 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu last time out in this competition. Madrid, meanwhile, will need to bounce back from an embarrassing 2-1 La Liga defeat at Girona on Sunday that leaves them eight points behind leaders and rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid also has injury concerns, and Raphael Varane could miss out after being forced off at half-time in their 2-1 defeat at Girona with a hamstring problem.

A win for either side will be enough to confirm their place in the knockout stages of the tournament, although Spurs will be aware they have never beaten Madrid in a competitive fixture.

Tottenham would be glad to have their striker ‘Harry Kane’ back to the team

However, it’s not just his goalscoring that has been missed, Kane is able to hold up play and brings others into the attack, and Spurs struggled to offer much threat without him against Manchester United on Saturday.

The match at Wembley looks to be another tense affair, particularly with the two clubs coming off the back of defeats at the weekend.

 

Borussia Dortmund vs. APOEL

Borussia Dortmund will be confident of getting their UEFA Champions League campaign back on track as they welcome Cypriot champions APOEL Nicosia to the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday.

Despite losing to holders Real Madrid in their first European home outing of the season, Peter Bosz’s side remain a force to be reckoned with at the Signal Iduna Park, and they should have sufficient firepower to see off an APOEL side who are winless in three games in all competitions.

 

Napoli Vs. Manchester City

Manchester City can qualify for the Champions League knockout stages if they win at Napoli on Today.

Pep Guardiola’s side has won all three of their Group F games thus far, with the only goal breaching Ederson’s goal coming from Amadou Diawara’s spot-kick when the Partenopei visited two weeks ago.

Napoli was blown away by Manchester City in the opening stages at the Etihad Stadium but was unlucky not to claim a point come full time as Dries Mertens missed a penalty

The Italians are flying high in Serie A with Sunday’s win over Sassulo keeping them top of the pile, but need a win to keep their own hopes of a place in the next stage alive.

 

Shakhtar Donetsk Vs. Feyenoord

Shakhtar has proved to be a force, only lost a game to Manchester City and interestingly are second in the log.

A home win against Napoli proves how prepared they are for the competition. A win tonight will give them a very large hope of attaining the knock out stage.

Feyenoord in the other hand have failed to record a single victory and could be a threat to the chance of the Ukrainian giant. Victory for Shakhtar and a point for Man city in Italy when they visit Napoli tonight could mean much to Shakhtar knock out stage hope.

 

Besiktas Vs. AS Monaco

Besiktas have set the pace in Group G, winning three out of three. A blend of experience, creative guile and solidity at the back have set the Turkish side apart.

There is ample quality on the flanks thanks to veterans Ryan Babel and Ricardo Quaresma. The further pace is added by forward Cenk Tosun, who scored twice in Monaco last time out.

Besiktas’ versatile forwards are ably supplied by former Arsenal schemer Oguzhan Ozyakup. He runs the midfield in front of a defence held together by centre-back Pepe, who won this tournament three times with Real.

It will be Pepe’s job to subdue Radamel Falcao, who is Monaco’s attacking talisman this season. The Colombian striker scored in the first meeting between these two, continuing his prolific run in UEFA tournaments.

 

RB Leipzig Vs. FC. Porto

RB Leipzig will be in action this week as they take on FC Porto in their home ground in Germany. This is will be an important game for both sides since it is an opportunity for the teams to get some much-needed points and boost their chances of getting a spot in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

RB Leipzig is coming off a huge win in their domestic league as they won against Borussia Dortmund away from home. That is a big performance and the side will be feeling very confident after that. FC Porto will present another test for this young side, but they have been able to do well so far. Timo Werner, Emil Forsberg, and Naby Keita have been the three stand out players for the club and at the moment, they will need to lead the side once again.

 

Sevilla Vs. Spartak Moscow

Thankfully for Spartak, the Myaso have been excellent in cup competitions defeating Sevilla 5-1 at home two weeks ago in the UEFA Champions League and then Spartak Nalchik 5-2 in the round of 16 of the Russian Cup. With ten Russian Football Premier League sides already eliminated from the Russian Cup and with a decisive advantage in the aggregate score against Sevilla Spartak head coach, Massimo Carrera may focus on cup competitions this season in order to secure some glory for his side.

A win for either side would guarantee Its high chance of Qualification to the round of 16.

 

Liverpool FC. Vs. Maribor

Klopp will have to continue to deliver results so as not to threaten his project in Liverpool.

Next up will be the Slovenian side Maribor in the UEFA Champions League. The two met on matchday 3 in Maribor and Liverpool’s impressive 7-0 win was the club’s most significant ever-European victory. Now on matchday 4, Liverpool want to confirm their positive results against Huddersfield and make a step towards securing one of the top places in the UEFA Champions League.

Spartak and Sevilla will be taking points from each other on this matchday once again, which will be a big impetus for LFC to get the job done. Given the result on matchday 3, Liverpool’s firepower will be sufficient to take apart Maribor once again, even with a somewhat rotated side, which should pave the way towards Liverpool making a big step to the next round of the UEFA Champions League.