By Robert Wheeler
- Liverpool play Napoli
- Tottenham travel to Marseille
- Celtic face Real Madrid
UK – It is the final round of the Group Stage with Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham all having a chance of topping their groups.
Liverpool vs Napoli, Tuesday 1 November, kick-off 20:00
Both Liverpool and Napoli are already through to the knockout stages. It looks very likely that the Italian side will top the group unless Jurgen Klopp‘s side wins 7-0.
Napoli’s goalscoring has been impressive in the competition so far and it is why their goal difference is so far ahead of the Refs. Luciano Spalletti‘s side defeated Liverpool 4-1 earlier in the competition so any motivation Klopp’s team need is to make amends for that poor showing at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Both sides won 3-0 last time out in Europe so we can expect to see goals at Anfield. Liverpool needs to be particularly wary of Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone who both have four goals each in the competition.
Liverpool’s domestic form has not been so defeated as they have lost their last two Premier League games to Nottingham Forest and Leeds United. As for Napoli, they are sitting pretty at the top of Serie A and won 4-0 over Sassuolo at the weekend.
Score prediction: Liverpool 3-2 Napoli
Rangers vs Ajax, Tuesday 1 November, kick-off 20:00
Rangers are all but out of European competition this season as unless they win 11-0 then they will finish bottom of the group and miss out on going into the Europa League.
It has been a miserable campaign for Giovanni van Bronckhorst‘s side who has lost all five of their games. They were drawn into a group of death but this game is a chance for them to go out on a high in front of their fans at Ibrox.
Rangers are currently second in the Scottish Premiership and had a 4-1 win over Aberdeen at the weekend. While Ajax is top of the Eredivisie and in their last three league games have won 4-1, 7-1 and 4-2.
Score prediction: Rangers 1-2 Ajax
Marseille vs Tottenham Hotspur, Tuesday 1 November, kick-off 20:00
A victory for Tottenham Hotspur would ensure that they top their group. Marseille needs a victory to have any chance of going through.
Spurs had a frustrating night last week as they drew 1-1 with Sporting. Their former play Marcus Edwards came back to haunt them as he scored for the Portuguese side. Harry Kane had thought he had won it for them in the very last minute but his goal was ruled out by VAR. The decision led to a furious Antonio Conte being shown a red card.
Marseille lost 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt last time out and Conte’s side beat them 2-0 earlier in the competition. Spurs will be expecting a victory in this game despite them not currently not being on the best run of form.
Spurs had an impressive comeback at the weekend as they came from two goals down to defeat Bournemouth 3-2. Whilst Marseille who is currently fifth in Ligue 1 had a 2-2 draw with Strasbourg.
Score prediction: Marseille 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea vs Dinamo Zagreb, Wednesday 2 November, kick-off 20:00
Chelsea has already qualified for the knockout rounds but a win or a draw would be enough to top their group. They come up against a Dinamo Zagreb side who beat them 1-0 earlier in the season. That result cost Thomas Tuchel his job in the Blues hot seat.
Since that result under Graham Potter, the West London side is yet to lose a game. They defeated Red Bull Salzburg last week thanks to two great strikers from Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz.
Zagreb needs a win and AC Milan to lose a big goal swing in their favour if they are to qualify for the knockout stages. It is a tough ask but finishing third and going into the Europa League is achievable.
Potter suffered his first defeat as Chelsea’s manager last weekend when they were beaten 4-1 by his former club Brighton. As for Zagreb are the leaders in the Croatian Football League but suffered a 1-0 defeat to Osijek on Saturday.
Score prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid vs Celtic, Wednesday 2 November, kick-off 17:45
Celtic like Rangers has had a very disappointing campaign. Not even a victory would be enough to qualify them for the Europa League.
However, they are playing a Real Madrid side which has already qualified. The Hoops players would have dreamed of playing at the Bernabeu and for their travelling fans, they need to put on a show.
Ange Postecoglou‘s side got a respectable 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk last week but coming up against a Los Blancos side who has recent Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema in their ranks is a daunting prospect.
Celtic are top of the league in Scotland and won 3-0 over Livingston at the weekend. While Real Madrid is also top of their domestic league but they only managed a 1-1 draw with Girona on Sunday.
Score prediction: Real Madrid 2-0 Celtic
Manchester City vs Sevilla, Wednesday 2 November, kick-off 20:00
A win or draw would make sure that already qualified Manchester City win their group. Sevilla needs a win and a big goal swing in their favour to progress in the competition.
The Spanish side got a very good 3-0 victory over Copenhagen last week whilst City drew 0-0 with Dortmund. Pep Guardiola‘s side 4-0 when they met earlier in the competition with Erling Haaland scoring twice. However, Haaland will not feature this Wednesday as he has ligament damage in his foot which he suffered in last week’s draw with Borussia Dortmund.
Haaland has already got five goals in the Champions League so far and will be looking to add to his tally. The game also sees former city players Jesús Navas and Fernando return to the Etihad.
Both sides won 1-0 in their leagues over the weekend with Sevilla beating Rayo Vallecano and Guardiola’s side beat Leicester City.
Score prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Sevilla
| Follow Britwatch - Sport in General, Brits in Particular! | |
|---|---|
| Soundcloud | |
| YouTube | |
| We may receive compensation for products purchased via affiliate links on this website | |