Real Madrid and Inter Milan have found life tough in group B so far. Madrid lie at the foot of the table, scraping a draw through a Casemiro goal in the 93rd minute last night against Borussia Moenchengladbach. Inter had to settle for another draw that sees them lie third. The two European giants face each other next week in a tie that could see one of them on the way to the Europa League or worse.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich survived a scare against Lokomotiv Moscow to continue their perfect start. Atletico Madrid had to rely on Joao Felix to snatch a victory against Salzburg.
Man City and Porto had easy wins against Marseille and Olympiacos respectively in Group C while Liverpool earned a good victory against a tough Midtjylland side. Jurgen Klopp lost another centre back when Fabinho went down injured in the first half. Rhys Williams replaced him and had a fine game.
Atalanta and Ajax played out an entertaining 2-2- draw, with Duvan Zapata showing his worth with two fine goals.
Let’s have a look at some of tonight’s big games.
Tonight’s marquee match comes in Group G. A Ronaldo-less Juventus welcome an out of sorts Barcelona to the Allianz stadium. Barcelona had an easy win on Matchday 2, but they lost to Real Madrid over the weekend and won’t have much breathing space against Juve. Ronaldo will be a big loss for the Italians, who drew at the weekend. Will this be a cagy affair or a free flowing game?
In Group H, Manchester United face R.B. Leipzig at home. This will be a tough game for United. Leipzig are first in the Bundesliga and have been on the rise for the last number of years. Hated by opposition fans in Germany because of their formation by owners Red Bull, nobody can deny the talent the team possesses and the threat they bring. They reached the semi-final earlier this year, dispatching Tottenham and Atletico Madrid in the knockout stages before losing to eventual winners Bayern. This has the potential to be a tougher match for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer than last week’s win against P.S.G.
The Manchester United manager has a few decisions to make in his lineup. Does he stick with what kept Chelsea quiet at the weekend or revert back to the team that performed well against P.S.G.?
In Group E, Chelsea are away to FC Krasnodar where they need to get more points on the board. Frank Lampard will be happy that his team has not conceded in the last two games, but they haven’t looked like scoring either. That will have to change tonight.
Predictions
Group E – FC Krasnodar 0-1 Chelsea
Sevilla 2-0 Rennes
Group F – Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Zenit
Club Brugge 0-2 Lazio
Group G – Ferencvaros 0-2 Dynamo Kyiv
Juventus 2-1 Barcelona
Group H – Istanbul 0-3 P.S.G.
Manchester United 1-1 RB Leipzig.
The Rathpeacon Rambler 