Champions League: Crunch Time For Liverpool, PSG & Napoli
Photo-finish in Group C, tight scrap between Spurs and Inter in Group B: Preview to Tuesday’s UCL action.
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The Anfield roar will be thunderous when Liverpool host Napoli, and the crowd will likely be just as loud in Belgrade when Red Star take on Paris Saint-Germain.
Group C has lived up to its billing as the toughest in the Champions League competition and any one of the three big teams can still go through – or out – on Tuesday, 11 December. Napoli lead the group with nine points, one more than PSG, while Liverpool have six points.
Things will be tense in Barcelona too, where Tottenham Hotspur likely need a win to go through ahead of Inter Milan in Group B.
A look at what’s stake in the final round of group stage matches for Groups A to D:
Group C: Reds Up Against It
To exit at this stage would be a big backward step for Liverpool after reaching last year's final, but much worse for PSG.
Desperate to prove they belongs among Europe's elite, PSG have not reached the semi-finals since their lone appearance there in 1995.
Napoli and Liverpool took different approaches with key players over the weekend.
While Napoli rested Belgium forward Dries Mertens, Liverpool's star striker Mohamed Salah warmed up with a hat-trick at Bournemouth.
The entire PSG team rested, but this was for security reasons as a home game against Montpellier on Saturday, 8 December, was canceled due to anti-government protests in France.
Neymar is likely to be available for PSG despite not training on Sunday, 9 December. He went off injured in a league game one week ago, with an apparent repeat of a groin injury picked up playing for Brazil last month.
Napoli top the group one point ahead of PSG, with Liverpool two points behind PSG and in third spot after two straight defeats.
Group B: Spurs Need a Win at Barca
A tough enough task, considering Inter are at home to already-eliminated PSV, while Spurs face the ominous task of visiting Nou Camp.
Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino gave striker Harry Kane and attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen a bit of a rest during Saturday's 2-0 win at Leicester, keeping them fresh for the trip to Barcelona.
But Pochettino may have been better off calling in goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for some extra practice given the form Lionel Messi is in.
Messi scored with two sublime free kicks and set up a goal for Ousmane Dembele in Barcelona's 4-0 Catalan derby win at Espanyol on Saturday, taking his club tally to a staggering 569 goals in 654 games.
Barcelona are already through, and assured top spot, while Spurs are level on points with Inter Milan and holding second place on head-to-head away goals.
A win will send Spurs through, but a draw opens the door for Inter if they get the better of PSV Eindhoven at home.
Elsewhere: Atletico, Dortmund Tussle for Top
Groups A and D have a far more sedate feel about them with the top two places already decided – although the top spot is still to be clinched in Group A.
In-form Borussia Dortmund’s surprise 0-0 draw at home against Club Brugge last time around has allowed Atletico Madrid to take a two-point lead going into the group finale. That means Atletico can guarantee a top-place finish with a victory in Belgium, while Dortmund must win at rock-bottom Monaco and hope Brugge deny the Spaniards.
In Group D, the only thing left to be decided is who finishes third and who takes the wooden spoon between Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow, with the Turks presently a point ahead.
Free-scoring Porto have already won the group in style and Schalke are guaranteed to be runners-up, presently five points behind the 2003/04 winners from Portugal.
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