Chelsea will continue their bid to retain their Champions League crown by facing Lille in the Round of 16 of the competition. The French club is not on its best form in this campaign and they have been struggling domestically. In Jonathan David they have a solid striker, but Chelsea is still the favourites. The Blues started this season well domestically, but they have struggled to keep up with Manchester City and Liverpool in the league. They have reached the final of the Carabao Cup, but winning that competition would be very tough for them because they are facing Liverpool. The Blues have just won the Club World Cup and know they need to eliminate Lille to keep themselves in the UCL. Going out at this stage against the French club would embarrassing so they need a strong performance in this fixture. Thomas Tuchel’s men has won all their last five matches in all competitions, albeit some have stretched them beyond normal time. Lille has just two wins from their last five competitive fixture, but they won at Montpellier on their last away match.

Barcelona is on the brink of being sent to the Europa League as they visit Bayern Munich in this final Champions League group match of the season. The Catalans have had a poor start to this campaign and are still paying the price. They probably waited too late to replace Ronald Koeman. Xavi is now being tasked with helping the team become competitive again, but things aren’t getting easier for him. Bayern is one of the favourites to lift the trophy in this campaign, so the Germans will be a proper test to Barca and they can be rampant sometimes. Benfica hosts Dynamo Kyiv and a win for the Portuguese club means Barca also has to get all three points in Germany. It is almost an impossible task with Robert Lewandowski is a fine form at the Allianz Arena. The Pole has already scored 9 times in the competition this season and we can back him to earn some more strikes in this game.

Real Madrid and Inter Milan face each other in this crunch Champions League game with both clubs looking to top their group. The Spaniards have 12 points while the Italians have 10 points. Both clubs have already secured qualifications for the next round of the competition. Madrid is aiming to win it again with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, while Inter has already surpassed their performance in the competition in the last few seasons. Madrid would miss the goals of Karim Benzema who is out injured, but Vinicius Junior has been in fine form and he would be a handful for Inter Milan in this game. Both of these clubs are in solid form ahead of this fixture with five wins from their last five matches. Inter hasn’t conceded a goal in four straight matches, while Madrid has kept a clean sheet in 3 of their last 5 matches. Their form means both of these clubs could restrict each other in the game, but it promises to be an interesting one.

Milan has been terrible in the Champions League this season, but they can still qualify for the next round of the competition. This is because only Liverpool has been in fine form in their group this season and it is all to play for in this last matchday of the group. FC Porto is currently 2nd in that group with 5 points, but Milan and Atletico Madrid both have 4 points each. A win for the Italians and a draw in the other group game would see the Rossoneri make the next round of the competition. This should serve as enough motivation for them to win this game. Although Liverpool has already qualified for the next round of the Champions League, the Reds will want to end the group stages by winning all their matches. They beat Milan 3-2 in the reverse fixture and would look to do the double over them with another win in this fixture. Liverpool has won their last three matches against Milan in all competitions.

Chelsea will look for vengeance when they face Juventus in the Champions League today. The Blues and the Italian giants will both qualify from this group, but this match gives the Blues a chance to compete for the top spot. The Old Ladies won the reverse of this fixture in a very one-sided game and that Chelsea had the most possession. Max Allegri’s men enters this match after a 2-0 win over Lazio in Rome and they know it would be another tough day for them. But the very pragmatic tactician would be prepared to avoid defeat to the European champions again in this game. Chelsea has also been in solid form in the league and have won every other Champions League game. This match would be a major test of their credentials and they need to send a message to their rivals that they are serious about retaining their crown. Romelu Lukaku is back from injury and could play a part in this game, but Juventus is likely to still rest Paulo Dybala who is touch-and-go in terms of his fitness level now.

Barcelona will look to start the Xavi Hernandez era in the Champions League with a win against Benfica in this game. The returning midfielder knows he has a lot of work on his hands, but he would be confident he can turn his former side into a leading Spanish club again. Benfica won the reverse of this fixture 3-0 in Portugal and that has set this one up nicely to be a game to look forward to. Barca is above the Portuguese side by just two points and win in this match will confirm their participation in the knockout stages of the competition. However, if they suffer yet another defeat, they would be out of the running and that is something Xavi would be working against in this match. Benfica comes into this match on the back of two fine wins, but Barcelona struggled to beat Espanyol 1-0 at the weekend. The Blaugranas would consider that some progress judging by where they are coming from, but their fans would want a more expansive win today.

Ajax trashed Dortmund 4-0 when these clubs met in the reverse of this fixture and this gives the Germans the chance to avenge that defeat. Ajax has reemerged and now looks likely to match their feat when they reached the semi-final of the Champions League in 2019. The Dutchmen are making incredible progress and are leading their Champions League group ahead of this game. Dortmund is second on the table, but they are closely followed by Sporting CP and they know they need a result from this game. Ajax has been almost unstoppable, but they were beaten by Utrecht at the start of last month. They have recovered well, but they head into this fixture after a goalless draw at Heracles. This game would be a huge clash between two of Europe’s most exciting clubs to watch. However, the Germans would feel that they need to win the game even more than their visitors.

Atalanta will get the chance to finally beat Manchester United after they allowed the Red Devils to stage an unlikely comeback in the reverse of this fixture. United would follow up that win with a 5-0 loss at home to Liverpool, but they have since beaten Tottenham 3-0 away. They know Atalanta is a very tough club to play against and would want to guard against the complacency that made them go two goals behind at home. Atalanta has remained unbeaten since the reverse of this fixture and they held Lazio to a 2-2 draw in their last competitive game. This match offers them the chance to show they are one of Italy’s best clubs and it would be interesting to see how they respond. The reverse of this fixture was the first time both clubs have met and Atalanta will not want to lose both legs to the Red Devils. Cristiano Ronaldo spent three years on the books of Juventus in Turin and he would give his teammates some tips on how to beat La Dea.

European champions Chelsea faces the bottom of their group, Malmo in a game that could confirm their qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League. Thomas Tuchel’s side has lost a game in the competition to Juventus, but they remain one favourite to win it. This match almost concluded even before a ball is kicked, considering that Malmo has lost all their group games so far and they haven’t even scored a goal in any of them. Although the Swedes are doing well in their domestic league, they have found life too hard in the Champions League. They also have a bit of rotten luck against Chelsea in their head to heads, having lost all their last three matches against the Blues. Chelsea has won the last two matches between both clubs 7-0 and would look to build on that in this game. The Blues will come into the game off the back of a fine 3-0 win at Newcastle United the last time. Malmo has been beaten by everyone in the group and a second loss to Chelsea is on the cards in this game.