Champions League: Tuesday preview
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Chelsea and Sevilla are close to the next stage, Alvaro Morata is reaching his peak and Ronald Koeman wants to improve at Barcelona. Find out what the first night of the 4th tour has to offer.
Tuesday Schedule (click to see live stream) *
Group E : Krasnodar - Seville (18:55 CET)
Group E : Rennes - Chelsea (18:55 CET)
Group F : Lazio - Zenith
Group F : Dortmund - Bruges
Group G : Dynamo Kiev - Barcelona
Group G : Juventus - Ferencvaros
Group H : Manchester United - Istanbul Basaksehir
Group H : Paris - Leipzig
* 21: 00 CET, unless otherwise stated
Chelsea and Sevilla close to the top last 16
The race to be the first to reach the 1/8 finals this season may well be a photo finish; Both Group E games on Tuesday kick off at 6:55 pm CET, and after round three home victories over Rennes and Krasnodar, Chelsea and Sevilla start the day six points behind the last two in their section. If the Blues win in France and the UEFA Europa League winners win in Russia, both sides will be guaranteed a top two spot. “We want to win [in Rennes] with good play,” Blues player Timo Werner told UEFA.com. "And then we want to compete with Sevilla for the first place in the group."
Alvaro Morata on the rise in Juventus
The birth of his third child, Eduardo, in September may have forced Juventus striker Alvaro Morata to wake up late at night, but that hasn't stopped him from shining in the evening. Alongside Diogo Iota, Marcus Rashford and Erling Braut Haaland at the top of the group stage scoring rankings this season, the Spaniard has scored four of Juve's six reported goals and may feature a few more as his team welcomes Ferencváros. Loaned by Atlético de Madrid, the 27-year-old enjoys playing alongside Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo, saying, "I just need to adapt to their qualities and use their talent to score as many goals as possible."
Barcelona freeze in Kiev?
No team has won more in their group than Barcelona - 21 times and that number - but if Ronald Koeman's team is in good position in Group G, Dynamo Kiev gave them a serious test, despite losing 2: 1 in 3 round. The coach of the Ukrainian team Mircea Lucescu was afraid to predict the same in the return match in Kiev, remembering that Barcelona "learned about us", but Barcelona continues to work in progress - and lost to Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto due to injuries during Saturday's defeat from Atlético with a score of 1: 0. Madrid. “We just need to focus on winning the series,” Koeman said. "But we have to improve the situation in defense and attack."
Basaksehir aims to win at Old Trafford
Istanbul Basaksehir's 2-1 victory over Manchester United in the 3rd round was hailed by the Turkish press as a historic achievement, but while defender Rafael was beaming from his stellar performance against his old team, coach Okan Buruk looked up. the third match gives us a chance to compete for qualification. " United beat Leipzig 5-0 in their last Group H home game, but this was their second win in their last seven UEFA Champions League home games. Will the champions of Turkey be able to cold again Ole Gunnar Solskhers' team?
Lazio does not lose his head
Lazio returned to the group stage after a 13-year absence, winning 3-1 over Dortmund in the 1st round, but Simone Inzaghi's side were relieved to take two points in their subsequent games as illness and injury provided them with only six of them. The players of the first round of the 1st round drew up the team list for draws 1: 1 with "Brugge" and "Zenith". The international break may have eased Lazio's troubles and the spirit they displayed in adversity bodes well for Zenit's welcome. “We played two away games with a very small number of players,” Inzaghi explained. “We were missing key players,” added midfielder Marco Parolo. "But we are one as a group."
