Both Chelsea and Liverpool can pretty much assure themselves of a place in the Champions League knockout stages today with victories over AS Roma and Atletico Madrid respectively.
Victory for Chelsea would put them on 10 points and even were Bordeaux to beat Romanian side Cluj it would need the latter side to win their final two matches and Chelsea lose both theirs for the Londoners to miss out.
Liverpool need a win at Anfield, combined with a PSV Eindhoven loss to Marseille, which would guarantee the top-two finish needed to reach the last 16.
Chelsea look to have the easier of the tasks given Roma’s appalling form at the moment, which has seen them lose six of their first nine Serie A matches and their last four.
The Italians have been hiding away in a hotel for nearly a week which one could interpret as resembling a siege like mentality.
Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka has got the nod for the Roma clash ahead of fit-again Ivory Coast star Didier Drogba.
“Drogba is back but my decision against Roma is easy,” said manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.
“Anelka is in better condition so he plays,” added the Brazilian, who will have to do without the injured Ashley Cole.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez looks set to throw Spanish marksman Fernado Torres into the fray against his former side after he missed their first clash because of injury.
The hosts will be especially wary of Portuguese international Simao, who has made a habit of scoring against them once for Benfica and then in their first match a fortnight ago.
In contrast to their cross channel neighbors the two French sides in action are in desperate need of victories to keep their hopes of qualifying alive.
Marseille, who are pointless, host PSV on the back of a morale boosting 3-1 win over St Etienne at the weekend and certainly if they play as they did in the opening match against Liverpool then they can think of claiming all three points.
Bordeaux, though, lost to Nancy in the league and coach Laurent Blanc has made it clear to his side what he expects of them when they travel to Cluj — another win over the Romanians.
“The defeat to Nancy was a very negative thing for us,” confessed the former France central defender. “Now we have to rebound in the Champions League ... that is imperative.”
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
RSS