After the conclusion of the first four groups in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, the final four finish up their group stages on Wednesday.
The biggest action of the day centers around Group F, where there’s everything to play for when Real Madrid welcome Borussia Dortmund to Spain. With Dortmund sitting just two points above Madrid, it’s winner-take-all for the top of the group and the avoidance of a difficult round-of-16 matchup. Sporting CP and Legia Warsaw also meet with the former just two points above the latter and a third-place Europa League-qualifying finish on the line.
Group E also contains a flurry of key matches. At the top of the group, AS Monaco have the top spot locked up when they take on Bayer Leverkusen, who have secured their advancement to the knockout stages as well in the second place. Meanwhile, Tottenham cling to the lifeline of the Europa league, just one point above CSKA Moscow, who’ll be battling for the same spot. A win or a draw secures Tottenham’s advancement, while a loss ends their European campaign.
Group G has limited drama at stake on Wednesday. Leicester City have the group wrapped up with a dominant performance completely counter to their poor league play this year. They’ll look to do FC Copenhagen a favor by defeating FC Porto, opening the door for the former to advance to the knockout rounds with a win over Club Brugge.
Plenty of intruge remains in Group H, however, with the top of the group as well as the number two slot still up for grabs. Dinamo Zagreb is already eliminated with zero points through five matches, but can play spoiler to any last dreams of Lyon. Sevilla FC sit three points and a +2 goal differential above Lyon, and can be anything from group winners by defeating Juventus, to 3rd-place by losing and with Lyon winning with an overall goal swing of just two.
Here’s a closer look at Wednesday’s UCL action:
GAMES TO WATCH
Real Madrid (11 points) vs. Borussia Dortmund (13 points), Wednesday, 2:45 p.m., Fox Sports 1
Injuries of note: Dortmund will be without Mario Gotze, out with a knee injury, as well as Raphael Guerreiro. Also up in the air for Dortmund are Marco Reus and Ousmane Dembele. Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale, and Alvaro Morata are unlikely to play for Madrid as they recover.
Key to the game: Dortmund managed a 2-2 draw at home against Madrid the last time these two played, but Madrid will certainly come out more aggressive in their second meeting. With the group on the line, Tuchel might switch to a 5-3-2 system that he previously used to stifle Bayern Munich just weeks ago in order to put a halt to Madrid’s dangerous attack. If Madrid score early, that system could place Dortmund in a disadvantageous position to come back.
Player to watch: With the litany of injuries, Christian Pulisic will once again likely earn a chance to shine on Europe’s biggest stage. His defensive presence and ability to track back will be key to his success, as a defensive Dortmund will seek to stifle Madrid to win the group.
Quote: “Our current position gives us the chance to approach the task at hand in calm fashion,” stated Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel. “I don’t want to give Real Madrid control of the midfield. That would put us under too much pressure for too long. We need to find a way of attacking quickly, defending aggressively and playing our own game.”
FC Porto (8 points) vs. Leicester City (13 points), Wednesday, 2:45 p.m., ESPN3, Fox Soccer 2 Go
Injuries of note: Leicester will be resting a litany of starters, including Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, as well as Robert Huth, Andy King, Islam Slimani, and Kasper Schmeichel. In doubt for Porto are Miguel Layun and Ruben Neves.
Key to the game: With Leicester heavily resting their primary squad, the door is wide open for Porto to win at home and secure their passage through to the knockout rounds. It’s an expected and must-win match for the Portuguese side, as a loss or draw opens the door for Copenhagen to overtake them with a win against lowly Club Brugge, as Copenhagen have a superior goal differential.
Player to watch: It’ll be goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the winningest player in UCL history, who will have to keep Leicester off the board and give his team a chance to win on Wednesday. A victory will be his 94th win, having passed Xavi with his 93rd during the team’s victory over Club Brugge last month.
Quote: “We want to go there and still put in a good performance to try and get a good result, but at the same time we haven’t got the pressure on us of needing to get a win.” said Leicester captain Wes Morgan. “That’s a nice position to be in, so we can go out there and enjoy the game.”
Bayer Leverkusen (7 points) vs. AS Monaco (11 points), Wednesday, 2:45 p.m., ESPN3, Fox Soccer 2 Go
Injuries of note: Leverkusen will be without Kevin Kampl, Lars Bender, Kevin Volland, Karim Bellarabi, and Admir Mehmedi. Meanwhile, Monaco enters the match fully fit.
Key to the game: With Monaco already secured as group winners and Leverkusen advancing in the second slot. Both teams will take their foot off the gas as they look to recover exiting the group stages. Youngsters will get a chance to shine as each team gives its top players a rest.
Player to watch: Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez will be the man for Leverkusen. With a litany of teammates out, Hernandez may be forced into action despite there being nothing to play for at this point. If he is active, he should be exciting to watch against a young Monaco defense.
Quote: “It’s about time we beat Monaco. We were incredibly unfortunate to lose to them twice (two seasons ago), and we were unlucky to only get a draw from our last game against them.” said Leverkusen manager Roger Schmidt. “We want to enjoy our last Champions League game of the calendar year. After qualifying for the knockout stages, we’re not under quite as much pressure as usual. We want to focus on our game and get a positive result in front of our fans.”
Tottenham (4 points) vs. CSKA Moscow (3 points), Wednesday, 2:45 p.m., Fox Sports 2
Injuries of note: Tottenham could be without Toby Alderweireld, though he is recovering and may make his return, as well as Ben Davies, Erik Lamela, and Vincent Janssen. Meanwhile, CSKA Moscow will be without Aleksandrs Cauna and Roman Eremenko, who is serving a ban for failing a doping test.
Key to the game: How interested is Mauricio Pochettino in playing in the Europa League? With Tottenham not far off the top of the Premier League, it’s feasible that the Spurs manager sees an exit as preferable to further European competition, to reduce fixture congestion as they push for the PL title. How aggressively Spurs come out will be a good indication of this.
Player to watch: Harry Kane will be the man of the hour, as he hopes to book Tottenham’s passage through to the Europa League knockout rounds (whether his manager likes it or not). His effors without the assistance of playmakers like Erik Lamela could prove the difference between an exit and a reduction in competition.
Quote: “We didn’t play well in the Champions League at Wembley. But it’s important for us to be involved in the Europa League. Why not try to go further in that competition?” said Pochettino. “It’s true that it’ll be tough to be involved in the Europa League again, but if we don’t show we deserve to qualify for the Champions League, then our responsibility is to go to the Europa League to go further in the competition.”
Legia Warsaw (1 points) vs. Sporting CP (3 points), Wednesday, 2:45 p.m., ESPN 3/Fox Soccer 2 Go
Club Brugge (0 points) vs. FC Copenhagen (6 points), Wednesday, 2:45 p.m., ESPN 3/Fox Soccer 2 Go
Juventus (11 points) vs. Dinamo Zagreb (0 points), Wednesday, 2:45 p.m., ESPN 3/Fox Soccer 2 Go
Lyon (7 points) vs. Sevilla FC (10 points), Wednesday, 2:45 p.m., ESPN 2/ESPN 3/Fox Soccer 2 Go