Barcelona’s Daniel Alves controls the ball with his head during a training session ahead of the Champions League match against Spartak Moscow, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, yesterday. RIGHT: Manchester United’s Dutch forward Robin van Persie (left) and defender Rio Ferdinand smile during a training session at the Carrington training complex in Manchester, north-west England. Manchester United will face Galatasaray today.
LONDON: Holders Chelsea face Juventus away and need to show the resilience that brought them success last season, rather than the recent failings they have shown in the Premier League, if they want to reach the last 16 of the Champions League this week.
With two matches to play former champions Manchester United and Porto and impressive newcomers Malaga are the only teams mathematically certain of qualifying, although the make up of the first knockout round will become clearer this week.
UEFA use a complicated head-to-head and mini-league tiebreak system to work out the final rankings instead of goal difference, meaning uncertainties about who qualifies can last until the final kick of the final match.
But in reality, Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Celtic, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Paris St Germain, Real Madrid, Schalke 04, Shakhtar Donetsk and Valencia can all advance this week if results go their way.
Chelsea will also go through today if they win their Group E match against Juventus in Turin, sealing their place in the last 16 for a 10th successive season.
But Roberto Di Matteo’s men travel without a win in their last four Premier League games and reeling from a surprise 2-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday when defensive lapses cost them the points.
“For some unknown reason November seems to be a bad month for this club,” the Italian told reporters.
No European champion has failed to get through a group stage since the Champions League began but if Chelsea lose in Turin they will be in danger of becoming the first to do so.
Chelsea’s most important victory in recent weeks came two weeks ago when they beat Shakhtar 3-2 at Stamford Bridge with a last-gasp header from Victor Moses sealing the points and making qualification more Their domestic form has been poor with only two points from 12 in their last four games.
But at least their Champions League prospects are far brighter than those of English champions Manchester City.
Meanwhile, Barcelona travel to face Champions League rivals Spartak Moscow with a prolific forward line led by Lionel Messi but concern continues about the state of their defence.
Tito Vilanova’s side have been in ruthless form in La Liga claiming 34 points from a possible 36 as they lead the way at the top of the table, while in Europe they were similarly effective in Group G but defeat away to Celtic in Glasgow means that they still have work to do as they bid to qualify in first place.
A stubborn rearguard action from Celtic earned them a memorable 2-1 victory over a side which has won the Champions League twice in the last four years.
Barca had vast amount of possession but were blocked out by a sea of green and white shirts while in defence they were opened up, sowing doubts.
Barca have suffered from a series of injuries at the back and they have already conceded 15 goals in the league.
Defenders Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique were able to play together for the first time since mid-September in the 3-1 weekend win over Zaragoza as a result of a series of injuries while regular full-backs Jordi Alba and Dani Alves have also been in the treatment room.
Defence is an area where Barca lack cover and they have resorted to fielding Javier Mascherano and Alex Song, both more comfortable in central midfield, as their regular centre-half pairing.
Puyol admits that the team needs to improve defensively.
“We have had a fantastic start - although we need to sort out the defensive situation and we are working on that. Generally the problems have been on set-plays where we have been caught out,” he said.
“I’ve gone through my worst experience in terms of injuries as this one was more painful than I thought it would be but at least as it was my arm I was able to train quickly afterwards. You have to keep positive and try to help the team.”
Celtic scored one of the upsets of the season when they beat favourites Barcelona 2-1 at Parkhead two weeks ago but Barca still top Group G with nine points.
Celtic are second on seven, three clear of Benfica and four ahead of Spartak Moscow.
Celtic beat Inter Milan to win the 1967 final at the rarely-used National Stadium, but if they win today’s match at Benfica’s Stadium of Light they will have cause for more celebrations in the Portuguese capital having secured a definite place in the knockout round. AGENCIES
