The main European club competition presents a new day, in which FC Barcelona will be eager to redeem itself.
Bayern Munich and Juventus will try to seal their place in the round of 16 on Tuesday in the fourth day of the Champions League, while FC Barcelona will try to stay alive in the highest continental competition.
With three wins, twelve goals scored and none conceded, Bayern, who lead their group with 12 points, have exhibited the best attack and strongest defense in the competition by crushing all their rivals in the first phase of the Champions League.
Following a resounding 5-0 defeat to Mönchengladbach in the German Cup on Wednesday, the Bavarian team, led by Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, redeemed themselves on Saturday in the Bundesliga by beating Union Berlin 5-2 on the opposite ground.
Possibly Lewandowski plays against Benfica Lisbon, second with 4 points, his 100th match in the Champions League, competition in which he is the third scorer in his history, with 78 goals, five of them this season.
The German club will achieve the classification to eighth in case of victory against the Portuguese rival.
Bavarian coach Julian Nagelsmann, who tested positive for COVID-19 on October 21, should return to the bench.
On the contrary, Barcelona, which is third with 3 points, will play its future in Kiev against Dinamo, fourth with just one point.
Following the dismissal of Dutch coach Ronald Koeman, the interim Sergi Barjuán could only start on Saturday with a draw to a goal at the Camp Nou against Alavés in the League.
Although bad news continues to arrive with the loss of Gerard Piqué, injured in the right leg, and the indisposition of Argentine Sergio Agüero, Barça recovers Dutchman Frenkie de Jong, Frenchman Ousmane Dembelé, Uruguayan Ronald Araújo and their fledgling star Ansu Fati.
In Ukraine, the culé team will need to score points if they want to stay alive in European competition.
Solskjaer, with new test
Like Barcelona, Manchester United, leaders of group F with six points, going through a period of strong turbulence. But unlike the Catalans, coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who still holds his post, has a megastar: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese scored on Saturday in the Tottenham field to hand the Red Devils a 3-0 victory in the Premier League, which can cheer them up for the Champions League.
However, in this competition, the situation for Manchester is not so clear, since Atalanta de Bergamo, where they will move on Tuesday, is third to two points. The Italians, meanwhile, will want their revenge after falling in the first leg 3-2, after winning 2-0.
Villarreal, second with four points, will play a match a priori single in his field against the Swiss Young Boys, fourth with three points. In the first leg, the Yellow Submarine won 4-1 in Bern. In case of victory, the Spaniards would take an important step to play the eighth.
Seville, in the wake of the leader
Sevilla, second with three points, will host a declining Lille, third with two points, after losing on Friday in the last minutes against Paris SG (2-1) in the French championship. Both teams play in the wake of the leader, Austrian Salzburg, which has 7 points.
No French team has won the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in the Champions League. In addition, the Andalusian team started well in the Spanish League, where it is one point behind the leader, Real Sociedad.
The Austrian team will travel to Wolfsburg, fourth with two points, to try to get the ticket for the next round, while the Germans will seek to maintain their hopes in the competition or at least qualify third to play the European League.
Wolfsburg enters the match after having broken an eight-game winless streak in all competitions, after beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-0.
Chelsea y Juventus, en pugna
After two consecutive defeats in Italian Serie A, Juventus Turin will seek consolation in the Champions League, where they retain the lead with nine points. Vecchia Signora has a place in the round of 16 if they beat Zenit Saint Petersburg in their stadium, third with three points. In the first leg, the Italians prevailed 1-0 in Russia.
In second place, with six points, is the reigning champions, Chelsea, who will face Swedish Malmo, fourth with zero points. The Blues want to continue contesting the first place of the classification to Juventus. (D)
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
