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Will Manchester City crash out from Europe completely?
Manchester City have a mammoth task if they want to avoid a total exit from Europe. Qualifying from the group stages of the UEFA Champions League had always been the fans’ obsession following last season failure. The players and the coach could not respond to their supporters’ demands as negative results against Real Madrid and Ajax piled up.
Ahead of Tuesday’s fixture away to Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City understand that Europa League qualify is the only possible thing they can acquire. Even then, their fate is not in their hands. They will have to defeat the German Bundesliga champions and hope that Real Madrid overcome Ajax at the Santiago Bernabeu.
At this point, however, Manchester City may not even be motivated to win. UEFA Europa League football was never what they wished for before the beginning of this season. They might prefer to rest on Thursday nights and put all their energy in defending their English Premier League crown. On this note, it must be noted that a big clash awaits the Citizens this weekend: the Manchester derby.
Watch Borussia Dortmund vs Manchester City at 14:45 EST on Tuesday, December 4, 2012.
Group D permutations
- Due to the head-to-head rule, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid will finish first and second respectively regardless of what happens on Matchday 6.
- Due to the head-to-head rule, Manchester City will miss out on UEFA Europa League football with a draw even if Ajax lose to Real Madrid.
- Manchester City will advance only if they beat Borussia Dortmund and Ajax drop points away to Real Madrid.
| UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: GROUP D 2012/2013 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 11 | |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 8 | |
| 3 | Ajax | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 4 | |
| 4 | Manchester City | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 3 | |
Will Lionel Messi break Gerd Müller’s record on December 5, 2012?.jpg)
2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or favourite Lionel Messi is highly motivated to perform at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night. La Pulga publicly revealed his admiration for Celtic fans in an interview with the Daily Record on Monday.
“The Celtic fans deserve to be in Europe. […] We have not always been supportive of the way that Celtic try and play football.
“However, their fans deserve the knockout stages of the Champions League as I think the competition would be a quieter place without them.”
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi is likely to make huge noise in midweek with a goal or more. The Argentine attacker netted his 83rd and 84th goals against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga last weekend. He is poised to equal or break the record of Gerd Müller’s 85 goals in a calendar year for club and country.
Benfica must beware as Lionel Messi could single-handedly demote them to the UEFA Europa League at the benefit of Celtic…
Watch Barcelona vs Benfica at 14:45 EST on Wednesday, December 5, 2012.
Group G permutations
- Benfica will qualify as long as they get a better result than Celtic on the day.
| UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: GROUP G 2012/2013 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 12 | |
| 2 |  |
Benfica | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | +0 | 7 |
| 3 |  |
Celtic | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | +0 | 7 |
| 4 | Spartak Moskva | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 3 | |
Will Chelsea enjoy a miracle to reach the Last 16 at Juventus’ expense?
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Chelsea will be begging Shakhtar Donetsk to triumph over Juventus. The former could relax having already qualified for the Round of 16. However, qualifying as group winners would be a great honour. The Ukrainians will play to win, as coach Lucescu warned during the pre-match press conference.
However, victory over the Old Lady is not guaranteed yet. Besides, a draw would be enough for Shakhtar to win their section. This encounter will in fact decide Chelsea’s fate. Meanwhile, the outcome of the Blues’ match against Nordsjaelland may decide Rafael Benitez’s career as interim coach at the club.
The Spaniard has managed two goalless and a 3-1 loss since arriving at the Bridge to replace the fans’ beloved coach, Roberto Di Matteo. Pressure to triumph on Wednesday is high but mathematics tells that there is still room for hope.
Will the Blues be the first ever UEFA Champions League titleholders to crash out in the group stages?
Watch Chelsea vs Nordsjaelland at 14:45 EST on Wednesday, December 5, 2012.
Group E permutations
- Shakhtar need a point to secure the top spot in Group E.
- Juventus will finish first with victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.
- Chelsea will qualify for the Round of 16 with victory over Nordsjaelland if Juventus lose to Shakhtar.
| UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: GROUP E 2012/2013 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Shakhtar Donetsk | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 10 |
| 2 | |
Juventus | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 9 |
| 3 | |
Chelsea | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 7 |
| 4 | Nordsjælland | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 16 | -13 | 1 | |
