Heavy guns keep powder dry Best of Dikgacoi yet to come, promises Larsen
It’s make or break as giants enter Europe battlefield
WHILE Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund grapple for top spot in Group F, twice former winners Porto and Sevilla look to clinch the two remaining spots in the Champions League last 16 today.
Portuguese giants Porto, European champions in 1987 and 2004, host Leicester City in their final group stage match wary of FC Copenhagen pipping them to second in Group G.
Despite a woeful defence of their Premier League crown, Leicester are guaranteed to finish top of their section in Europe and avoid the likes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the next round.
And the Foxes could well decide which team joins them in the knockout phase with Copenhagen, third in the group, trailing Porto by two points ahead of a trip to pointless Club Brugge. Porto halted a run of five straight draws courtesy of teenager Rui Pedro’s 95th-minute winner over Braga at the weekend.
Porto will secure their passage to the last 16 with victory over Leicester, but anything less will open the door for Copenhagen, who have a head-to-head advantage over the Portuguese on away goals.
Copenhagen, unbeaten domestically this term, stretched their lead in Denmark to 11 points on Saturday after securing an eighth successive win with a 1-0 defeat of Randers.
Three-time reigning Europa League champions Sevilla are favourites to advance alongside Juventus in Group H, with Lyon needing to beat the Spaniards by at least two goals at Parc OL.
Sevilla may welcome back Samir Nasri from injury, while Juventus, a point clear at the top, will be expected to cement first place with group makeweights Dinamo Zagreb rounding out their fruitless campaign in Turin.
Dortmund are one shy of the 20-goal group stage record – achieved by three sides including Manchester United’s treble-winning side in 1998-99 as well as the Real team that landed ‘La Decima’ in 2014 – ahead of their visit to the Santiago Bernabeu.
A draw would send Dortmund through as winners of Group F, with Real facing the prospect of a tougher draw unless Zinedine Zidane’s men come away with all three points.
Bayer Leverkusen, confirmed as runners-up of Group E, host Leonardo Jardim’s impressive table-topping Monaco, while Tottenham Hotspur must avoid defeat to CSKA Moscow at Wembley to parachute into the Europa League. — AFP LAMONTVILLE Golden Arrows coach Clinton Larsen believes the club will see the best of midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi in the second half of the season once they have time to work on his fitness.
Dikgacoi returned to Golden Arrows in October after seven years playing in England‚ and has slotted into the midfield despite being clearly short of the required match fitness.
But Larsen says the former Bafana Bafana midfielder is still an effective weapon and has given him a free role in the centre of the park to bring his experience to the team.
“We have been using him as a free player in midfield. We do have [Danny] Phiri‚ [Musa] Bilankulu and [Nkanyiso] Cele playing in those areas as well‚” Larsen says.
“But what we try to do at times is when he drops deep‚ we get one of the other guys forward.
“But he is fitness.
“With our first game of the second round [in the PSL] only being in February‚ we are going to have ample time in January to really work on his fitness.
“He has such a lot to offer. He has great vision‚ a calmness in possession‚ which is what we sometimes lack with the young players‚ and I am sure he is going to be a great asset in the second round.”
Golden Arrows are just three points off second place in the league and have lost just four of their 12 games to date.
Larsen says they are ahead of where they want to be‚ as they set a goal of 24 points by Christmas‚ which means they need another six from games against Bidvest Wits (home)‚ Baroka FC (away) and Kaizer Chiefs (home).
“The work ethic has been tremendous throughout the team‚ throughout the season‚” Larsen says.
“And if we continue to work this way‚ especially on the road‚ we will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
“We have set ourselves a target of eight points for every five games we play.
“And we have achieved that in the first 10 games.
“If we can do the same in the second half then 48 points would give you a comfortable top six position and as a club that is where we want to be.”
Golden Arrows will host Wits in their next match on Wednesday next week. — TMG Digital still finding his feet and his