Chelsea and Liverpool can both clinch qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Chelsea and Liverpool hoping to advance
Chelsea and Liverpool can both clinch qualification to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening.
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Manchester United booked their place in the next round of the competition by playing out a goalless draw with Villarreal on Tuesday, while Arsenal also secured their progression thanks to Nicklas Bendtner's late winner against Dynamo Kiev.
Chelsea and Liverpool will both be hoping to follow suit as they return to European action after being held in the Premier League over the weekend.
Liverpool had to recover from the brink of elimination last season but they have made serene progress this term, collecting eight points from their opening four Group D matches.
Steven Gerrard's controversial late penalty against Atletico Madrid kept Liverpool joint top of the group and they will now be keen to finish ahead of the Spaniards to ensure a more favourable draw in the knockout stages.
The Reds, who are likely to have Gerrard back from injury, can book their spot in the next round by beating
Marseille, while a draw would also be good enough if Atletico do not lose to PSV Eindhoven.
Marseille need to win to keep their faint hopes alive and will provide a stern test as they are currently flying high in Ligue 1.
The equation is the same for
PSV Eindhoven in Group A's second match, which will take place behind closed doors at the Vicente Calderon as a result of
Atletico Madrid's stadium ban.
Chelsea are currently top of Group A but in a more vulnerable position than Liverpool after suffering a surprise 3-1 defeat to Roma last time out.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side, with fresh speculation about Didier Drogba's future overshadowing their preparations, travel to France to take on a
Bordeaux outfit they crushed 4-0 at Stamford Bridge back in September.
The Blues will seal their passage into the last 16 if they pick up three points, but anything less than victory would leave them with work still to do in their final group game against CFR Cluj.
Bordeaux are presently one point behind Chelsea and level with
Roma, who travel to Transylvania looking to gain revenge on minnows
CFR Cluj.
The Romanian champions shocked Roma 2-1 in their first ever Champions League group game and then held Chelsea at home, but back-to-back defeats to Bordeaux have left them bottom and their European adventure could be over if they lose again.
Group B is also finely poised with all four teams still in contention to advance, although
Inter Milan remain firm favourites to finish in first place.
Joe Mourinho's men have been tipped to go all the way in the competition in Europe and Inter need just a solitary point from their home clash with
Panathinaikos to make it through with a game to spare.
Cypriot side
Anorthosis Famagusta have been the surprise package of the Champions League so far and proved in their 3-3 draw against Inter that they could pose an attacking threat as well as being difficult to break down.
Anorthosis are second in the group and could be celebrating a place in the next round in their debut campaign if they beat Bundesliga giants
Werder Bremen and Panathinaikos lose to Inter.
Barcelona and
Sporting Lisbon are already guaranteed to finish first and second in Group C but there is still a lot at stake for both teams, as well as Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel.
Sporting are just one point behind Barca and will be determined to claim top spot, although Pep Guardiola's men have been in sparkling form of late.
Shakhtar Donetsk will definitely move across to the Uefa Cup after Christmas if they can beat
Basel, as they are already two points clear of the Swiss side.
