Matchday 6 was the end point of the first phase of the typical modern Champions League campaign.
However, the expansion of the competition combined with the arrival of a new format means that we are only just beginning to talk about trade ends and tables taking shape.
There are three games left in the inaugural league stage and this is where the competition should break out. Not only are the teams competing to extend their stay in Europe this term, but they are automatically through to the round of 16. Nobody wants to play two extra games in the new year.
Tuesday’s Matchday 6 fixtures are pretty tough to beat, but fear not, there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding Wednesday’s fixtures too. Here’s how 90 minutes project the contests to play.
Slavic Bratislava are one of the three teams with the fewest points left in the competition and they hardly have an easy task as they face each other on Wednesday Atlético de Madrid in the Spanish capital.
athletes are starting to hit the ground running with big-money summer arrivals Julian Alvarez finding his footing and Antoine Griezmann continuing to purr. They came from 3-1 down to defeat Sevilla at the weekend after beating Sparta Prague by six on Matchday 5.
The other early release sees an impressive Lille the team faces the Austrian team Storm Graz. The visitors got their first points of the league stage last time they beat Girona at home.
Lille are unbeaten from matchday one and have taken a couple of important scalps Champions League this term They have not won since September 17 in all competitions.
|
Start Time (GMT) |
fixation |
prediction |
|---|---|---|
|
5:45 p.m |
Lille vs Sturm Graz |
2-0 |
|
5:45 p.m |
Atletico de Madrid vs Slovan Bratislava |
4-1 |
|
20:00 |
Milan vs Red Star Belgrade |
3-1 |
|
20:00 |
Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona |
3-2 |
|
20:00 |
Feyenoord vs Sparta Prague |
1-0 |
|
20:00 |
Juventus vs Man City |
1-2 |
|
20:00 |
Benfica x Bologna |
2-0 |
|
20:00 |
Arsenal vs Monaco |
2-1 |
|
20:00 |
Stuttgart vs Young Boys |
1-1 |
The best of Wednesday’s action is expected to arrive later in the evening. There are a couple of standout accessories, incl Barcelonathe trip to Borussia Dortmund i Juventus‘collide with Manchester City.
The meeting in Dortmund should be a balance between two sides currently in the top four, while City’s clash with Juve is likely to be more heated and divided by the best of margins. Both teams could do with three points in Turin.
arsenal are also in action as they host teams from the top eight Monaco. The Ligue 1 side’s position in the table would have been much stronger had it not been for the 2-0 away win. Benfica last time out Speaking of which, the Portuguese side have been pretty up and down in Europe so far, but they bounced back to victory in Monaco and could edge towards the top eight with a win against bologna.
Milan are looking for their fourth straight win in the competition when they take on aa Red Star Belgrade team that claimed a rare Champions League win last time out at the San Siro. The Rossoneri are in 16th place in the table after losing their first two league stage matches.
Feyenoord they should be buoyed by their spectacular result at the Etihad on Matchday 5 and will know they need three points to boost their play-off chances on Wednesday. The Dutch side face Sparta Prague in De Kuip.
Sparta is outside the top 24 looking with Stuttgartwho have also added four points. The Bundesliga team faces off Young Boys at home on matchday 6, with the Swiss side looking for their first points of the league stage. So far they have been hampered by a tough schedule.
