Whereas the top half of the Champions League table has gone according to form, the bottom half of the groups at least have a degree of intrigue and drama. A couple of these groups could come right down to the wire, and Wednesday's matches could be the stepping stone for many of the 16 teams in action to go forward into the knockout rounds.
These Champions League duels will go down Wednesday, November 1, with all of the kickoffs taking place at 2:45 p.m. ET. The Tottenham/Real Madrid match will be televised live on FOX Sports 1, while the Napoli/Manchester City affair can be seen on FOX Sports 2.
Champions League Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Besiktas ( +130 ) vs. AS Monaco
Porto ( +115 ) vs. RB Leipzig
Sevilla ( -225 ) vs. Spartak Moscow
Borussia Dortmund ( -1600 ) vs. APOEL
Liverpool ( -3000 ) vs. Maribor
Shakhtar Donetsk ( -270 ) vs. Feyenoord
Tottenham ( +215 ) vs. Real Madrid
Napoli ( +165 ) vs. Manchester City
The rubber is set to meet the road for Liverpool in the UCL. The Reds crushed Maribor 7-0 on the road two weeks ago, and a similar result this time around would probably put them in a nice spot to advance. Spartak Moscow has a point of an advantage right now over Sevilla, but the Spanish side has home pitch advance in this last match between these two teams. If there is a winner, that team is very likely to advance to the knockout rounds of this tournament, while the losing team would be off to the Europa League.
There are, of course, no guarantees yet in Group E, though. There is just one point separating the top three teams, and if Maribor can happen to come to Anfield and pull off one of the bigger upsets in this tournament's history, all four teams will be right in the thick of the fight with two match days left to play.
Napoli couldn't figure out how to get a point from its trip to England, but if it can pay Manchester City a loss at home on Wednesday night, it can save its season. The Italian side figured to have a good chance to get out of this group over Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord, but things are looking hairy right now. The Citizens can lock up a spot in the next stage of the competition with a win or a draw on the road, but Napoli will be put in a world of hurt with a loss.
Shakhtar Donetsk can turn the pressure up with a second straight win over toothless Feyenoord. The Dutch side has allowed nine goals in three matches and will have to win in Ukraine to have a shot at advancement.
Besiktas is the only team in the Champions League that has already clinched a spot in European competition for January. More will follow, of course, but the Turkish side should lock up its spot in the knockout rounds of the UCL soon, too.
The real question is how these other three teams will shake out. Monaco is going to be favored over RB Leipzig on Wednesday, and a win would toss this group into a real tizzy. There's a good chance that Besiktas could be sitting on 12 points, eight clear of Leipzig and Monaco and nine of Porto with two matches left to play.
Group H has always been relatively cut and dry. Borussia Dortmund was the team that was left with the short straw against Tottenham and Real Madrid, and its fate was sealed with a 1-1 draw on the road against APOEL. The German side is going to be falling into the Europa League from here barring an epic turn of events.
That starts with a win over the Cypriot side at home to get to four points and hoping that Tottenham and Real Madrid play out to a victor on one side or the other.
Unfortunately for Borussia Dortmund, the best thing that could happen to both teams in that Tottenham/Real battle at Wembley Stadium is a draw. That would put both teams on eight points and will effectively probably let goal differential sort out the difference between the two teams in the final two match days of this group. Both teams will virtually mathematically advance with a draw and a draw in the Dortmund/APOEL match.
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