qualifying ball for Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester United

Three cadors have the opportunity this Tuesday to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, on the fifth day: the defending champion Chelsea, as well as Manchester United and FC Barcelona, ​​who have recently changed coaches

1 Group E: Barça in a strong position

Bayern Munich (12 pts), already qualified after winning their four games, is close to securing first place. A new success, or a draw, on the ground of Dynamo Kiev (1 pt), will guarantee him to finish in the head. Even in the event of a bad surprise in Ukraine, as in Augsburg on Friday in the Bundesliga where they lost (2-1), the Bavarians will get pole position if FC Barcelona (6 pts) does not beat Benfica Lisbon (4 pts).

But in Catalonia, losing is no longer an option: on the edge of the precipice after two defeats in the first two days, Barça raised its head to the point of approaching the end of the group stage in a strong position. Memphis Depay’s teammates will see the eighth if they win for the third time in a row, an outcome dreamed of by the new coach Xavi, inducted in early November, who started on Saturday with a victory against Espanyol (1-0) .

Dynamo Kiev – Bayern Munich (6:45 p.m.); FC Barcelona – Benfica Lisbon (21:00)

2 Group F: Manchester United want to get out of the crisis

Like FC Barcelona, ​​Manchester United (7 pts) has had a difficult start to the season, which led to the dismissal of coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday, the day after a humiliation at Watford (4-1). The former midfielder of the “Red Devils” Michael Carrick, until then assistant to the Norwegian, takes over the interim, with the crucial mission of qualifying the ambitious English club for the knockout stages of the Champions League. The team of Cristiano Ronaldo, author of five goals in the competition this season, will have his ticket in his pocket if it wins on the field of Villarreal (7 pts).

As for the Spaniards, it would be a feat to go further: the “yellow submarine”, winner last season of the Europa League, has not played in the final phase of C1 since 2009. A success against ” Red Devils ”could make the men of Unai Emery happy. But at the same time, Atalanta Bergamo (5 pts) will not have to win in Bern (3 pts) for qualification to be acquired.

Villarreal – Manchester United (6:45 p.m.); Young Boys from Berne – Atalanta Bergamo (9 p.m.)

3 Group G: Lille must capitalize

The feat on the lawn of Seville (2-1), on November 2, revived the mad hope of Lille (5 pts), which finished in last place in its group in its last three participations (2012, 2013, 2020). The eighths are within his grasp, but there is no qualifying scenario as of Tuesday. The “Mastiffs” can nevertheless make the calculations simple, by beating the leader, RB Salzburg (7 pts). But Jocelyn Gourvennec’s men have still not scored at home this season in C1 (two 0-0), a fault that they will have to correct in order to hope to go further. Even in the event of defeat, Lille will keep a chance to qualify on the last day, where they will go to Wolfsburg (5 pts).

Favorite at the time of the draw, Seville (3 pts) has not won the slightest meeting so far. Qualifying, “it is not impossible, but it will be complicated”, assured Andalusian coach Julen Lopetegui. Against the Germans, this is the last chance match for his team.

Seville FC – Wolfsburg and Lille – RB Salzburg (21 hours)

4 Group H: Chelsea aim for the double shot

Title-holder and leader of the English Championship, Chelsea (9 pts) made a successful start to the season, but he has not yet validated his ticket for the eighth, the fault of his defeat on the ground of Juventus (1 -0) end of September. Against the Turinese, it is a question of making a double blow for the “Blues”: to win to qualify and to take the first place, currently occupied by Italians with a clear course (12 pts). A draw would allow Thomas Tuchel’s men to see what happened next, but would also do the business of those of Massimiliano Allegri, who would then be sure to finish in the lead.

Malmö – Zenit Saint Petersburg and Chelsea – Juventus Turin (9 p.m.)

Already qualified for the round of 16

Liverpool, Ajax Amsterdam, Bayern Munich, Juventus Turin

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