Champions League 3-4 November English Clubs
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea TuesdayAtletico Madrid hosts Chelsea, as the Spanish side will try to claim, there own back on the London club. Atletico suffered a heavy defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, however even though the Spanish outfit are having a horrid time in the Champions League, they havent lost against a British side at home yet. Atletico Madridis also finding it tough in La Liga, and at the weekend they suffered another lo s to the hands of
Nicolas Claxton Jersey Athletic Bilbao. To be honest you would of thought, that Los Colchoneros would be second favourites, to advance from the group behind Chelsea. However they sit bottom, only on one point and that was a draw against Apoel of Cyprus. They also have a few injury worries, as Mariano Pernia and Ignacio Camacho are out for the game. However they do have a good attacking threat, with the likes of Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero, who will cause the Chelsea defence problems.Chelseais on form, and a win against Atletico Madrid, will see them advance to the next stage. The Blues have nine points, after stable wins against Apoel and Porto; however they showed their cla s last time out, by thumping Atletico 4-0. Chelseais unbeaten in five gamesin Spain, and the way they are playing at the minute, they should make it six.Carlo Ancelotti does have a couple of injury worries to deal with,as Mikel,Bosingwa and Zhirkov are all injured for the game. Frank Lampardhowever has re discovered his scoring boots now, and also fellow Englishman Joe Cole could start the game for Chelsea. It will be a difficult game tonight, however Chelseaare capable of picking up another win, which will see themprogre sinto the knockout stages.Manchester United v Cska Moscow TuesdayManchester United will look to progre s tonight, as Cska Moscow visit Old Trafford, in which should be a comfortable game for the Red Devils. United are clear leaders of the group, as they have won two of their games 1-0, plus a 2-1 win against Wolfsburg. Man Utd havent lost a Champions League home game since February 2005, and with the form that Man Utd are in they will surely with this evening. Sir Alex Ferguson could well rest players, as they are set to take on Chelsea at the weekend. Giggs, Vidic, Ferdinand and Rooney could all the mi s the game later today, plus Dimitar Berbatov is a doubt
Kyrie Irving Jersey . Darren Fletcher could well feature for United, as could Michael Owen. The Red Devils will have a decent contest on their hands, but they should get through it with flying colours.Cska Moscow has a new manager in charge, as Juande Ramos departed from the club. The Ru sian giants, did win their league game at the weekend, and will come to Old Trafford fairly confident, but they are still yet to pick up a win in England. Mark Gonzalez, Guilherme and Sekou Oliseh are all out injured. Cska can still progre s to the group stages, and a win or a point against Manchester United, will help them in the right direction. Cska Moscowis currently on three points, one behind Wolfsburg whois in second place. The Ru sian side, could well field former Liverpool player Mark Gonzalez, also the club have a few Brazilians players to look out for. Cska will find it tough, and tonight Manchester United should progre s easily, into the knockout stages of the Champions League.Arsenal v Az Alkmaar WednesdayLike Man Utd and Chelsea, Arsenal could also progre s into the Knockout stage, if they beat Az Alkmaar at the Emirates tomorrow night. Arsenal have played very well, in the seasons Champions League, howeverin the away fixture against Alkmaar they suffered a blip, as the conceded a last minute goal. Arsenalis alsotop of the group, with Olympiacos behind them. Arsenal picked up an impre sive winagainst rivals Tottenham at the weekend; however this game against Az Alkmaar could well be a tougher match. The Gunners have a poor record against clubs
Spencer Dinwiddie Jersey from Holland, but no disrespect to Alkmaar, this could well be the easiest Dutch side, andArsenal will have to face in the Champions League over upcoming seasons. Both Van Persie and Fabregas are on form, as Arsenal could well pa s the Dutch champions off the park.Az Alkmaar will find it difficult to win at the Emirates, but the Ronald Koeman side will give it a very good go. AZ has played on English soil four times; however they are yet to win in Britain. Alkmaaris currently seventh in the Eredivise, andis third in the Champions League group only on two points. It seems that they will not progre s to the next stage, and will have to rely on Olympiacos to slip up. Mounir El Hamdaoui is a key player for AZ; also Rasmus Elm and Maarten Martens could well cause the Arsenal defence problems. It will be tough for Az Alkmaar, and the only thing they could hope for, from this game is a point.Lyon v Liverpool WednesdayLiverpool goes in search of a vital win in Lyon, as the English club is struggling to find any consistency, in both League and Europe. Lyon shocked Anfield, as they picked up a last gasp win against Liverpool. Lyon currently tops the group on nine points, and a win against The Reds, will see the Les Gones advance, to the next stage of the Champions League. Lyon has been impre sive so far in Group
Derrick Coleman Jersey E, with a thumping win against Debrecen, and also wins against Fiorentina and of course Liverpool. Lyon has a very big squad and striker Lisandro Lopez is known to cause defences problems, also Maxime Gonalons and Cesar Delgado could also haunt the Merseyside club for a second time. Lyon could well end Liverpools hopes of qualifying tomorrow night, if they pick up the win at the Stade Gerland.What can I say about Liverpool, this season has basically been a shambles, even in the Champions League. This is the tournament which Liverpool seems to do so well in, however this season it doesnt seem like happening. Rafa Benitez side are third in thegroup, andaredesperately in need for a win against the French outfit.The team also has many injury problems to deal with, as Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Fabio Aurelio could all be out for the away trip to Lyon. Benitez has come underpre sure over recent weeks, with results home and away,not going
Landry Shamet Jersey in favour of the club, also his tactics have been despair, as he substituted three of his best players, against Fulham at the weekend. On a positive note, Liverpool have won four games in a row in France, however Lyon are a much tougher opponent on their day, than Marseille. This will be a very tough game for the Reds, and if they lose, it could well be curtains for Rafa Benitez, some of his players and the Champions League itself.