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.

Manchester United’s win over Juventus in their last game has brought them back within not just qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League, but also as group leaders. The Red Devils face a Young Boys side that is winless and have collected just a single point from their group games so far. Jose Mourinho’s men would qualify for the knockout stage if they win this game and Juventus also collect all three points in their home game against Valencia. However, trusting the Red Devils to win at home on a European night is a major gamble as they have not scored a home goal in the Champions League this season. They were also held to a goalless draw at home in the league by Crystal Palace at the weekend. Young Boys are the weeping boys in this group as we enter the 5th Match day. They have collected just one point so far from their home draw against Valencia and have all but exited the competition, so they would be playing this game just for pride. Manchester United have won 1 and drawn 2 of their last 3 European games against Swiss oppositions.

These teams are the most likely to qualify from this group as the top two and they would both be looking to get a better head to head ahead of who would potentially top the group. CSKA Moscow are the only threat these teams have at the moment. Should the Russians win their early kickoff against Viktoria Plzen, then it would have to go to the final match day before we can know who goes through, however, should they drop points, these teams would have reached the knockout stages before kicking a ball here. Real Madrid won the reverse of this fixture 3-0 under fired Julen Lopetegui and would go through as group leaders on head to head if they are on same point with Roma and the Italians fail to match that scoreline in this game. Madrid have improved under Solari, however, they fell to a shocking 3-0 defeat in La Liga at the weekend and would be looking to bounce back here. Based on current form, asking Madrid to win the Champions League for a 5th time in 6 years is a major ask, but we expect them to qualify ahead of Roma by securing at least a point in this game.