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GROUP A
Juventus v Bayern Munich
Maccabi Haifa v Bordeaux
The Group A clash between Juventus and Bayern Munich, is a surprising race for second spot in the group. The two teams were expected to be the strongest two teams who would occupy the top two spots. But things haven’t quite gone to plan, as it is French side Bordeaux who have jumped to the top of the table, securing the spot with a 2-0 win over the Italians on match day six. That was a crucial game for both sides, which left Bordeaux five points clear at the top. This means that whoever wins the big match out of Champions League rivals Juventus and Bayern Munich, will secure that second spot. It is has, for all intents and purposes come down to a one game knockout. Juventus will be sleeping just that little bit easier due to the fact that they are at home for the fixture, but their defeat to Bordeaux will be giving them nightmares. Bayern Munich have looked like a shadow of their former selves. The previous match between the two giants produced a 0-0 draw, and both sides have found goals hard to come by, Juventus scoring just 3, and Bayern netting just 5. Juventus will also have their confidence riding high, after they beat top of the table Inter Milan 2-1 on Sunday. Bayern meanwhile in the Bundesliga are playing catch up with the top teams from fourth spot. The other game in the group is completely meaningless. No-one can catch Bordeaux, who are looking a pretty strong side at the top of the French league too, and Maccabi Haifa are yet to put a single point on the board. Should be a run of the mill outing for Bordeaux, but if they take a weakened side, it could give Maccabi Haifa a bit of glory.

Juventus to win: 13/10 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Bayern Munich to win: 12/5 at SkyBet

Maccabi Haifa to win: 13/8 at SkyBet
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Bordeaux to win: 2/1 at Victor Chandler

GROUP B
Besiktas v CSKA Moscow
Wolfsburg v Manchester United
This group could end up with Wolfsburg, Manchester United and CSKA Moscow all on ten points, if both the Germans and the Russians win. Fortunately for United, they have a decent enough goal difference over the Russians which should keep them in second place if that happens. The game at Wolfsburg could be an open, attacking classic, as the Germans will need to get some points from the game to secure second spot at least, with CSKA level on points with them. Moscow play away at bottom of the league Besiktas and a draw could even pull them ahead of Wolfsburg, if Manchester United do them a favour. This could end up in any way, so there is everything to play for in the games, and the teams need to go all out for their crucial victories. Whether Alex Ferguson will go with his youth infused team which lost against Besiktas on Match Day Five remains to be seen, but there could be a few more of the first tamer’s on show. They will likely need them, because Wolfsburg are clearly a stronger side than Besiktas. Wolfsburg have a potent strike force in Edin Dzeko, Grafite and Obefami Martins. A draw would simply be good enough for Manchester Untied, but maybe not enough for Wolfsburg, which would be a shame for the Germans, as they would probably like to showcase their skills a little, especially with fellow countrymen Bayern Munich on the brink of going out of the competition as well. Manchester United won on the weekend, Wolfsburg drew, CSKA won a Besiktas drew. CSKA Moscow beat Besiktas 2-1 in the corresponding fixture on Match Day 2, and Manchester United won by the same score line against the Germans.

Besitkas to win: 7/4 at Bet365
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
CSKA Moscow to win: 8/5 at Boylesports

Wolfsburg to win: 6/4 at SkyBet
Draw: 12/5 at Victor Chandler
Manchester United to win: 2/1 at Expekt

GROUP C
FC Zurich v AC Milan
Marseille v Real Madrid
Group C has been fun to watch all through the Match Days, especially the big games between AC Milan and Real Madrid, in which the Italians came out on top. This is another group where anything could happen, because there is a third party keeping in touch with the big two names. Again, just like Bordeaux, it is a French team which are making more than a nuisance of themselves. Marseille have put in some good performances to keep them in touch with second spot at least. They need a win to put themselves in with a chance, and it will have to come at the expense of the Group leaders Real Madrid, who beat them 3-0 on Match Day two. They will need a turn around in fortune to try and play their way into second spot, for although a win would put them level on points with Madrid, the Spaniards have a much better goal difference. So their fate will come down to how well AC Milan perform against FC Zurich. Real Madrid could only muster up a 1-0 win against the plucky Swiss on Match Day 5, and who will forget the major upset on Match Day two when lowly FC Zurich beat the proud and mighty AC Milan 1-0 at the San Siro? Yes, that really did happen, and now they get the chance to try and replicate the result in front of their home crowd. That win was Zurich’s only points of their campaign and maybe they will want to go out with a bang. The Italians have picked up a lot of form since early into their domestic season, and have moved all the way up into second place in Serie A. They ran out 3-0 winners over Sampdoria on the weekend, and will be expected to come through the tie in Switzerland, not letting history repeat itself again. The expected outcome is for AC Milan and Real Madrid to make it through to the knockout stages of the tournament, Madrid sitting on 10 points, Milan on 8 and Marseille on 7.

FC Zurich to win: 8/1 at SkyBet
Draw: 15/4 at Bet365
AC Milan to win: 4/9 at 888Sport

Marseille to win: 21/10 at Paddy Power
Draw: 5/2 at William Hill
Real Madrid to win: 11/8 at Bet365

GROUP D
Chelsea v APOEL
Atlético v FC Porto
Chelsea’s fate is already booked, as they cannot be caught at the top of the group. They have accumulated 13 points, dropping only two so far in a drawn match against Atlético Madrid. Chelsea have done enough without really getting out of first gear too often in any of the matches, and their success has been built around their stingy defence which has only let in two goals so far, the joint best record in the Champions League this season. Second place has also been taken care of, with Porto wrapping that up, which was kind of expected  from the start. More was genuinely expected of the Spaniards in the Group, Atlético Madrid, but they have been having a woeful season on both the domestic and European front. They are just one point ahead of bottom placed APOEL, which would probably have put their Europa League hopes on a knife edge if the Match Day six fixtures had been a little different. Third placed teams in the Champions League groups go through to the Europe League’s final 32 in the spring. It is unlikely that APOEL will get anything out of their visit to Stamford Bridge, and that could be their only saving grace as FC Porto beat Atlético 2-0 when they met on Match Day two. Atlético have not managed a win in the Champions League, which has included two disappointing drawn games against the Cypriots APOEL. The third position is really all there is to play for on Tuesday night, and even that looks like a forgone conclusion with Chelsea’s 100% home record this season.

Chelsea to win: 4/11 at BlueSquare
Draw: 9/2 at SkyBet
APEOL to win: 9/1 at Bet365

Atlético to win: 4/5 at SkyBet
Draw: 27/10 at Expekt
FC Porto to win: 9/2 at Victor Chandler