The keys to today’s matches in the Champions League

ASTON VILLA-JUVENTUS

This Wednesday, the Champions League offers a great rivalry between Unai Emery’s Aston Villa and Thiago Motta’s Juventus. Motta had Emery as a coach at PSG. Both from Birmingham (with 3 wins and one loss) and the one from Turin (2 wins, one draw and one loss) started well in this tournament but did not achieve good results the previous day. The ‘villains’ have already achieved 9 points and are in the fight to reach the round of 16. Juventinos have 7 and have lost only one game so far, against Stuttgart in this Champions League. Motta had many casualties and only had 14 field players for this match.

MONACO-BENFICA

Monaco, launched in the Champions League (they have already added 10 points), received this Wednesday a Benfica that has not started well (it has 6) but it has the excellent possession of Ángel Di María who, at 36 years old, has 5 goals in his last 2 games. The Monegasques will want to win to take a big step towards the second round. In the final three days of the league stage, they face Arsenal and Inter Milan, away from home, and Aston Villa, at the Louis II stadium. Benfica started by beating Estrella Roja (1-2) and Atlético (4-0), but later lost to Feyenoord (1-3) and Bayern Munich (1-0).

DINAMO ZAGREB-BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Fifth in the Bundesliga, 10 points behind the leader Bayern, on the other hand, in the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund is going strong, with 3 wins and a single defeat, and this Wednesday it seeks to take another step towards the round of 16 in Croatia. But Dinamo Zagreb (3rd in their country’s League) is also having a great campaign in the Champions League, with 2 wins, a draw and a loss. So Borussia Dortmund’s mission at the Maksimir stadium will not be easy. Sahin, without the injured Adeyemi and Süle, is a doubt about Guirassy (due to illness), who has 3 goals in this Champions League.

BOLOGNA-LILLE

Vincenzo Italiano’s Bologna, who are 8th in Serie A and only lost 3-0 against Lazio on Sunday, will try against Bruno Génésio’s Lille this Wednesday to achieve their first victory in the Champions League (a tournament where this year returns 60 years later), after a draw and 3 defeats in the first 4 rounds. Bruno Génésio’s team, for its part, has 2 wins, a draw and a loss. In Ligue 1, Lille is 4th, in the Champions zone, after beating Rennes on Saturday (led by Jorge Sampaoli making his debut as a coach) by 1-0.

CELTIC-CLUB BRUGES

Celtic, leaders in the Scottish Premier League, will be hoping to impose home advantage against Club Brugge to consolidate their chances of competing in the playoff for access to the round of 16 of the Champions League. The team led by Brendan Rodgers, with 7 points after beating Leipzig the previous day (3-1), has lost only one of its 19 games played this season (7-1 against Borussia Dortmund) and wants to keep getting stronger. Bruges (6 points) just surprised Milan (1-0) but, with Ferran Jutglà (former Barça), they should improve their scoring production (3).

PSV EINDHOVEN-SHAKHTAR DONETSK

PSV, outstanding leaders of the Eredivisie and fighting in the Champions League to play in the playoffs after adding 5 points so far, repeat at Phillips Stadion against Shakhtar Donetsk after breaking its record of victories three weeks ago in a defeat to Girona (4- 0). Peter Bosz now has doubts about the attack of Luuk de Jong and Noa Lang. Shakhtar, from the playoff positions with 4 points, won their first game in the fourth match against Young Boys (2-1), but before that, in the third, they beat Arsenal (1-0 ).

RED STAR-STUTTGART

Match between two teams located at the bottom of the Champions League table, even outside the playoff positions. Stuttgart has faced tough rivals so far, such as Real Madrid (3-1 at the Bernabéu), Juventus (which it managed to beat 0-1 in Turin) and Atalanta (2-0 loss), and now it seeks come out from the lower zone in their visit to Red Star to increase the 4 points coming out of their locker. The Serbs know only defeat in their matches, the last one against Barcelona and the Little Maracana in Belgrade (2-5).