On Wednesday, November 24th, 2021 the Champions League will feature a nice selection of matches as many of these football clubs are fighting to move on from the group stage to the last 16. Below highlights some of the biggest as well as most consequential Matchday 5 games.
Group A
In a powerhouse battle that could possibly contain as much excitement as a final, Manchester City will host Paris Saint – Germain (PSG) with both football clubs possibly able to cement their place in the Champions League’s final 16 even with a match to spare. Manchester City currently holds the top spot in Group A as they are just 1 – point in front of Paris Saint – Germain, who is presently 4 – points in front of Club Brugge.
If RB Leipzig can manage to defeat Club Brugge in the other Group A match on Wednesday, Manchester City and Paris Saint – Germain would advance no matter what the outcome in their match against one another at Etihad Stadium this Wednesday. Manchester City would absolutely win the group if they can beat PSG, and City will be trying to send a strong message as they lost to PSG in Paris during the return fixture, where Lionel Messi netted his first goal for Paris Saint – Germain.
Manchester City will be playing without Kevin De Bruyne following him testing positive for COVID – 19. This game will mark the return to England for the head coach of Paris Saint – Germain, Mauricio Pochettino, who just so happened to make it to the 2019 Champions League final while managing Tottenham’s football club. Presently Pochettino is in Manchester as the manager of PSG, while he seems to be a prime candidate to take over the coaching vacancy left at Manchester United following the recent firing of Ole Gunnar Solskjaerlast last Sunday.
Group B
Liverpool will face off against Porto at Anfield Stadium in a game that really only possesses important implications for Porto. Liverpool has currently locked in their 1st – place spot in Group B following their wins in all 4 of their first group matches. At the moment Porto is sitting in the 2nd – place spot of Group B as they are only 1 – point in front of Atletico Madrid as well as 4 – points in front of AC Milan.
Atlético Madrid will host Milan, who has to come out victorious in that match if they want to stay in contention to either move on in Champions League or possibly end up in 3rd – place in Group B placing Atletico Madrid into the Europa League. The manager of Atlético Madrid, Diego Simeone, will now have the services of Antoine Griezmannfor this important game as UEFA downsized Griezmann’s suspension from 2 – games to only 1 – game after Antoine received a red card in Atletico Madrid’s game versus Liverpool. Milan’s dangerous veteran striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, recently scored two times last weekend in Serie A play demonstrating he is returning back to form following his latest injury.
Group C
During Matchday 5 on Wednesday, November 24th, 2021 Borussia Dortmund will play Sporting C P. These two football clubs are currently tied with 6 – points each as both these sides are looking to win in order to maintain control of the 2nd – place position in the standings of Group C. Sporting C P has won 9 – consecutive matches across all competitions, and Sporting’s last loss just so happened to come at the hands of Borussia Dortmund during the beginning of this year’s Champions League play. In another Group C match, Ajax will visit Besiktas who has already been eliminated from the upcoming Champions League tournament.
Group D
Also, on Wednesday Real Madrid will take on Sheriff with a chance for Karim Benzema, Vinícius Júnior, and rest of the Real Madrid football club to secure a place in the Champions League last 16 knockout round. Real Madrid will have to play without their heavy – attacking footballers in Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard who will both be held out of this Wednesday’s match vs. Sheriff due to health issues.
Real Madrid currently leads Group D in 1st – place with a 2 – point margin over Inter Milan. Inter Milan will host the 4th – place (last place) Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday as well. Real Madrid can move on to the Champions League tournament if they defeat Sheriff, and they will lock in a 1st – place finish in Group D if they win and Inter Milan fails to beat Shakhtar Donetsk. Real Madrid still does have to come to play this week when they play Sheriff as Sheriff shocked the world by defeating Real Madrid back in September of 2021.
Sources:
The Associated Press News Services. “MATCHDAY: Man City hosts PSG; Madrid, Liverpool in action”. The Associated Press. November 23, 2021.
