Plenty at stake for top sides
Real and Tottenham look for win to secure last-16 berth
PARIS: Champions League holders Real Madrid take on Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley today with both teams looking to secure a place in the last 16.
Manchester City and Besiktas can also book their spots in the knockout stages, while Liverpool bid to put another hatful of goals past Maribor.
Here we take a look at what is at stake in each group:
GROUP E Liverpool vs Maribor
Juergen Klopp’s side sit top of the group after their recordbreaking 70 thrashing of Maribor in Slovenia two weeks ago. Five different players scored as Liverpool chalked up the biggest away win for an English team in the history of the competition.
The fivetime European champions could seal a last16 place with Anfield victories against Maribor and Spartak Moscow in their next two outings, having not reached the knockout phase since 200809.
Liverpool grabbed a muchneeded 30 win over Huddersfield in the English Premier League on Saturday to bounce back from a 41 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.
Defeat for Slovenian champions Maribor would see them eliminated if Sevilla lose to Spartak Moscow.
Sevilla vs Spartak Moscow
Record fivetime Europa League winners Sevilla are in danger of missing out on the last 16 after a shock 51 thumping in Moscow last time out. Russian champions Spartak are level on points at the top of the standings with Liverpool, and a positive result in Spain would put them in a strong position with their next group match at home against struggling Maribor.
Sevilla moved up to fifth in La Liga on Saturday by edging out Leganes 21 for their first win in three league games.
GROUP F
Napoli vs Manchester City
Maurizio Sarri’s Italian League leaders extended their superb unbeaten start to the domestic campaign with a 31 win over Sassuolo — the ninth time in 11 Serie A matches they’ve netted three or more goals.
Like Napoli, City have dropped just two points in a flying start to their English Premier League campaign, and a draw at the San Paolo would send Pep Guardiola’s men through to the last 16 for the fifth consecutive year.
City have kept eight clean sheets in their last 12 matches and are undefeated in 21 games dating back to last April.
Sergio Aguero remains a goal away from becoming the club’s outright alltime leading scorer — he is currently level with Eric Brook on 177 goals.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Feyenoord
The Ukrainians will aim to secure backtoback wins over pointless Feyenoord and take a significant stride towards the next phase.
Shakhtar are second in the group — three points behind City, and three ahead of Napoli — while Feyenoord will be knocked out unless they register a maiden win in Ukraine. Shakhtar defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy is banned after his sendingoff in the 21 win in Rotterdam, while Dutch champions Feyenoord have fallen 10 points off the pace in Holland after winning just once in six attempts.
GROUP G Besiktas vs Monaco
Victory for Besiktas would secure a ticket for the last 16 for the first time in 31 years. After three wins from their first three games, a win coupled with a draw between Porto and Leipzig would also confirm top spot for the Istanbul outfit.
A draw could also take them through if Leipzig beat Porto.
Monaco reached the semifinals last season but sit bottom of the group without a win and defeat would leave them on the brink of bowing out of the competition.
Leonardo Jardim’s principality outfit may also have to make do without unfit captain and star striker Radamel Falcao in Turkey.
Porto vs Leipzig
Last season’s Bundesliga runnersup Leipzig revived their hopes of progressing from the group with a 32 win over Porto a fortnight ago and are one point clear of the Portuguese side in second.
Champions League debutants Leipzig suffered two defeats to German title rivals Bayern Munich last week in the Cup and the league, while Porto maintained their twopoint lead in Portugal by beating Boavista.
The twotime European champions are looking to reach the last 16 for the third time in four seasons.
GROUP H
Borussia Dortmund vs APOEL Nicosia
Both teams face the threat of elimination after recording just a single point — following a 11 draw in Cyprus last time out — from three matches.
Dortmund have only won one of their last eight European games, with their domestic form also tailing off dramatically in recent weeks.
Peter Bosz’s team crashed to a 42 defeat at Hanover on Saturday to surrender top spot in the Bundesliga to Bayern Munich. PierreEmerick Aubameyang returned from injury at the weekend after missing the German Cup victory over thirdtier Magdeburg.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Real Madrid
A victory for either side would guarantee a spot in the last 16, although Tottenham are winless against Real in five previous meetings.
Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful Harry Kane will be fit for the visit of the European champions to Wembley after missing Saturday’s 10 loss at Manchester United.
Real, level at the top of the section with Spurs on seven points after three matches, are coming off a shock 21 defeat at Girona in their first appearance in Catalonia since the violenceplagued Oct 1 referendum that plunged Spain into political crisis.
The result left Zinedine Zidane’s team eight points adrift of La Liga leaders Barcelona — a deficit they have never overcome to win the Spanish title.