There will be a big showdown tomorrow in the “Hammer Group” F of the Football Champions League. League leaders Borussia Dortmund welcome Paris St. Germain (9 p.m./live on Sky and ServusTV), AC Milan are visiting Newcastle United.
While the Dortmund team already has the round of 16 ticket in their pocket, the rest of the trio are down to business.
Newcastle and Milan hold five points each and are under pressure to win in order to be able to flirt with the round of 16 in the premier class. Both teams also rely on support from Dortmund (10 points), as PSG has seven points. If the Parisians around Kylian Mbappe win in Germany, they will not only be further ahead, but will also be group winners ahead of Dortmund.
However, BVB wants to prevent that and build on its series of three Champions League wins in a row once morest Paris. “We know what qualities they have as a team, but we have also seen their defensive problems in away games,” explained coach Edin Terzic. “We will invest everything we can to come out of the group stage as winners.” It is questionable whether Terzic can rely on Marcel Sabitzer, who was recently injured.
In the event of a Milan success in England, a draw would be enough for PSG to win promotion, as the French are ahead in a direct duel. However, if Newcastle get three points, PSG will need an away win to stay in the Champions League. In the event of a draw between Newcastle and Milan, Paris would be the laughing third even if they lost.
In Group H there will be a direct duel for promotion between FC Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk. Both teams have nine points and the Ukrainians need to win following losing their home game once morest the Portuguese 3-1 in September. FC Barcelona will be visiting Royal Antwerp at the end of the group phase. The Catalans can hardly take away their group victory; a draw would finally fix it in favor of Xavi’s troops. The Belgians, on the other hand, are firmly bottom of the group.
In Group G all positions have already been taken. For Red Star Belgrade and Aleksandar Dragovic, the European Cup season ends with the home duel once morest pool winners Manchester City. The second RB Leipzig welcomes the Young Boys from Bern with the ÖFB trio Xaver Schlager, Nicolas Seiwald and Christoph Baumgartner. The Swiss move into the Europa League intermediate round in third place.
Almost everything is clear in Group E too. Atletico Madrid (11 points) defended their lead in the table in the duel between the newcomers once morest Lazio Rome (10) and thus their group victory. Gernot Trauner’s club, Feyenoord Rotterdam, will continue to play in the Europa League.
