The 2015-16 UEFA Champions League resumes this week with Matchday Two of the group stage.
Sportsnet’s soccer panel of broadcasters, writers and pundits offer their picks and predictions below…
MANCHESTER UNITED vs. WOLFSBURG
James Sharman, Sportsnet: Louis Van Gaal has compared Wolfsburg’s Julian Draxler with Anthony Martial; high praise for the young Frenchman, because Draxler has been considered one of the hottest young properties in European football for some time. Brought in by Wolfsburg to replace Kevin De Bruyne at the transfer deadline, the German has been very good, scoring the winning goal for his team in their opening Champions League game against CSKA Moscow. Wolfsburg, however, are battling through a challenging time having drawn Hannover on the weekend, after being hammered 5-1 by Bayern Munich four days earlier. As Van Gaal reminded us, though, Wolfsburg was up 1-0 at halftime in that match, before Robert Lewandowski’s career defining nine minutes from the heavens.
United meanwhile cruised to a 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday, and for the first time in 110 weeks find themselves in first place in the Premier League. The aforementioned Martial has continued to look superb, and on the weekend a partnership with Memphis Depay looked to take a major step forward. It is too early to suggest these two will be the face of the Manchester United in the not so distant future, but I’ll suggest it anyway. United are far from the finished product, there are still concerns at the back, but at home they will get their Champions League campaign back on track.
Prediction: Manchester United wins 2-0.
JUVENTUS vs. SEVILLA
Dan Riccio, Sportsnet 590 The FAN: It’s difficult to put much trust or faith in a Juventus side that is performing so poorly right now. The Bianconeri suffered another defeat in Serie A this past weekend, a 2-1 loss to rivals Napoli. They look discombobulated. So many new players and manager Massimiliano Allegri has yet to find the right mix.
Yet, the Italian champions were able to dig deep and find a win in their first Champions League match away to Manchester City the last time out. Sevilla has been no better than Juventus on the domestic front, winning just one of their opening six matches in La Liga play. Juventus will once again find a way to rise to the occasion.
Prediction: Juventus wins 2-0.
ATLETICO MADRID vs. BENFICA
John Molinaro, Sportsnet.ca: This should be a tense contest at the Vicente Calderon, as it pits two teams coming off 2-0 wins on Matchday One, so both can take firm control of Group C with a victory here.
Diego Simeone’s men will be confident as they’ve won 21 of their previous 24 home matches in Europe. But Atleti will be missing influential midfielder Koke (hamstring), and they have a very tough game this weekend in La Liga vs. Real Madrid. Expect Simeone to rotate his squad and rest some players for the clash against their bitter city rivals.
Benfica have won five of eight matches overall, with Brazilian Jonas Gonçalves Oliveira scoring seven goals in eight club appearances this term. Some more good news: goalkeeper Julio Cesar (knee) and midfielder Ljubomir Fejsa (foot) are available for selection.
Prediction: A 1-1 draw.
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BARCELONA vs. BAYER LEVERKUSEN
Noah Love, Sportsnet.ca: And so, life without Lionel Messi begins. Barcelona’s No. 10 went down with a torn ligament in his left knee early in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Las Palmas, and is expected to miss seven to eight weeks of action. The good news is that Neymar tends to shine when Messi is on the sidelines, and Luis Suarez scored twice without Messi on the pitch on Saturday.
The bad news is that with or without Messi, the Catalan side was already struggling with depth issues after Rafinha tore his ACL and Pedro departed for Chelsea. To make matters worse, FIFA last week rejected the team’s bizarre bid to have Arda Turan’s illegal (until January) transfer registered due to Rafinha’s devastating injury. But this game is at Camp Nou, and Leverkusen have been trounced by Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund this season. At home, at least, Barcelona should be able to get past Germany’s fourth- or fifth-best side.
Prediction: Barcelona wins 2-1.
FC PORTO vs. CHELSEA
John Molinaro, Sportsnet.ca: Wednesday offers up a bit of nostalgia as Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho returns to Porto, the club with whom he first shot to fame. History suggests his former club, currently top of the Portuguese league, won’t be a soft touch—Porto earned a win and a draw against the Blues during Mourinho’s first spell in charge of the club.
Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, who played for Porto from 2009-11, also returns against his old club, but chances are he won’t play a starring role in proceedings. Instead, look for Diego Costa to feature for the Blues. The Spanish international is currently serving a three-game ban in the Premier League, but he is eligible to play in the Champions League.
Chelsea has struggled on the domestic front, as it currently sits 15th in the table after drawing Newcastle United on the weekend. Porto is undefeated in six league games and is on a 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions. But it did drop points to minnow Moreirense in Portugal over the weekend. Still, Porto is in far better form and playing at home, so I expect them to pull out the victory.
Prediction: Porto wins 1-0.
BAYERN MUNICH vs. DINAMO ZAGREB
Thomas Michalakos, Sportsnet.ca: The happy go-lucky narrative of Dinamo Zagreb being the giant killers in Europe this season will effectively come to a screeching halt at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. Take nothing away from the tireless work put into their shock 2-1 victory over Arsenal on home soil; it was truly a memorable moment for the club that will forever be remembered in Zagreb. However, the prospect of repeating the seismic feat in Munich is realistically impossible.
I’m anticipating nothing short of lopsided victory for the hosts. Bayern will dominate from minute one, with the match being effectively over after 45 minutes. Would I like to see an upset? Of course, what neutral observer doesn’t love a true underdog story? Zoran Mamic may have got the better of Arsene Wenger tactically, but Pep Guardiola is an entirely different beast to cage. The timing of the fixture is made even worse given the current form of Robert Lewandowski, as the Polish striker bagged seven goals last week in 135 minutes of playing time over two matches—five of those strikes coming off the bench in the span of 10 minutes against Wolfsburg. The opportunity to add to that total in a big way is wide open for the 27 year-old goal machine. I’m going to stick my neck out and predict Lewandowski to score a hat-trick regardless of his playing time on Tuesday.
Prediction: Bayern Munich wins 6-0.
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