Much will be decided in the 4th round.
Equator of the group stage Champions League overcome, in some quartets the favorites are just one step away from guaranteeing a place in the playoffs. On the other hand, some participants have not yet abandoned the race and still have chances to make waves. On the eve of the 4th round we talk about these.
PSV and Sevilla knows how to surprise
After all, there is only one reinforced concrete favorite in the B Quartet – the London Arsenal. The rest are inferior to the Gunners in all respects. And “Lance” is definitely not far from it PSV and Seville. The Dutch team is one of the main title contenders in the national championship and performs with surprising confidence in European competitions. Even after a serious defeat by the Gunners.
In the second round PSV shared points with the Spaniards at home, and then played away until a draw with Lens. In the return round the “red and whites” will play 2 games at home – and with Lens only one victory is missing. It won’t be possible to get into the top two without a bit of luck: the ideal would be to take points away from Sevilla and create a sensation at home against Arsenal.
Sevilla itself feels great in the Europa League, but not in the main European Cup – and therefore can safely settle for third place, where it currently stands.
The most difficult thing for them will be in the 4th round: the trip to London doesn’t bode well for points. But then you can play with teams of your own weight category – and the “red-whites” are ready to impose resistance against them.
U PSV with Sevilla – 2 points after three rounds. For the Dutch, the next match against Lens will determine a lot – and a draw/win for the hosts will play into the hands of the Spaniards.
Red Bull is a problem for the giants
Just remember last season: then the Austrian team was irritating for Chelsea and Milan. Now Inter and Sociedad must be careful. In the first round, Salzburg defeated last year’s quarter-finalist Benfica Champions League After that we lost two more times.
And after the defeat against the Spaniards, Gerhard Struber’s team imposed resistance on Inter, even aiming for a draw.
Now we have to play at home against the Nerazzurri and the psychological advantage will be against Red Bull. The same can be said of the final phase against Benfica. Although the gap between the leaders and the group is 4 points, both can still stumble. For Salzburg it is important to create a sensation at home with the Milanese, if possible, take points from Sociedad and get a second victory over Benfica.
The question is how ready the current composition of the Austrians is for such tasks. Due to a series of injuries, several attack managers and defenders ended up in hospital, including one of the club’s main talents, midfielder Moritz Kjaergaard.
Red Bull’s chances are slim, which makes it more interesting. And in any case, the share of sensations in the group could be filled by an unexpected leader – Sociedad with Arsen Zakharyan.
Atlético leaves opportunities for Lazio, the leaders are an opening
One of the few groups where maximum density is maintained. Moreover, with an unexpected leader. However, Dutch clubs do not have as large budgets as Italian or Spanish ones. But the first place according to the results of the first round is occupied by the modest Feyenoord.
The Rotterdam team is back Champions League victory over Celtic, he also scored 3 points with Lazio, but lost against Atlético.
At the same time, the same “mattress boys” gave the advantage to their competitors: they drew with Celtic and Lazio. They also give hope to the Romans: the Italian team scored 4 points in three rounds and is only 1 point behind the Madrid team.
Lazio has all the leaders in the standings; Maurizio Sarri managed to instill his principles in the team – despite the controversial start to the championship, in Champions League they are ready to impose competition. Today the Eagles will face Feyenoord head-to-head. If their home walls help them win, they will move up to the playoff zone. And the match against Atlético in the last round suggests a long-standing intrigue.
Borussia is above the recent Italian champions and the rich English
Quartet F contains a real “group of death”: the Parisians, who year after year try to break the curse of the European Cup, Milan, who fired last season and broke out at the top nuclear submarine “Newcastle”. And Borussia Dortmund is trying to compete with the established giants. Initially the prospects of the “yellow-blacks” were assessed as low. There is no such selection of players as competitors – and the image of an incubator of future stars for the European giants has been established.
But for now Dortmund are breaking the mould. In the group clash everyone managed to lose points, including the Germans. After losing to Paris Saint-Germain, Edin Terzic’s team drew with Milan and took 3 points from Newcastle away! The Magpies themselves had not yet gained experience, so they also lost points against Milan and only won against the Parisians. The Rossoneri played surprisingly poorly against Borussia (0:0) and the Parisians (0:3), and the French themselves scored 6 points and led the group.
Dortmund have a standard mentality for the most important matches when they don’t involve Bayern: this, in particular, was demonstrated in the 3rd round. While Milan tries to find the origin of the problems that have emerged and Newcastle settles into the new tournament, the gialloneri can slide towards the playoffs.
