Real Madrid would be looking to get back to winning ways after back to back defeats at the hands of Barcelona as they look to retain the Champions League title they won in the past 3 seasons. Los Merengues have significantly been weakened by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane last summer and that has shown more in their domestic form as they are currently 12 points behind Barcelona. Madrid were beaten by Barcelona at the weekend, but they would hope that their Champions League form would lead them to the next round here. They won the first leg of this game but they have lost 3 and won 1 of the last 4 games that has followed that win at Amsterdam. Ajax have done better since the last time these teams met. The Dutch side have played 3 games since that time and they have won all of them, scoring 13 times and conceding just one goal. This game is still open after the 2-1 first leg score line and both sides would fancy their chances.  

Tottenham would be happy to turn their attention away from the Premier League that they have done very badly this season and turn it towards the Champions League as they seek to make progress to the quarterfinals. The Lillywhites hold a 3-0 advantage from the first leg and their fans would feel that they already have one leg in the next round. They come into this game after another poor showing in their 1-1 draw against Arsenal but this game gives them the chance to put things right. Dortmund have looked like they would be running away with the German league title for much of the season, but their season threatens to implode at the moment. They are currently level on points with Bayern Munich and only top on goal difference. They come into this game after a disappointing 2-1 loss at Augsburg so their fans would be expecting a response here.

Schalke 04 would have their hands full when Pep Guardiola takes his Manchester City team to play the Germans in this game. The Germans were very impressive last season as they finished second on the German league table behind Bayern Munchen, however, this season has been a terrible one for them and they would be looking to get out of the Champions League and concentrate on their league form. They are currently just 2 points away from the relegation zone and come into this game with no win and one draw from their last 3 games. Manchester City are looking to win four trophies this season and Pep Guardiola’s men have the chance to do that as they remain in all the competitions. The Cityzens are currently top of the Premier League table by goal difference and have reached the Carabao Cup final as well as the FA Cup quarterfinals. Pep Guardiola has the squad to win this competition, but Manchester City lack experience at this stage. While that inexperience could work against them in the latter stages, we expect them to win this game.

Atletico Madrid need a performance in front of their fans to boost the atmosphere at the Wanda Metropolitana after back to back losses in the league. The two losses from their last two league games has seen them drop down to 3rd in the Spanish league table, but they have to turn their attention to the Champions League here. Atleti have reached the final of this competition twice in the last 5 years, on both occasions, they took Real Madrid to extra time. Even though they ended those games with eventual losses, Diego Simeone has made them a force in European games. They won the Europa League last season after falling out of the Champions League in the group stages, they would be looking to get a first leg advantage when they host Juve here. Juventus have been the dominant force in Italian football for the past few seasons, their fans would probably be bored of winning the league and cup double as European trophy continues to elude them. They come into this game having lost two of their last three Champions league games. Although they topped their group and have opened an 11 points gap in the Serie A, the Old Ladies come here in patchy for as they have won just one of their last 3 games in all competitions.

Red Star would be looking to end a trio of impressive European home performances when they host PSG in this game. The Serbians held Napoli  to a goalless draw in their first home game before beating Liverpool 2-0 in their next home European game. They conceded 6 goals the last time they faced PSG but with the French side struggling for form at the moment, the home team would be keen to show off once again. PSG have been held to draws in their last two games in the French Ligue 1. Strasbourg, then Bordeaux have succeeded in picking up scoring draws against a previously unseen PSG side. This group is a delicate one heading into this final group game of the season. Despite having just 4 points at this stage of the competition, Red Star could still qualify for the Europa League, while Liverpool could be eliminated from all European competitions this midweek, so PSG would not want to underrate the Serbs like Liverpool did and paid dearly for it. Red Star come into the match on the back of Super Liga wins over Vozdovac (2-0) and Spartak Subotica (1-3) where in-form El Fardou Ben netted three goals

Tottenham are the second English team who needs a win this midweek to remain in the Champions League. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have put themselves in this situation by being sloppy when they visited Milan and Eindhoven. Their 1-0 win over Inter has given them the chance to even compete for a place in the knockout round, but they would need to beat Barcelona before reaching that goal. Barcelona have already qualified for the knockout stages, but it is unlikely that Lionel Messi and his teammates would want to end their campaign with a defeat in front of their home fans. Spurs have been in fine form heading into this game and their performance in their last game against Leicester City suggest that they are getting ready for this game especially with an in form Dele Ali. They have won all but one of their last 8 matches and that single defeat came at the hands of Arsenal in the North London derby. Barca have won all of their last 4 games the last of which was a derby win over fierce rivals Espanyol, so Enersto Valverde would hope that his men can end their group stage campaign on a high.

Liverpool would be looking to avoid starting Thursday in the Europa League as it would affect their bid to win the Premier League title this season. The Reds however, have a major job to do in terms of becoming the first team to beat Napoli in the Champions League this season. They come into this game in fine form domestically, they beat Burnley 3-1 and Bournemouth 4-0 away from home in their last two games. They would be without Joe Gomez for this game, but the presence of their feared front three and the noise from Anfield should help them get a win here by keeping a clear sheet or scoring the needed two clear goals. Napoli have continued to grow despite losing Maurizio Sarri in the summer. The Italians currently top this group as they have remained unbeaten in the Champions League so far. They simply need to avoid defeat by two clear goals and they would qualify for the next round. If they are beaten by Liverpool, then they would need a helping hand from Red Star in Serbia to advance.

Ajax and Bayern have a storied history in this competition and they both remain heavyweights in their respective leagues, so we can look forward to a very interesting game here. Bayern Munich are currently top of the group with two points, but Ajax are closely following them. A win for the Dutch would send them through as group leaders, while avoiding defeat would be enough for Bayern to end the group stage campaign as  group leaders. Bayern come into this game without a win in Ajax as their results have shown 3 losses and a draw in their last 4 visits to the Amsterdam Arena, they would be looking to change that in this game. The reverse of this game ended in a 1-1 draw and Ajax would feel that they can go one better and get the win here. The Germans have dropped points in only that game in Europe so far and they would hope that there struggles in the Bundesliga doesn’t follow them to this game. Ajax have lost just once all season and that came at the hands of title rivals PSV, so they would be confident of getting a result here.

Lyon pulled off a major upset when they beat Manchester City on the Champions League match day 1 this season. The Cityzens have since recovered from that slump to win three of their last three Champions League games, and Pep Guardiola’s side would qualify for the knockout stages should they secure a 4th straight win in this game. Lyon’s win in the reverse of this game means that they can qualify for the next round if they can cause a second defeat of the season on the Premier League leaders. This group is a high scoring group with both if these teams among Europe’s biggest scorers so far. All of the games that have been played in this group has ended in 3 or more goals been scored and Lyon come into this match having lost just one of their last 14 home games, so we could be in for another cracking affair here. Lyon have proved to be a strong team to break down and City could struggle here as well, as they took more than 85 minutes to  get the winning goal against Hoffenheim. Lyon have hosted English opposition nine times previously in European competitions, winning two, drawing six and losing one. Manchester City have visited French clubs twice previously in UEFA competitions and have yet to win, losing one and drawing one. Both of City’s previous games in France contained over 3.5 goals.

Juventus were on the verge of confirming their qualification to the next round of the Champions League as group winners when they hosted and led Manchester United in their last group game. However, the Red Devils came from behind within the last 10 minutes to win the game 2-1. That defeat means they may even not top this group at the end of the day but a win here would keep them ahead of the Red Devils and eliminate Valencia if Manchester United secure a win in their game as well. After losing to Manchester United they have gone on to win two consecutive league games and scored 4 goals while conceding none, they would be looking to build on that in this game. Valencia did beat Young Boys at home but they still need to win this game and beat Manchester United at home in their last game to have the chance to reach the next round, so their most likely position would be 3rd and a place in the Europa League round of 32. Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in the reverse fixture,yet the Old Ladies ended up 2-0 winners, he would be looking to get back at them with at least a goal in this game.