23.11. (Wed) 19:00 BATE - Viktoria Plzen

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

BATE BORISOV Gutor Baga, Simic, Yurevich, Bordachev Volodko, Bressan, Kontosevoi, Olekhnovich Rudik Kezman

VIKTORIA PLZEN Pavlik Limbersky, Bystron, Sevinsky, Rajtoral Petrzela, Jiracek, Horvath, Kolar, Pilar Bakos

BATE Borisov boss Viktor Goncharenko has a few selection issues heading into the match. Defender Yegor Filipenko is likely to miss the rest of the group stage after injuring his back on international duty with Belarus against Romania in October.

Striker Vitali Rodionov will be out of action until at least April after rupturing knee ligaments at the end of August. Defender Evgeni Kuntsevich underwent knee surgery in the summer and has his sights set on a new year return.

Viktoria Plzen stopper David Limbersky had been missing since 6 November with a thigh injury but was passed fit to start his side's 3-2 win against Mlada Boleslav on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Marek Cech has not seen action since matchday three when he suffered a knee injury. However, he did manage to make the substitutes bench in the same win at the weekend. Marian Cisovsky is suspended for this match, having been sent off in matchday four.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The previous encounter between BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League group stage ended in a 1-1 draw in Prague, and was the first time in history the sides had met.

• The two teams are battling one another for a Europa League spot, as both AC Milan and Barcelona have already achieved qualification for the Champions League knockout stage.

• BATE have lost only one out of five European home games this season, and it came at the hands of Barcelona in a 5-0 defeat.

• Viktoria Plzen's only Champions League point to date came courtesy of their draw with BATE in the previous encounter in this group.

• Plzen have lost both of their away matches 2-0 in the section, against AC Milan and Barcelona, but won all their away matches in the qualifying rounds.

• Along with Villarreal, Genk and Dinamo Zagreb, BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen have conceded the joint highest amount of goals in the competition, with each team having shipped nine so far.

Prediction

The last match in Prague was a tight affair, with the score eventually ending 1-1. If BATE win then they will continue playing European football this season, but if Viktoria Plzen collect the spoils they go ahead of the Belarusian side in the race for the Europa League position. A draw, however, may be the outcome once again.

Editor's Prediction

BATE 2-2 FC Viktoria Plzeň

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23.11. (Wed) 18:00 Zenit - APOEL

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PROBABLE LINE-UPS

ZENIT ST PETERSBURG MalafeevAnyukov, Alves, Lombaerts, Criscito Bystrov, Denisov, Zyryanov, ShirokovBukharov, Danny

APOEL Pardo Poursaitidis, Jorge, Jahic, Oliveira Morais, Pinto Marcinho, Manduca Trickovski, Solari/Ailton

Nicolas Lombaerts returned from injury to feature in Friday's 0-0 draw with Anzhi and is expected to feature once again for the visit of the Cypriots, who currently lead Group G. Danny also made a return from a spell on the sidelines in that match, having been out with ligament damage, and will take his place in the starting XI.

One absentee, however, is Aleksandr Kerzhakov, who has been out for six weeks with an ankle problem and is unlikely to be passed fit for this contest.

Nektarios Alexandrou missed the weekend victory over Ermis Aradippou after returning from international duty with a calf knock, while Ailton also missed out due to a thigh injury and faces a struggle to be ready in time for the trip to Zenit.

Paulo Jorge and Ivan Trickovski both returned to action from ankle and thigh problems respectively, and will feature, but Dionisis Chiotis and William Boaventura are sidelined.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Zenit fell to APOEL in Nicosia on matchday one, but have a formidable home record, winning their last nine European ties on home soil.

• The Russian side's next European victory will be their 50th triumph in European competition.

• APOEL have lost just once in five away trips in this season's Champions League qualification, including the qualifying rounds.

• Victory over Zenit would see APOEL through to the knockout stages as winners of Group B, and could perhaps progress with a draw if Porto fail to defeat Shakhtar Donetsk in Portugal.

• This is only the second time that both Zenit and APOEL have competed in the Champions League group stages.

Prediction

It's difficult to write off the Cypriots, who have been so impressive in this campaign so far, but Zenit are a superior team, and not only will they look to make amends for their defeat on matchday one, their excellent home record will also stand them in good stead.

Editor's Prediction

Zenit 2-1 APOEL Nicosia

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23-11-2011 Wednesday Preview

Zenit - Apoel Nicosia 1.50 - 8.98

The team that everyone, especially the bookmakers, continue to underestimate, Apoel from Cyprus. This time you can back them as 8.25 away outsiders. Apoel, bossing their group, have drawn their two away games and won their two home fixtures. In all honesty, who thought that they would obtain draws at Shaktar and Porto? Apoel are sweating on the fitness of their top striker Ailton. Defence man Boaventura is already sidelined.

Zenit have a 100% home record and they are motivated favourites but are hugely underpriced. Bystrov was back for Zenit in their last league game joining force with Bukharov upfront. Danny came on as second half substitute and only the injured Kerzhakov is missing at the moment. Home win, I guess, but unbackable.

Bate Borisov - V Plzen 2.04 - 4.13

Which side will play in the Europa League? Just to remind you that both sides will be 100% motivated for this game. The first encounter ended in a 1-1 draw in the Czech Republic.

Bate have more experience in Europe, but surely V Plzen, at least some of their players, will be full of confidence after the Czech victory in the play offs for the EURO 2012. I refer to their many Czech internationals. Missing, however, their central defender Cisovsky.

Backing the better odds. Away win.

Bayer Leverkusen - Chelsea 3.62 - 2.25

The Luiz penalty miss against Genk may prove costly for Chelsea, or it has at least complicated matters for them in this group. Chelsea are for once under huge pressure in Europe. A loss in this match and their remaining fixture against Valencia will be decisive, Champions League or the Europa League. Almost unthinkable. The Chelsea form is highly questionable, their coach does not seem to know his best eleven and Chelsea are playing rather slowly again, like last season. OK, I admit, maybe I am being too negative. I expect F Torres to play from the start tomorrow.

The home side is in healthy form and no one is better than the former Chelsea player M Ballack, playing together with Sam and fit again Schurrle on the midfield. L Bender will be joined by Reinartz or Rolfes on the defensive midfield. Bayer matched Chelsea for an hour or so in their previous meeting at Stamford Bridge (0-2 loss) and, right or wrong, they seem to fancy their chances in tomorrow’s game. X2 game.

Valencia - Genk 1.20 - 22.30

I expect Valencia to pick from the same squad that just about lost to Real Madrid at the weekend. It turned out to be a great game with Valencia losing the match 2-3. It will be about recharging their batteries again, but I cannot see Valencia having major problems in this match. They dominated away to Genk, missed numerous scoring chances, but at the end of the day the match ended in a 0-0 draw.

Genk drew 1-1 with Chelsea three weeks ago, but it is one thing obtaining a home draw and succeeding against top sides away from home. Joneleit, Grimi, Simaeys, Hubert and Benteke will miss this match. Too much at stake for Valencia. Home winner.

Arsenal - Borussia Dortmund 2.15 - 4.00

I never expected these quite decent odds on the home win and they have to be backed. I am of course well aware of the outstanding Borussia win against Bayern Munich at the weekend, but I have so far never seen a strong display in Europe from this German side, and definitely not in their away fixtures. Losses more or less everywhere these last two years. They conceded three goals away to Marseille, three against Olympiakos, both quite goal shy sides. Lewandowski, their front runner, backed up by Götze, Kagawa and Grosskreutz..

It looks like Arsenal for once will be able to pick from an unchanged squad. Gervinho, Walcott and of course Van Persie, they are in very good form at this instant. One late change. Diaby will come in for the injured Rosicky. Backing Arsenal.

Marseille - Olympiakos 1.62 - 7.00

This cannot be right. Only 1.62 on the home win? Marseille have to fight for every point this season and there will be no easy points to collect tomorrow either. Or, that is my stand point. Marseille could not score against Arsenal and they also failed to find the net in their first league game after the break, at Montpellier at the weekend (0-1 loss). They are not sparkling, but no denying their excellent situation in this group. They won away to Olympiakos 1-0, but at that time the Greek season had just started and Olympiakos looked very rusty. J Ayew upfront, I guess, supported by, among others, Valbuena.

Olympiakos drew 1-1 with Panathinakos a few days ago, a game they probably wanted to win more than tomorrow’s match. Orbaiz, starter against Panathinaikos, will not play in this match and also Makoun, substitute, will be missing. Also Ibagaza has been left out of the squad. No bet game for this writer.

Milan - Barcelona 5.00 - 1.84

Away win will be my call. Milan like to pass the ball around in Ibrahimovic tempo, rather slow in other words and in Serie A they can have it their way. It is not working against Barcelona, the supreme passing side in the world. Barcelona will dominate the ball possession and they are doing it much faster than Ibra’s Milan. This will lead to Milan using more long balls hoping for Pato to find a route to the Barca net. It has happened before.

In Barcelona Milan reached the most unlikely of draws, more or less outplayed and one of their goals was a Pato specialty. Ibrahimovic will probably find himself in no man’s land for most of the match.

Boateng will be back from his suspension for Milan, while Barcelona have to manage without the injured Iniesta and D Alves. Likely away win.

Shaktar Donetsk - Porto 2.60 - 3.02

Not much has worked for these two in Europe this season. Although Porto are two points ahead of Shaktar in this group, it looks like Porto and their coach have bigger problems at the moment. Their coach is in danger of losing his job after their hurting domestic cup loss at the weekend. Porto miss Guarin, A Sandro, Sapunaru and Mangala, but welcome back both Fucile and Rodriguez for this match.

Chygrynskiy remains on the Shaktar injury list, Srna will be suspended and Fernandinho’s fitness is a case for concern. I expect both Jadson and Fernandinho to play from the start tomorrow. I missed Rat and Eduardo in their squad at the weekend, but I do no think that they are injured. I prefer the home win alternative.

Chris

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22.11. (Tue) 20:45 Real - Dinamo Zagreb

Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid

PROBABLE LINEUPS

REAL MADRID Casillas Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo Khedira, Diarra, Xabi Alonso Ozil, Ronaldo Higuain

DINAMO ZAGREB Loncaric Vida, Tonel, Cufre, IbanezLeko, Kovacic, Badelj, Alispahic Beqiraj, Krstanovic

Jose Mourinho will be unable to call upon flying winger Angel Di Maria, who remains sidelined with a knee problem. Elsewhere, Sergio Ramos continues to deputise for Ricardo Carvalho in the centre of defence, with a back injury giving the Portuguese stopper cause for concern. And the Portuguese coach also confirmed in Monday's pre-match press conference that Kaka is still out and won't return to training until Thursday.

Meanwhile, Fabio Coentrao sat out the 3-2 weekend win over Valencia with a thigh injury sustained on international duty, and Marcelo should keep his place on the left of the defence. The only other selection dilemma plaguing Mourinho will be in attack, where both Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain continue to score on a regular basis. With Benzema starting on Saturday at the Mestalla, expect the Argentine to come back into the side.

Zagreb have been dealt a blow with the news that Josip Simunic's calf injury will prevent him from featuring at Santiago Bernabeu. Ivan Kelava is also struggling with a knee problem, meaning Filip Loncaric could deputise.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The weekend victory at Valencia represented Jose Mourinho's 50th La Liga game in charge at Real Madrid.

• Cristiano Ronaldo has struck 24 goals in as many games for club and country so far this season, building on his astonishing 40 league strikes in 2010-11.

• Los Blancos have notched victories in their last 11 matches in all competitions.

• Dinamo Zagreb are the only side yet to score in this season's Champions League group stages.

• Indeed, their nine goals conceded represents the joint-highest total in the competition.

• The record is in stark contrast to their domestic form, where they have conceded just five times in 15 league matches.

Prediction

With Zagreb missing key personnel in defence and Madrid in formidable form, this should prove to be no more than an evening stroll for the Spanish side, with qualification to the next round already ensured.

Editor's Prediction

Real Madrid 4-0 Dinamo Zagreb

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22.11. (Tue) 20:45 Manchester Utd. - Benfica

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

MANCHESTER UNITED De Gea Jones, Ferdinand, Smalling, Evra Valencia, Fletcher, Carrick, Young Hernandez, Rooney

BENFICA Artur Maxi Pereira, Garay, Luisao, Emerson Witsel, Garcia Gaitan, Aimar, Cesar Cardozo

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to make some changes to his team for this fixture, as Nemanja Vidic's suspension is likely to see Rio Ferdinand partnering Chris Smalling in the heart of defence. Jonny Evans has been reported to have missed training, prompting speculation that he may have suffered a knock.

Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney is also thought to have skipped training, which has raised a question mark concerning whether or not the forward will be involved in the tie. However, if fit, the striker should start.

Phil Jones and Fabio should fight for the right-back spot, but the former could be selected due to his recent performances coupled with the praise he has received from both Sir Alex as well as England boss Fabio Capello.

As far as Benfica are concerned, Ruben Amorim, Bruno Cesar and Nicolas Gaitan are fighting for positions on the flanks, while Oscar Cardozo should receive some support from either Pablo Aimar or Rodrigo.

DID YOU KNOW?



• Manchester United have managed to emerge triumphant against Benfica in six of the last eight meetings between the two sides.

• The three-time European champions have scored eight goals in four group games. Only Barcelona, Chelsea and Real Madrid have managed to score more goals in their respective fixtures.

• Since 2002, United have only lost to Besiktas and AC Milan at Old Trafford. This means that they have been defeated only twice in 56 games on their own turf.

• Benfica managed to beat United back in 2005 in Lisbon, sending them out of the group stage. At the time, it was the first time in over a decade that the Old Trafford club had bowed out of the group stage of the competition.

• The Portuguese side have been defensively solid in the group stage, conceding only two goals. Marseille and Real Madrid are the only two sides to have shipped fewer.

• The Lisbon-based club are unbeaten in their last four outings away from home in the European competition. In total, they have gone eight games without suffering a loss.

Prediction

The home side have been achieving the necessary results on their own turf for many years now, and should have no significant trouble registering a victory. But they will have to put in a fair amount of effort to rip through the Portuguese team's defence, which has been miserly so far in the tournament.

Editor's Prediction

Man Utd. 1-0 Benfica

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