The Champions League continues this week, with the home-and-home games during Matchdays three and four. During these two weeks, teams always play the same opponent, with one game home and one game away. These games are often crucial in determining the final group standings. There are a number of mismatches in tomorrow's games but also some very interesting fixtures.
The early game features a Group B encounter between last-place CSKA Moscow and surprising first place Trabzonspor. This is a game CSKA desperately needs - they only have one point from their first two games and dropped their last game to struggling Inter at home. Trabzonspor has impressed, snatching a win in Milan while playing well in a draw against Ligue 1 high-fliers Lille. Trabzonspor have kept up their good form domestically and will certainly not be overmatched in Russia, but Russian teams are usually strong at home and CSKA will know that they need this game. I think the Russians will take a tight win going into the next fixture in Turkey.
I feel like I must write about Group A because of the dearth of talent between the four teams. Napoli takes on Bayern while City is home to Villarreal. I think City will take care of Villarreal without too much trouble, and while Bayern looks like the best team in the group, Napoli are very strong at home and have loads of attacking power. Bayern's backline has been shaky in the past, but they have not conceded a goal in eight straight domestic games - quite an impressive run of form. Having Manuel Neuer in goal certainly helped solidify the defense. Napoli has the talent to win here, but a 0-0 or 1-1 draw looks like the likely result.
Basel hosts Benfica tomorrow to begin the home-and-home, which is huge for both teams. Basel got a dream result in Manchester with the 3-3 draw, while the Portuguese are also off to a good start with four points from the first two games. This game is my upset pick - I think Basel wins this game to go three clear of Benfica before the teams head to Lisbon. Basel is in very impressive form and Benfica are not as strong away in Europe as they are at home. Here are all of my selections for tomorrow's games:
CSKA Moscow - Trabzonspor: HOME WIN
FC Basel - Benfica: HOME WIN
Dinamo Zagreb - Ajax: AWAY WIN
Lille - Inter Milan: DRAW
Manchester City - Villarreal: HOME WIN
Napoli - Bayern Munich: DRAW
Otelul Galati - Manchester United: AWAY WIN
Real Madrid - Lyon: HOME WIN
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