UCL Matchday five preview: Groups A-D

With Barcelona, AC Milan and Real Madrid having booked their places in the last 16, matchday 5 of the Champions League throws up the opportunity for those seeking the final push to confirm their places in the knockout stages of the competition. Here is a group-by-group preview of the Matchday five’s action, first looking at Groups A through D.

GROUP A

High-flying Manchester City will aim for the skies in Napoli

In the ‘Group of Death’, leaders Bayern Munich host Villarreal as they look to wrap up qualification by heaping further misery on the Spanish side, who are bottom of Group A and are yet to score a point. Leading the group with 10 points, Bayern have been the group’s power horse with Mario Gomez leading the group stage’s goal scoring charts with 5 goals. With Manchester City breathing down their neck, Bayern will look to finish off matters clinically against the Yellow Submarines just as they have throughout this season.

Arguably the pick of Matchday five, the second Group A match pits Napoli at home against Manchester City in what is a must win encounter for both teams. Premier League entertainers City, who made a slow start to their debut UCL campaign have rallied strongly to come second in the group, not to mention their buoyant Premier League run which has seen ooze with confidence. Napoli are third behind City with five points and face a tough ask, but will be buoyed by their draw away in Manchester in the reverse fixture and their impeccable home record since their return to Europe, which stands at a 10 match unbeaten streak. While City look to seal qualification in their first ever Champions League campaign, it is a task easier said than done, for Napoli will look to spoil Roberto Mancini’s return party in Italy and complicate the group.

Napoli vs Manchester City (20:45 CET, 01:15 IST)

Bayern Munich vs Villarreal (20:45 CET, 01:15 IST)

GROUP B

Inter will look to seal matters in Europe with a revenge mission in Trabzonspor

It’s revenge business in Group B which will see Trabzonspor welcome Inter to the Huseyin Avni Aker Stadium. Inter began their campaign with an embarrassing 0-1 loss at the San Siro to the Turkish side, a result which set down a key marker to the ousting of Gian Piero Gasperini. But they have since been efficient in their European qualification with three consecutive wins, a stark contrast from their nightmarish domestic run. With a win in Turkey, Inter, who are now on 9 points, will seal qualification and avenge their home defeat, thus finishing off matters in Europe while Trabzonspor face a tight race to qualification with CSKA Moscow.

In the second match of the group, Russian comeback kings CSKA Moscow, who are locked on five points with Trabzonspor, will host bottom team Lille. Powered by the strike force of Vagner Love and Seydou Dombia, who lies third in the competition’s goal scoring charts, CSKA come into the match on the back of four points picked up against Trabzonspor. They thus hold the upper hand in qualifying as the second team from the group as they will look to finish off Lille, who began their campaign with a 2-2 draw in this reverse fixture but have since regressed with consecutive losses to Inter.

Trabzonspor vs Inter (20:45 CET, 01:15 IST)

CSKA Moscow vs Lille(18:00 CET, 22:30 IST)

GROUP C

A straight shoot-out between Manchester United and Benfica for the Group C honours at Old Trafford

What was once seen as a group which Manchester United were tipped to win hands down has seen it become a tight fight at the top with Benfica tied with the English champions on 8 points. A win for either side in this Old Trafford encounter would see them top the group and seal progression. After a slow start which saw two initial draws in the campaign, Manchester United have been clinical in their rise to the group’s top and come in to this match having rediscovered the knack of grinding out wins, looking to progress to the knockout stage for the sixth consecutive season. The records are against Benfica, who know fully well that their opponents have lost at home in Europe only once in their last 34 outings and their own miserable record against United, but they will look to prove that they are no pushovers and upset the records.

FC Basel, the surprise package from Switzerland who famously drew 3-3 at Old Trafford, will play their hearts out away in Galati against the bottom team, believing they still have a chance of qualification. Basel lie third on 5 points and could go level on points with either of the top two teams if the Old Trafford game produces a winner, thus complicating Group C’s qualification matters, while Otelul Galati will look to get their first win in the campaign in front of their home crowd and hope for a Europa League spot consolation.

Manchester United vs Benfica (20:45 CET, 01:15 IST)

Otelul Galati vs FC Basel (20:45 CET, 01:15 IST)

GROUP D

This season's group stage has been child's play so far for Real Madrid

With matters done and dusted at the top of Group D and qualification sealed with a perfect four wins out of four record, relentless Real Madrid will look to extend it when they take on Dinamo Zagreb at the Santiago Bernabeu. Lying at the bottom of the table with no points and goals, the Croatian club will have little hope when they meet Mourinho’s men in their own den, for Real are highly tipped to go all the way in both La Liga and Europe.

The other match in Group D sees Lyon in action at home against Ajax. Lyon, lying third with four points and three adrift of their Matchday five opponents, face a very difficult task in extending their record of progressing to the knockout stage, which they have achieved consistently in the last eight seasons. Four-time European champions Ajax’s last knockout stage qualification came in the 2005/06 season and they will look to end that streak by thwarting their French opponents in their uphill mission.

Real Madrid vs Dinamo Zagreb (20:45 CET, 01:15 IST)

Lyon vs Ajax (20:45 CET, 01:15 IST)