02.11. (Wed) 20:45 Ajax - Dinamo Zagreb

PROSHOTS

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

AJAX Vermeer Alderweireld, Ooijer, Vertonghen Anita, Enoh, Eriksen, Janssen Sulejmani, S. de Jong, Boerrigter

DINAMO ZAGREB Kelava Vida, Simunic, Cufre, IbanezLeko, Kovacic, Badelj, Sammir Beqiraj, Krstanovic

Ajax coach Frank de Boer will still have to make do without the services of defenders Nicolai Boilesen and Bruno Silva due to injury, while midfielder Thulani Serero and striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson are unavailable as well.

However, winger Miralem Sulejmani is expected to return to the match squad after a brief injury lay-off and could start from the right.

Full-back Sime Vrsaljko returns from a three-game ban, but is doubtful due to a knee problem, while head coach Krunoslav Jurcic will also be without the injured Igor Biscan (ankle), Mathias Chago (back) and Mehmed Alispahic (broken arm).

DID YOU KNOW?

• Ajax have collected only one yellow card so far, the lowest total in the competition.

• The Amsterdam giants are competing in the Champions League for the 10th time.

• Gregory van der Wiel is the only player remaining from the Ajax team that lost 3-2 after extra time against Dinamo Zagreb in the 2007-08 Uefa Cup first round.

• Dinamo Zagreb are competing in the group stage for the first time in 12 years.

• The Croatians are one of only two teams that have yet to find the net in the group stage of the Champions League.

• Zagreb were beaten 2-1 on their last visit to the Amsterdam Arena in October 2009.

Prediction

The Amsterdam side picked up the full three points two weeks ago and they'll be desperate to record another win to secure at least qualification to the Europa League knock-out stage. Dinamo were unable to really trouble Ajax in Zagreb and it's hard to see them doing much better in the Amsterdam ArenA. Obviously, Jurcic's men won't be pushovers either, but the hosts are the clear favourites on Wednesday.

Editor's Prediction

Ajax 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb

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02.11. (Wed) 20:45 Villarreal - Manchester City

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

VILLARREAL Lopez Gaspar, Gonzalo, Musacchio, Catala Camunas, Bruno, Marchena, De Guzman Borja Valero Marco Ruben

MANCHESTER CITY Hart Richards, Kompany, Lescott, ClichyYaya Toure, BarryJohnson, Aguero, Silva Balotelli

Villarreal have a plethora of injuries leading into the game against City. Marcos Senna, Marco Ruben, Cani and Cristian Zapata all picked up knocks against Rayo Vallecano at the weekend. Zapata has been ruled out for five weeks with strained ligaments, but with a shortage of options in attack, coach Juan Carlos Garrido will likely risk Marco Ruben if the forward can prove his fitness.

Star striker Giuseppe Rossi has dealt the club a hammer blow after injuring his cruciate knee ligament, and will subsequently be out of action for up to six months. Brazilian forward Nilmar is also still sidelined. World Cup winner Carlos Marchena will however return from a back injury, and will likely feature in midfield. Full-back Angel, who has been out of action since January with cruciate ligament damage, is back to full fitness but this fixture may arrive too early for him.

Manchester City, meanwhile, don't have any new injury worries ahead of their trip to El Madrigal. Mario Balotelli will feature in the Champions League for the first time this season after serving a three-game ban, while Adam Johnson's recent goalscoring form means he may be given the nod on the right flank.

DID YOU KNOW?

• This is only the second time Villarreal and Manchester City have faced each other, the first was in the Champions League encounter a fortnight ago.

• Villarreal have lost all three group games in the Champions League so far.

• Manchester City have only competed in Europe’s premier club competition once before, in the 1968-69 season, going out in the first round to Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

• Villarreal have featured in the Champions League group stage twice, reaching the semi-finals in 2005-06 and the quarter-finals in 2007-08, both times losing to Arsenal.

• Villarreal have scored just 13 goals to Manchester City’s 48 in all competitions so far this season.

• Despite City's relative lack of experience in Europe, two players who are likely to feature - Mario Balotelli and Yaya Toure - have both won the competition previously. 

• Villarreal have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions.

Prediction

Villarreal's problems have been exacerbated with fresh injuries on the back of their poor run of form. They will therefore struggle against a City side who are in blistering form. However, Mancini's men have shown weaknesses in Europe and the Yellow Submarine will want to put their rough patch to bed - especially in front of their home fans. City, though, remain favourites, and will get the win they need to boost their chances of progression.

Editor's Prediction

Villarreal 1-3 Man City

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02.11. (Wed) 20:45 Manchester Utd. - Otelul

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

MANCHESTER UNITED   De Gea Fabio, Jones, Ferdinand, Evra Valencia, Carrick, Anderson, Nani Rooney, Hernandez

OTELUL GALATI GrahovacRapa, Ljubinkovic, Costin, Sarghi Antal, Viglianti, Ibeh, Giurgiu, Ilie Pena

Sir Alex Ferguson will be without Darron Gibson (ankle), as well as Chris Smalling and Ashley Young (both toe injuries). Rafael has returned to full training after making a recovery from a shoulder injury but he is unlikely to play a part in the game, as it was revealed that he is still building up his fitness. Meanwhile, Ryan Giggs (hamstring) and Tom Cleverley (ankle) also remain doubts for the fixture.

Nemanja Vidic is suspended after seeing red in the previous fixture against Dorinel Munteanu's men.

For the opposition, Milan Perendija is banned from participation in this clash, as he was also dismissed against the Red Devils in Romania.

The visitors do not have as many injury-related worries as the home side, but are likely to be without Ioan Filip (leg), Adrian Salageanu (knee) and Bus (ankle).

DID YOU KNOW?

• Manchester United have won the tournament three times in their history, with their most recent triumph being in 2008. That year, they managed to beat Chelsea in the final on penalties at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

• The Red Devils have lost only once in their last 34 games at home in the Champions League. That defeat came in 2009, when Besiktas beat them as Rodrigo Tello scored the only goal of the match.

• United have conceded four goals in Group C, but find themselves in second place. Otelul have shipped only one more than the Old Trafford club, but are at the bottom of the group.

• Wayne Rooney is currently the highest-scoring English player in the history of the Champions League, with 26 goals to his name. Two of those came against Dorinel Munteanu's charges in Romania.

• This is the first time that Otelul Galati will have faced a Premier League club in England.

• The visitors are still looking for their first point in the group stage, as they have lost all three games they have played so far.

• Otelul are currently on a run of three consecutive victories in all competitions, and their last defeat came against the Red Devils.

Prediction

United will be looking to show their fans that they have not slipped following the 6-1 thrashing they received against City, which was their last home game. Any hiccup in this fixture will prove to be difficult to take after that defeat to Roberto Mancini's men. The home side should be able to take all three points on the day.

Editor's Prediction

Man Utd. 2-0 Otelul Galati

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02.11. (Wed) 20:45 Benfica - Basel

Bongarts

PROBABLE LINEUPS

BENFICA Artur Maxi Pereira, Luisao, Garay, Miguel Vitor MaticGaitan, Witsel, Aimar, Nolito Cardozo

BASEL Sommer Steinhofer, Kovac, Dragovic, Joo-Hoo F. Frei, Huggel, Cabral, Shaqiri ChipperfieldZoua

Benfica coach Jorge Jesus will take a seat in the stands for his side's Champions League tie against Basel after an altercation with the match officials in the reverse fixture two weeks ago.


The home side are without Emerson, who is suspended after being sent off in the 2-0 win over Basel in Switzerland. Javi Garcia is a doubt because of a leg injury, whilst Enzo Perez may be absent due to a damaged knee.


Basel's first-choice strikers are both suspended after they both picked up their second yellow card of the tournament so far against Benfica, leaving Heiko Vogel without Alexander Frei or Marco Streller.


The current leaders of the Swiss Super League are also without Yapi Yapo (knee), Valentin Stocker (knee) and Kay Voser for the trip to Portugal as they look to keep pace at the top of Group C.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Benfica's line-up against Basel on matchday three consisted of four Brazilians, three Argentines, two Uruguayans, one Spaniard and one Belgian but not a single Portuguese player.

• Jorge Jesus' side lead Group C after two wins and a draw left them with seven points from their first three games, two points ahead of Manchester United.

• Benfica midfielder Nicolas Gaitan has three assists in this season’s Champions League, the most of all players.

• Basel have won their last two away games in the Super Swiss League by a single goal, helping lift them to the summit of the table and have lost just one in 13 matches in all competitions.

• Portuguese opposition has proven notoriously difficult for Basel; they have failed to pick up a single point or score a goal against opposition from Portugal in Uefa club competitions.

• Alexander Frei failed to score for the first time in the group against Benfica, after netting three times in his previous two matches.

Prediction

Having clinched victory in Switzerland on matchday three, Benfica have already proven that they are too strong for Basel, and will collect three points here to solidify their position at the top of the group.

Editor's Prediction

Benfica 2-0 Basel

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02.11. (Wed) 20:45 Olympique Lyonnais - Real

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

LYON Lloris Reveillere, Cris, Lovren, Dabo Kallstrom, Gonalons Briand, Gourcuff, Lacazette Gomis

REAL MADRID Casillas  Sergio Ramos, Varane, Pepe, Marcelo Khedira, Xabi Alonso Ronaldo, Ozil, Di Maria Benzema

Lyon entertain the Spanish giants on Wednesday evening yet will have to do without the services of influential winger Michel Bastos, who is likely to be out for three weeks with a thigh injury. The French side will also be missing striker Lisandro Lopez who continues to recover from a severe ankle strain while Mouhamadou Dabo may start at left-back if Aly Cissokho fails to recover from a hamstring problem.

Jose Mourinho has several injury woes with Raul Albiol, Ricardo Carvalho and Nuri Sahin all ruled out. Kaka (bruised calf) and Alvaro Arbeloa (bruised left thigh) will both face late fitness tests with Raphael Varane expected to replace the latter, allowing Sergio Ramos to move to right-back.

Real Madrid could bring back Marcelo and Sami Khedira into the starting line-up in place of Fabio Coentrao and Lassana Diarra, who both started in the 1-0 win against Real Sociedad at the weekend. Gonzalo Higuain grabbed the only goal of the game in the victory yet could find himself on the substitutes bench, with Karim Benzema pushing for a start versus his former club.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Lyon have never lost to Madrid at home, winning three and drawing one of four encounters at Stade Gerland.

• The French club are currently sitting on four points in Group D and are in third place, behind Ajax on goal difference.

• Lyon reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2009-10 season before crashing out to Bayern Munich 4-0 on aggregate.

• Real Madrid thrashed Lyon 4-0 at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago, leaving the club as the only side in the Champions League this season with a 100 per cent record.

• The Liga outfit ended a run of six successive last-16 eliminations last season when they defeated Lyon 4-1 on aggregate, eventually going out at the semi-final stage to winners Barcelona.

• Karim Benzema, who joined Madrid from Lyon for €35 million has scored in each of his last three appearances against his former club.

Prediction

Real Madrid have never beaten Lyon away, but expect this jinx come to an end on Wednesday night. The French side have key players missing and with Jose Mourinho's men on a superb run of form, there will surely be only one winner.

Editor's Prediction

O. Lyon 0-2 Real Madrid

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02.11. (Wed) 20:45 Trabzonspor - CSKA Moskva

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PROBABLE LINE-UPS

TRABZONSPOR Tolga Zengin Celustka, Kacar, Glowacki, Cech Balci, Zokora Altintop, Colman, Alanzinho Burak Yilmaz

CSKA MOSCOW Gabulov A. Ber'ski, Ignashevich, V. Ber'ski, Nababkin Dzagoev, Aldonin, Mamaev, Tosic Doumbia, Vagner Love

Leading scorer Burak Yilmaz will return to the Trabzonspor side after missing the clash with Gaziantepspor with a cold. Meanwhile, neither Tayfun Cora nor Onur Kivrak have featured so far this season, but were both on the bench for weekend's game. Robert Vittek and Baris Atas remain long-term absentees.

Georgi Schennikov made his first start for CSKA Moscow since June in Friday's 4-0 win over Spartak Nalchik, but failed to last the 90 minutes. Igor Akinfeev is out of action for the foreseeable future through injury, along with Keisuke Honda, Tomas Necid and Mark Gonzalez.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Trabzonspor striker Burak Yilmaz has scored 11 goals this season in the league, but is yet to strike in the Champions League.

• Matchday three's 3-0 loss to CSKA Moscow was the first time Trabzonspor had faced a Russian team.

• Didier Zokora faced CSKA Moscow in the 2009-10 Champions League round of 16 with Sevilla - with the Spaniards succumbing to an aggregate defeat.

• CSKA Moscow have happy memories of playing in Turkey - two years ago they triumphed 2-1 in Istanbul against Besiktas.

• The Russian side came back from two-goal deficits on the first two matchdays, but were beaten by a late Mauro Zarate goal against Inter.

• Seydou Doumbia has four Champions League goals to his name, making him the competition's top scorer.

Prediction

Despite the one-sided nature of the result a fortnight ago, this is likely to be an open game as both teams know that a draw is not good enough, and would see them lose ground in their respective bids to qualify from the group. However, the importance of the fixture could lead to both sides cancelling each other out.

Editor's Prediction

Trabzonspor 2-2 CSKA

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02.11. (Wed) 20:45 Bayern Munchen - Napoli

Bongarts

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

BAYERN MUNICH Neuer Boateng, Van Buyten, Badstuber, LahmTymoshchuk, Schweinsteiger Muller, Kroos, Ribery Gomez

NAPOLI De Sanctis Campagnaro, Fideleff, Aronica Maggio, Inler, Dzemaili, Zuniga Hamsik, LavezziCavani

Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger will likely feature against the Italians despite limping off in the second half of the 4-0 win over Nurnberg on Saturday with a calf injury. Defender Daniel Van Buyten has shaken off a foot problem and should be given the green light as well, while Arjen Robben is still sidelined after undergoing a hernia operation.

Walter Mazzarri will be without the services of Walter Gargano who is out with a thigh injury while Napoli captain Paolo Cannavaro is suspended. Goran Pandev, whose late heroics at the Allianz Arena sent Bayern packing from the competition last season, is nursing a muscle strain and will not feature.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Bayern Munich have a formidable home record recently in the Champions League, winning nine out of their last 10 games at the Allianz Arena.

• The Bavarians have committed the most fouls in the 2011-12 Champions League campaign after three matches (59).

• Seven players from Jupp Heynckes' side were in the starting line-up for Germany's 3-1 victory over Turkey in their Euro 2012 qualifier on October 7.

• Napoli have kept five clean sheets in their last eight games in all competitions.

• Walter Mazzarri's men have scored in each of their first three group games in this season's competition.

• The southern Italian outfit are winless in their last six games on German soil (W0 D3 L3).

Prediction

Bayern have been dominant at home in all competitions under Jupp Heynckes this season and should extend their lead at the top of Group A with a comfortable win over the Italians.

Editor's Prediction

Bayern Munich 3-1 Napoli

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02.11. (Wed) 20:45 Inter - Lille Metropole

PROBABLE LINEUPS

INTER Castellazzi Zanetti, Lucio, Chivu, Nagatomo Stankovic, Cambiasso, Obi, SneijderPazzini, Zarate

LILLE LandreauDebuchy, Chedjou, Rozenhal, BeriaGueye, Mavuba, Pedretti Cole, Sow, Hazard

2010 winners Inter will be without Maicon, who suffered a thigh strain in the 2-1 defeat to Juventus on Saturday night and is likely to be out for a month, adding further injury woes to Claudio Ranieri's side. Captain Javier Zanetti is expected to move into the void left by Maicon, with Dejan Stankovic slipping into the right hand side of midfield. Andrea Ranocchia and Walter Samuel remain in contention to start, after both recovered from their respective injuries to partake in full training ahead of the Group B clash. Meanwhile, Julio Cesar and Diego Forlan remain sidelined.
Lille suffered two blows in Sunday's match against Valenciennes as Marko Basa went off with a shoulder injury after six minutes and is liable to miss out, while influential midfielder Florent Balmont is definitely absent after limping off early in the second half.
Joe Cole could be handed a start ahead of Dimitri Payet, with Moussa Sow leading the line once more.
Eden Hazard announced on Tuesday that he will leave Stadium Lille Metropole at the end of the season, possibly alerting the Nerazzurri who will be watching the Belgian starlet with intent at San Siro.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Inter have won their last two Champions League games, including a 1-0 success in Lille on matchday three.

• Nevertheless, Claudio Ranieri's men - then under the direction of Gian Piero Gasperini, lost their last home game in this competition - a shock 1-0 defeat to Trabzonspor.

• The 2010 winners have lost three of their last five home games against Ligue 1 opposition, with the last occurrence a 1-0 defeat to Marseille in 2004.

• Inter sit 17th in the Serie A table following their 2-1 derby d'Italia defeat to Juventus on Saturday.

• Lille are yet to record a victory in Group B, having drawn twice and lost once.

• The French champions were defeated by Genoa in their last away game in Italy in a Europa League group match in 2009.  However, their last outing at San Siro was a shock 2-0 win over Inter's rivals AC Milan in the Champions League in 2006-07.

• Les Dogues sit third in Ligue 1, six points behind leaders PSG.

Prediction

Inter might be struggling in Serie A, but the the Champions League is likely to act as an escape from their recent woes. A formidable side in Europe at home bar the shock defeat to Trabzonspor on matchday one, Claudio Ranieri's men will be hoping to turn a corner against the French champions. 

Lille look unable to kick-start their stuttering Group B campaign, and after throwing away leads to CSKA Moscow and Trabzonspor, it's unlikely that they'll grab a win here. A narrow victory for the hosts is on the cards.

Editor's Prediction

Inter Milan 2-1 Lille

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