The 2018-19 UEFA Champions League resumes this week with Matchday 5 of the group stage.
Sportsnet’s soccer panel of broadcasters, writers and pundits offer their picks and predictions below.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN vs. LIVERPOOL
Donnovan Bennett: Wednesday’s match in the French capital might come down to who is more fit. Liverpool is in good health, as manager Jurgen Klopp said defender Joe Gomez only missed Saturday’s Premier League win over Watford as a precaution. As for PSG, manager Thomas Tuchel only said it is “possible” Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will be in the lineup to face Liverpool after they both missed Saturday’s Ligue 1 win against Toulouse.
Both attacking players were injured while on international duty last week. Neymar hurt his abductor muscle in Brazil’s win over Cameroon, while Mbappe injured his shoulder in France’s victory over Uruguay. If both are unable to participate, Liverpool becomes the favourite, as Klopp’s squad is unbeaten in the Premier League after a convincing 3-0 win at Watford.
Liverpool haven’t been able to replicate that form away from home in Europe. During this Champions league campaign, they’ve already lost twice on trips to Napoli and Red Star Belgrade. If they can reverse that trend and win at the Parc Des Princes this week, Liverpool is virtually assured of a place in the knockout stages. Wednesday’s game is pivotal, with Liverpool second in a Group C, just a point ahead of PSG. If either team can come away with three points it will be a big boost in their season.
Prediction: Liverpool wins 1-0.
TOTTENHAM vs. INTER MILAN
Geoff Lowe: Coming off arguably its best Premier League win of the season – a 3-0 shellacking of previously unbeaten Chelsea – Tottenham is fighting for its Champions League life on Wednesday at Wembley. Three points keeps Spurs in contention for the knockout stage, while anything less will all but end the north London club’s European aspirations – Europa League notwithstanding.
Sitting on seven points in Group B, three points clear of Tottenham thanks to an injury-time winner at San Siro, Inter would obviously prefer to take all three points in London, but a draw would likely be enough to secure advancement for Luciano Spalletti’s side. But draws are no fun. We want chaos.
Prediction: Tottenham wins 3-2.
PSV EINDHOVEN vs. FC BARCELONA
John Molinaro: Wednesday’s contest is a big mismatch on paper. Barca sits top of Group B with 10 points (three wins and a draw), and has already booked its place in the knockout round. PSV is in last place with one point (three losses and a draw), and has already been eliminated from contention – although, it could still qualify for the knockout round of the Europa League.
The Catalans thrashed PSV on Matchday 1 via a 4-0 win at the Camp Nou, with Lionel Messi scoring a hat trick against the Dutch side.
Even though it’s already qualified for the next round, don’t look for Barcelona to let up on PSV on Wednesday, as a victory would clinch first place in Group B – and a draw might be good enough, depending on what happens when Tottenham hosts Inter Milan on Wednesday. Making matters worse for PSV is that both Ivan Rakitic and Philippe Coutinho have been cleared to play after missing action recently due to injuries.
Prediction: Barcelona wins 3-0.
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LYON vs. MANCHESTER CITY
James Sharman: It must be extremely frustrating being a Lyon fan these days. Back in September the French side stunned City with a 2-1 win Manchester, making a statement and forcing the rest of Europe to take notice.
Since then, three straight draws in the Champions League has Lyon sitting in second place in Group F, three points back of City and three up on Hoffenheim.
City, meanwhile, have hit mid-season form, rolling through Premier League and Champions League opposition. European domination is the goal this season, though, and a point this week will guarantee a knock-out berth. Then the real pressure begins for City.
Prediction: Manchester City wins 2-0.
JUVENTUS vs. VALENCIA
Dan Riccio: Juventus’ loss to Manchester United a couple of weeks ago on Matchday 4 has really livened up Group H. It also put Valencia firmly into a must-win situation for Tuesday’s matchup in Turin. After a terrible start to the season, Los Che have now won four of their last five matches across all competitions. They sit 11th in La Liga, so this is a massive match for them.
Unfortunately, a win at Juventus may be a stretch for Valencia. The Bianconeri have dropped a total of three points at home this season, and will want to make amends for the collapse vs. United. This is the point of the competition where desperation plays a big factor, thus giving the more experienced Juventus an edge in front of their home crowd.
Prediction: Juventus wins 3-1.
AS ROMA vs. REAL MADRID
Peter Galindo: Real Madrid and Roma both enter Tuesday’s game on a low note. Real was thumped 3-0 by Eibar, while Roma was edged 1-0 by Udinese in a drab affair over the weekend.
Roma has lost each of the last three meetings against Madrid, including the 3-0 defeat back in September. However, even with new manager Santiago Solari in charge, los blancos are still conceding far too many big chances to the opposition. This is where the Romans can capitalize.
Edin Dzeko and Cengiz Under came off the bench over the weekend, so they will be rested and ready to go. Stephan El Shaarawy, meanwhile, is in red-hot form with three goals and one assist in his last five appearances for the Italian club. He will be the man to watch and should be the difference-maker for the Giallorossi.
Prediction: A 1-1 draw.
OTHER GAMES
Wednesday
Atletico Madrid 2, AS Monaco 0 (Peter Galindo)
Borussia Dortmund 3, Club Brugge 1 (Peter Galindo)
Lokomotiv Moscow 0, Galatasaray 2 (Geoff Lowe)
Napoli 2, Red Star Belgrade 0 (John Molinaro)
Porto 0, Schalke 0 (John Molinaro)
Tuesday
Manchester United 1, Young Boys (Donnovan Bennett)
Bayern Munich 2, Benfica 0 (Donnovan Bennett)
Hoffenheim 2, Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Geoff Lowe)
AEK Athens 0, Ajax 2 (James Sharman)
CSKA Moscow 3, Viktoria Plzen 1 (James Sharman)
