Big guns aiming to fire again

Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League matches could well end with five teams advancing to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, with Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Chelsea and Porto all looking to qualify with two games to spare.

Having won their first three games, the Germans need only a draw to progress, while PSG must beat APOEL and hope that Ajax do not spring a shock against Barça, who will clinch their place in the last 16 if they win in Amsterdam and the Cypriots fail to land a surprise victory at the Parc des Princes,according to FIFA.com.

 The situation is exactly the same for Chelsea and Porto, who will advance if they win their respective games in Maribor and Bilbao and Schalke and Shakhtar take three points against Sporting CP and Bate Borisov respectively.

Wednesday’s fixtures

Group E

Bayern Munich-Roma

Manchester City-CSKA Moscow

Group F

Ajax-Barcelona

Paris Saint-Germain-APOEL Nicosia

Group G

Sporting CP-Schalke 04

Maribor-Chelsea

Group H

Shakhtar Donetsk-BATE Borisov

Athletic Bilbao-Porto

Match of the day

Ajax-Barcelona, Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam

Barcelona’s impressive early-season momentum has come to a grinding halt in recent weeks, the Catalans having collected a solitary point in their last three league games. Celta Vigo provided the latest stumbling block for Luis Enrique’s side, snatching a 1-0 win at the Camp Nou on Saturday. The introduction of Luis Suarez into the Barça attack has not proved as smooth as hoped, with the front three he now forms with Neymar and Lionel Messi forcing the side to adopt a system that has yet to click.

Enrique’s men also have problems at the back, where Gerard Pique is some way short of his best form, while the midfield lacks its usual focus whenever Xavi is not around to orchestrate things. Wednesday’s meeting is the latest reunion between Frank de Boer and Enrique, who is one week the Dutchman’s senior. The two were team-mates at Barça for three seasons.

Elsewhere

Beaten 3-2 by Juventus, 7-1 by Bayern and 2-0 by Napoli in their last three games, Roma will be anxious to rise to the occasion when they visit Munich.

Chelsea’s trip to Maribor will see 36-year-old Didier Drogba make another Champions League outing, with the Ivorian deputising for the injured Diego Costa and Loic Remy. “He’s an example to others,” said Blues coach Jose Mourinho.

demolition of Bate Borisov to emulate Messi. The Brazilian striker was formerly with Internacional of Porto Alegre and helped them win the FIFA Club World Cup in 2006.

M.D