A big match for Manchester United travelling to Bayer Leverkusen, that might complicate things in their group even further. Juventus are in a must-win situation at home against FC Copenhagen, hoping the result from the Santiago Bernabeu, where Real Madrid host Galatasaray, will be pleasing to hear as well.
There’s nothing too special about the rest of the matches in the night – mostly about teams trying to find their way out of the bottom two and hopefully end up with a good position to secure the ticket to the next round, although there are too many teams that have already clinched their place in the knockout stage.
Shakhtar vs Real Sociedad
A simple must win for the Ukrainian champions, who have been disappointing so far in the tournament. They have to play at Old Trafford in the group finisher, which complicates their chances unless they beat the Spanish side, which rarely picks up points away from home. Donetsk aren’t doing much better in the Champions League (Drew with Leverkusen at home), but should have enough to get the win.
Leverkusen vs Manchester United
A match that could mean complication for David Moyes and Manchester United, who still haven’t won away from home in the Champions League. Leverkusen are in good form, but suffer from softness among their centre backs, which could be costly. Seems like a draw, which will make United’s final match at home against Donetsk a tense affair.
Juventus vs FC Copenhagen
It’s pretty simple: Juventus have to beat Copenhagen in order to stay alive. Copenhagen won’t do much but park the bus and hope for a bread crumb here and there allowing them to counter attack. Juve have been winning in the league non stop since their loss to Fiorentina, but it doesn’t usually come with the most impressive of abilities.
Real Madrid vs Galatasaray
A match Real Madrid can afford to let go, but it’ll also be a test of strength to see how they handle life without Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be out for the next three weeks. Although the Turkish champions need the points badly, it will be very surprising to see them coming away with anything from the Santiago Bernabeu.
Anderlecht vs Benfica
The young Belgian side has been struggling in both competitions, while Benfica are looking better and better in the league. If they play the counter attack right, Anderlecht are often very exposed and naive in their home matches, which will give the Portuguese side a chance to get closer to Olympiacos.
PSG vs Olympiacos
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in scary form, and so are PSG, distancing themselves away from the chasers in Ligue 1 earlier than they did last season. Anything but a dominant win for the French side will be quite surprising in this one.
CSKA Moscow vs Bayern Munich
Nothing to play for, both for Bayern and pretty much for CSKA, most likely finishing third and heading to the Europa League. It won’t change the fact that Bayern will win this one as well.
Manchester City vs Viktoria Plzen
Manchester City just beat Tottenham 6-0. Plzen are in good shape back in the Czech Republic, but they’ve lost both their away matches in the group stage, conceding 8 goals. It’s not going to be pretty.