Uefa Champions League Matchday 5 Preview
It’s time for Matchday 5 in the Champions League, with plenty on the line.
Matchday 4 saw Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Real Sociedad and Inter book their places in the round of 16, and Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Atlético Madrid, Lazio, Barcelona and Porto could all confirm their progress this time around.
Manchester United, meanwhile, risk elimination if they do not get a positive result away at Galatasaray.
After beating Barca on Matchday 4, Shakhtar Donetsk are well in the hunt for a last-16 place, and given they play in one of Tuesday’s early games, they could apply real pressure on Barcelona and Porto above them by beating winless Royal Antwerp. Antwerp are one of only two teams to have lost every game in the Champions League this season, along with Benfica. The Belgian champions have conceded more goals than any other side (14), while they also have the worst goal difference in the current tournament (-11).
The other early game takes place in Group E, with Celtic – whose chances of progressing are already over – taking on Lazio in Rome. Celtic are winless in their last 14 matches in the Champions League (D3 L11). If they fail to beat Lazio in this fixture, they will become the first British side to go 15 consecutive games without winning in European Cup/Champions League history. After their victory over Feyenoord last time out in the competition, Lazio will be aiming to win back-to-back games in the Champions League for the first time since October 2001
Group E’s other match sees Feyenoord host Atlético Madrid, who will progress with a win at De Kuip. Diego Simeone will take charge of Atléti for the 100th time in the Champions League, Atléti have never lost an away game in the Champions League against a Dutch side
The main drama could come in Group F, which is still wide open. The ‘group of death’ has certainly lived up to the billing, and Newcastle United head to Paris Saint-Germain knowing they must avoid defeat to prevent being eliminated. Things were going so well for the Magpies after the 4-1 thumping they dished out to PSG at St James’ Park, but successive defeats to Borussia Dortmund have left their prospects looking much bleaker.
Newcastle are yet to score away from home this campaign, drawing 0-0 with Milan on Matchday 1 and losing 2-0 to BVB last time out. However, PSG have lost two of their last three Champions League games (W1). The French side have not lost consecutive group stage matches in the same campaign in the competition since 2004-05.
The other Group F game sees Dortmund travel to San Siro to face Milan. A victory for Dortmund could send them through, while a win for the Rossoneri could see the Serie A side move top of the group heading into Matchday 6
Manchester City and RB Leipzig are already through from Group G, though there is of course top spot still up for grabs. A point for Pep Guardiola’s side would be enough to see them through as group winners with a game to spare, and it would be a surprise to see the visitors come away from the Etihad with anything
The omens are not great for Leipzig, given their last trip to City ended in a 7-0 defeat last season; that was the biggest margin of victory for Guardiola in a Champions League match. Leipzig have lost their last four away Champions League matches in England by an aggregate score of 20-3. They are looking for their first away win in England since February 2020, when they won 1-0 at Tottenham. Erling Haaland, meanwhile, has scored more goals against Leipzig than against any other team in his club career, netting 11 times in seven appearances, including five times in this fixture last season.
While City and Leipzig battle it out for first place, third spot – and a place in the Europa League play-offs – is also up for grabs. Red Star Belgrade are in third as it stands, ahead of Young Boys, though both teams are on one point.
In Group H, Barcelona host Porto, with Xavi’s side still in need of a victory to guarantee their place in the next round.
Despite their defeat to Shakhtar in Hamburg last time out, Barca have a higher chance of taking the three points and progressing to the last 16.
Manchester United kick off proceedings on Wednesday, and Erik ten Hag’s team will need at least a draw to stand a chance of making it into the next round. They sit bottom of Group A ahead of their trip to Istanbul to face Galatasaray, though that would not be enough if Copenhagen pulled off a shock win in Munich later in the evening.
In the opening four matchdays in the Champions League this season, no team conceded more goals than United in the 15 minutes leading up to half-time (three) or in the final 15 minutes of games (four). In addition, no side dropped more points from winning positions than them (six) across the first four games. This will be the eighth time Galatasaray have hosted English opposition in the Champions League; they have only lost two of the previous seven (W2 D3).
Wednesday’s other early match sees Sevilla host PSV, in Group B. The hosts must win to stand a chance of staying in the competition – anything but a victory means they will be unable to qualify. PSV have been in excellent form this season, but the Eredivisie side have won just one of their 18 away European matches in Spain (D5 L12), a 1-0 win over Granada in the Europa League. In the Champions League, they have won none of seven visits (D2 L5).
Elsewhere in Group B, a point could be enough for Arsenal to progress. A win over Lens at home, meanwhile, would ensure Mikel Arteta’s team finish top. Remarkably, all five of Lens’ previous European matches against English teams have come against Arsenal (W2 D1 L2).
After their dramatic victory last time out over Man Utd, Copenhagen will be aiming to win consecutive games in the same Champions League campaign for only the second time. Harry Kane has been directly involved in six goals in four Champions League appearances for Bayern (four goals, two assists), with no player contributing more across the first four matchdays of the 2023-24 edition. Roony Bardghji, at 18 years and 14 days, is aiming to become the youngest player in the competition’s history to score in consecutive appearances.
Real Madrid are already through from Group C, and Napoli will be hoping to join Los Blancos in the last 16. A win for the Serie A champions at the Santiago Bernabéu would see them progress, though a draw would also be enough if Union Berlin hold Braga in the other game. This will be Walter Mazzarri’s second game in charge of I Partenopei since returning to replace Rudi Garcia, and their chances of picking up a win are slim.
Group D is already settled when it comes to who will be going through, but Real Sociedad and Inter Milan are battling for first place. Inter visit Benfica in their penultimate match, and though the Portuguese giants are yet to pick up a single point, this is expected to be an extremely close contest. Of all the matches in this round, this one is the most likely to be a draw, The Nerazzurri, last season’s runners-up of course, have won their last three games in the group, and could win four in a row for the first time since 2009-10 (six), when they last won the competition. Benfica are winless in all six of their major European matches against Inter (D2 L4). They have only faced Bayern Munich more often without winning (12 games) in all major European competitions.
Real Sociedad, who like Inter are on 10 points, welcome Salzburg to the Basque country, and are expected to win a fourth game in this group campaign, Real Sociedad have scored seven goals in the Champions League this season, with six of them coming within the first 30 minutes of games – they have scored more goals inside the first half-hour than any other side this season.
