Barcelona take on BATE, Bayern test awaits Arsenal in Champions League
Chelsea players at a practice session in Cobham, London, on Tuesday, the eve of their Champions League Group ‘G' match against Dynamo Kiev. (Photo: AFP)
Paris: Arsenal look to do the double over Bayern Munich and under-fire Jose Mourinho hopes to see his Chelsea side return to winning ways against Dynamo Kiev when they come face-to-face in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Mourinho has so far survived at Chelsea despite suffering a ninth defeat in 17 games in all competitions this season at the weekend, a 1-3 home loss to Liverpool leaving them 15th in the Premier League. Might the axe fall if Chelsea slip up against Dynamo Kiev, thereby seriously damaging their Champions League chances?
The Blues drew 0-0 in Ukraine in their last outing and need to win to climb back above Dynamo into the top two in Group ‘G’ before going to Israel and hosting leaders Porto in their final two games. In contrast, Dynamo beat Metalist Kharkiv 2-0 at the weekend to stay level with Shakhtar Donetsk atop the Ukrainian Premier League, so travel with plenty of confidence.
At Barcelona, ten years on from Lionel Messi’s Champions League debut, Group ‘E’ leaders Barcelona could secure their place in the last 16 with a win at home to BATE at the Camp Nou, providing Roma fail to beat Bayer Leverkusen in Italy.
The reigning European champions are three points clear at the top of the section after Ivan Rakitic’s brace secured a 2-0 win in Belarus two weeks ago. The Catalans have lost just one of their last 34 home games in the competition and it would be a huge surprise if they slipped up against BATE, who have already secured a 10th straight Belarusian title. In Group ‘F’, Arsenal are chasing what would be a remarkable double against Bayern when the sides meet at the Allianz Arena.
After losing their first two matches in Group ‘F’, the Gunners revived their hopes of reaching the last 16 with a rousing 2-0 win over the Germans last time out. Their recent record in Bavaria is good too, with a win and a draw in two visits in the last two seasons.
Flying high in second in the Premier League after five consecutive wins, Arsenal will nevertheless be without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott in Munich.
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( Source : AFP )
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