The Champions League group stage is nearing an end and things are heating up. Beginning tomorrow and into Wednesday, the 5th round of group stage matches will kick-off. Across many of the groups, these matches will prove pivotal to which teams advance through into the knockout stages (final 16). Let’s take a look at the group’s tables, fixtures for Matchday 5 and some major storylines.
Firstly, we will cover Tuesday’s match groups, E-H. Groups A-D, whose matches take place Wednesday, will be covered in a subsequent article tomorrow.
Group E
MP W D L GD PTS.
| 1. Chelsea | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 2. RB Salzburg | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 3. AC Milan | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 4 |
| 4. Dinamo Zagreb | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 4 |
Matchday 5 Fixtures: Chelsea at RB Salzburg, AC Milan at Dinamo Zagreb
The Rundown: Chelsea and RB Salzburg sit atop the table with just one point separating the two before their matchup in Austria on Tuesday. Chelsea would qualify through to the knockout stage with a win at the Red Bull Arena. For RB Salzburg, a win as the hosts on Tuesday and an AC Milan defeat to Dinamo would advance them out of Group A. Both Milan and Dinamo could still qualify out of the group, but the fate of the group lay in Chelsea and Salzburgs’ hands.
Biggest Storyline: This group will undoubtedly, no matter Tuesday’s results, need the final matchday to determine who advances. Chelsea have not failed to get out of the group stage since their 2012-2013 campaign. Their trip to Austria, and hopeful return to England with at least a point, is crucial if Graham Potter’s men want to continue that streak.
Group F
MP W D L GD PTS.
| 1. Real Madrid | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 2. RB Leipzig | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 6 |
| 3. Shakhtar Donetsk | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 4. Celtic | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -7 | 1 |
Matchday 5 Fixtures: Shakhtar Donetsk at Celtic, Real Madrid at RB Leipzig
The Rundown: The defending Champions League winners’ Real Madrid have already qualified for the knockout stages. Carlo Ancelotti’s men will travel to Germany on Tuesday to secure 1st place in Group F. Los Blancos, in a near-meaningless matchup, will travel without several first team options including: Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Federico Valverde. German-side Leipzig are looking to gain more points at home before their matchday 6 fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk, in what very likely would be a match that will determine 2nd in the group. Shakhtar Donetsk will travel to Scotland to take on Celtic. A Shakhtar Win OR Draw AND a Leipzig defeat to Real Madrid would leapfrog the Ukrainian side into 2nd in the group.
Biggest Storyline: Although they currently sit 3rd in the table, Shakhtar Donetsk very much hold the fate of the 2nd qualifying spot in their hands. The Ukrainian side, if they were to win at Celtic, would need just one point from a home fixture against RB Leipzig in the final matchday next week to advance.
Group G
MP W D L GD PTS.
| 1. Man City | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 2. Dortmund | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| 3. Sevilla | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -7 | 2 |
| 4. Copenhagen | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -8 | 2 |
Matchday 5 Fixtures: Copenhagen at Sevilla, Manchester City at Borussia Dortmund
The Rundown: Going into Matchday 5 of the CL, Man City can win Group G with a Win OR Tie on Tuesday. Borussia Dortmund can guarantee a top-2 finish in the group with a win and all but do with a tie. This group is another that has the potential to be largely shaken up in the final two matchdays, but it is very unlikely. In the other Group G matchup, both Copenhagen and Sevilla sit on 2 points, 5 behind Dortmund. A Dortmund loss against City would mean a chance at qualification into the knockouts for the 3rd and 4th placed teams in the group. If, of course, one of the sides obtains three points from their fixture on Tuesday.
Biggest Storyline: Erling Haaland makes his return to Signal Iduna Park against his former club. This comes just months into Haaland’s first season in Manchester, after City activated his release clause for 60 million euros back in June.
Group H
MP W D L GD PTS.
| 1. PSG | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 2. Benfica | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 3. Juventus | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 4. Maccabi Haifa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 3 |
Matchday 5 Fixtures: Maccabi Haifa at Paris Saint Germain, Juventus at Benfica
The Rundown: The 4th group to have matches Tuesday is Group H. In this group, through 4 match days, both Benfica and PSG are unbeaten. They each have the ability to qualify from the group if both win their respective fixtures. A draw in both matches, respectively, would also see both of the top 2 teams in the group go through. PSG play host to Maccabi Haifa. Haifa, the Israeli side, has already played spoiler to Juventus in this group and will look to do the same at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday. For Benfica, a win or draw at home against Juventus would move them to 20 consecutive unbeaten matches this season; they are yet to suffer defeat across all competitions this campaign. The 1st ranked team in Portugal’s Primeira Liga could sink the Italian-sides knockout stage hopes with just a tie.
Biggest Storyline: If Juventus do not travel back to Italy with 3 points from Benfica, then their abysmal CL campaign will be over. Juve also currently sit 8th in the table in Italy’s Serie A, which has added even more questions to the growing list of concerns about Massimiliano Allegri’s men.
Please come back tomorrow to read about the second half of Matchday 5 fixtures (Groups A-D) in the Champions League group stages, which take place on Wednesday.
Featured Image courtesy of SkySports
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