The 2018-19 UEFA Champions League resumes this week with Matchday 6 of the group stage.
Sportsnet’s soccer panel of broadcasters, writers and pundits offer their picks and predictions below.
SHAKHTAR DONETSK vs. OLYMPIQUE LYON
Donnovan Bennett: Lyon can clinch a top-two finish in the group if they secure points away to Shakhtar on Wednesday. Shakhtar will be Europa League bound unless they get a full three points.
Shakhtar leads the Ukrainian Premier League, while Lyon is unbeaten in this competition, although the fact they conceded late goals in their last three outings is why they have yet to advance. In the meeting between Lyon and Shakhtar on Matchday two, the French side came back after being behind by two goals to secure a draw.
The hosts are set to start with a full-strength squad here, so there should be no major surprises in terms of team selection. Lyon will be missing Amine Gouiri and will have to wait and see if Tanguy NDombèlé and Maxwel Cornet are fully fit.
Prediction: Shakhtar Donetsk wins 1-0.
VALENCIA vs. MANCHESTER UNITED
John Molinaro: The Red Devils are already through to the to the knockout round, but can finish in first place with a win, and if Juventus drops points against Young Boys (not likely). Valencia, meanwhile, will remain in third no matter what happens at the Mestalla on Wednesday, which means they’ll be kicked over to the Europa League.
With this is mind, it’s hard to imagine there’ll be much in this game, especially with Man United slated to visit Anfield on Sunday for an important Premier League match vs. Liverpool.
The most interesting aspect of this contest is that Paul Pogba will be starting, after Jose Mourinho benched the Frenchman in last week’s 4-1 win over Fulham at Old Trafford. How will he respond playing in a heavily rotated Red Devils team? We’ll see.
Prediction: A 0-0 draw.
YOUNG BOYS vs. JUVENTUS
Dan Riccio: You might consider this a “trap game” for Juventus. The Group H leaders beat Inter Milan last Friday, and will have the Turin Derby to play this weekend – two matches that Cristiano Ronaldo called “must-wins.” You also have to consider that while Juve have already secured qualification to the Round of 16, winning the group can go a long way to setting a team up for future success. As a squad with genuine hopes of winning this tournament, that matters.
Juventus have won 18 of 20 matches across all competitions so far this season, and they are off to the best start in Serie A history through 15 matches. But stumbling in this fixture (and seeing Man United beat them out for first place in the group) would certainly put a damper on all of that. This is going to be a much more difficult fixture than most would expect at first glance, and I expect the underdog Young Boys to put up a strong fight at home against the Italian giants on Wednesday.
Prediction: Juventus wins 1-0.
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FC BARCELONA vs. TOTTENHAM
Geoff Lowe: Winners of eight of their last nine across all competitions, Tottenham enters the final matchday of the group stage in desperate need of points. While Spurs visit Camp Nou on Tuesday, Inter Milan will be hosting PSV Eindhoven, and Tottenham must equal the Nerazzurri’s result in order to secure a spot in the knockout stage. A win away at Barcelona won’t be easy, and it’s fairly likely Spurs will need to take all three points in order to advance.
If there’s anything working in their favour, however, it’s that Leo Messi and his cohorts have already locked up top spot in the group, meaning we could see many Barcelona reserves. Still, it’s going to be tough for Mauricio Pochettino’s side to get all three points, and we could see Tottenham relegated to the Europa League.
Prediction: Barcelona wins 2-1.
INTER MILAN vs. PSV EINDHOVEN
Peter Galindo: Inter lost 1-0 to Juventus in Friday’s Derby d’Italia, although a couple of key players were rested. Stefan de Vrij and Radja Nainggolan should start on Tuesday at home against PSV Eindhoven, which will benefit the Nerazzurri against the Dutch club’s lethal counter-attack.
Even in a tough Group B, PSV has caused fits for Inter, Barcelona and Tottenham on the break. Inter generates a lot of attacks via the flanks, so Hirving Lozano and Steven Bergewijn could capitalize if the opposing fullbacks are pushed high up the pitch.
However, Inter has the necessary tactical flexibility to handle any game situation. They have an elite centre-back duo, a quality goalkeeper in Samir Handanovic, and Marcelo Brozovic, who is a calming presence in the heart of midfield with his distribution and ability to break up oncoming attacks. This should be enough for Luciano Spalletti’s side to wrap up a win and a spot in the last 16.
Prediction: Inter Milan wins 2-0.
LIVERPOOL vs. NAPOLI
James Sharman: Liverpool must win 1-0, or win by two goals, or win by any score so long as PSG doesn’t beat Red Star Belgrade. That is the situation facing Liverpool when its hosts Napoli on Tuesday at Anfield.
The Italians know a draw would be enough to guarantee advancement, although coach Carlo Ancelotti said that his team only knows one way to play, and that is to play to win. Truth be told, Europe is really where Napoli has the best chance of winning a major trophy this season, as Juventus is running away with first place in Serie A.
Liverpool enjoyed a wonderful weekend that saw them leapfrog Manchester City atop the Premier League table. But given how Napoli beat Liverpool in the dying moments of their first encounter, and given how their European form has been a far cry from their domestic form, perhaps the Premier League is now the Reds’ best hope for success this season. Still, this Liverpool side seems to enjoy adversity, and has found ways to win games this season when things weren’t going their way, which makes this encounter fascinating.
Prediction: Liverpool wins 2-1.
OTHER GAMES
Wednesday
Real Madrid 2, CSKA Moscow 1 (Peter Galindo)
Benfica 1, AEK Athens 1 (Peter Galindo)
Viktoria Plzen 0, AS Roma 2 (Geoff Lowe)
Manchester City 3, Hoffenheim 0 (Dan Riccio)
Ajax 2, Bayern Munich 1 (Dan Riccio)
Tuesday
AS Monaco 0, Borussia Dortmund 3 (Geoff Lowe)
Club Brugge 0, Atletico Madrid 3 (Donnovan Bennett)
Red Star Belgrade 0, Paris Saint-Germain 3 (Donnovan Bennett)
Schalke 2, Lokomotiv Moscow 0 (James Sharman)
Galatasaray 1, FC Porto 2 (James Sharman)
