DPA/Berlin
Three England versus Germany clashes are the pick of the Champions League this week as Manchester City host Bayern Munich and Chelsea are at Schalke tonight, while Arsenal are home to Borussia Dortmund tomorrow.
Liverpool also play Ludogorets Razgrad and Bayer Leverkusen welcome Monaco.
Manchester City are bottom of Group E and can’t afford to lose against Bayern if they are to reach the knock-out stages. Although his team is winless in the group, City manager Manuel Pellegrini isn’t ready to give up.
“If we don’t play a good game against Bayern Munich, of course, we cannot continue in the Champions League,” Pellegrini said. “But I have trust in these players and I am sure we are going to play a good game and win the three points.”
Bayern have already won the group but are determined not to slip up.
“We’re not going there saying: ‘we’ll take it easy and see what happens’,” Arjen Robben said.
CSKA Moscow and Roma meet in the Russian capital knowing victory would put them in pole position for second, especially if City fail to win.
Roma are missing Vassilis Torosidis and Douglas Maicon in defence but have captain Francesco Totti fit in attack after serving a domestic suspension.
While City are on the brink, when Schalke meet Chelsea it is the German side who have more cause for concern rather than their English rivals.
Chelsea top Group G on eight points and are virtually certain to progress but Schalke, second on five, are only narrowly ahead of Sporting Lisbon (four) and Maribor (three).
Jose Mourinho’s men have cruised through the season unbeaten to date, while Schalke, led by Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League winning boss Roberto Di Matteo, appeared nervous in almost blowing a three-goal lead against Wolfsburg Saturday.
“We were more compact and better organised—we are getting more used to what the coach wants,” defender Jan Kirchoff said. “We now need to make sure we continue to play like this in the coming weeks.”
Barcelona have already qualified and aim to boost their bid to finish top Group F by winning at bottom team Apoel Tuesday. Barca are one point behind Paris Saint-Germain, who host Ajax.
Barca go to Cyprus without injury victims Thomas Vermaelen and Andres Iniesta, but confident after Saturday’s 5-1 slaughter of Sevilla—in which Lionel Messi set a new scoring record in La Liga.
“It was an important win for us and the fans. It has restored confidence at the club. It was just what we needed,” Ivan Rakitic said.
Liverpool, on a four-game losing run in all competitions, must beat Ludogorets Razgrad to have a chance of advancing from Group B.
Brenden Rodgers’ team, without forwards Mario Balotelli and Dean Sturridge, were comprehensively defeated by Crystal Palace on Sunday.
“We just have to work harder,” Rodgers said. “We go away bitterly disappointed with the result and the performance and we have to very quickly put it right, because we’ve got a massive game now in the week.”
Liverpool hope for a favour from rampant Real Madrid, already qualified, who travel to Basel looking for their 15th straight win in all competitions. The Whites have a maximum 12 points and require a draw in Switzerland to clinch top-spot.
Real make the trip without injured midfielder Luka Modric, who was replaced by youngster Isco during Saturday’s 4-0 win at Eibar.
Arsenal are second in Group D and need just a draw to go through at home to Borussia Dortmund, a result which would ensure the Germans top the group.
But Arsenal must erase the memory of losing a three-goal lead in drawing 3-3 with Anderlecht at home in the last round and lost to Manchester United on Saturday.
“We have to be very focused, and not just for 60 or 70 minutes but for the whole 90,” Arsenal centre-back Per Mertesacker said. “I think we learned a lot from the last match, not only for the Champions League but for the whole season in the domestic league as well.”
Borussia Dortmund, in the Bundesliga relegation play-off place, suffered another blow in a frustrating season on Saturday as attacking midfielder Marco Reus tore ankle ligaments to be ruled out until 2015.
Juventus sit second on six points with Olympiakos in Group A before visiting tailenders Malmo in Sweden as the Greeks are at nine-point Atletico Madrid. “It is a very important match,” said Paul Pogba after his brace helped Juve beat Lazio 3-0 at the weekend. “We know we must win to go further in the Champions League.”
Atletico, who have striker Mario Mandzukic doubtful, host Olympiakos knowing a win would guarantee top spot finish because they are already three points clear of their guests.
In Group C, Bayer Leverkusen are on nine points and can ensure they top the table with a win at home to second-placed Monaco (five points) while even a draw will guarantee progress to the knock-out stage.
Zenit St Petersburg and Benfica, each on four, are not yet out of contention but both must look to win their meeting in Russia.
Group H bottom team Athletic Bilbao try to salvage something from their appalling campaign at Shakhtar Donetsk while BATE host qualified Porto in the other match.