We have had the first three matchdays in the Champions League and all teams within each group have played the other teams in that group once. It has been something of a mixed bag of results for the four representatives of the English Premier League so far, with some fantastic results, mixed in with a fair few indifferent ones.
So let’s now take a closer look at how Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham have performed so far in this competition, how likely they are to do over Matchday Four and what their ultimate fate could well be in their respective groups, with regards to making the knockout phase of the competition in the New Year.
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Let’s now cast our eyes on how the English sides are doing at the midway stage of each group.
Champions League – Matchday 4
Group B – Matchday 4
- Bayern Munich v Olympiakos
- Red Star Belgrade v Tottenham
| Pos | Team | Pl | Pts | GD |
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 3 | 9 | +9 |
| 2 | Tottenham | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | Red Star Belgrade | 3 | 3 | -6 |
| 4 | Olympiakos | 3 | 1 | -3 |
Tottenham’s Results So Far
- V Olympiakos (A) – D 2-2 (Kane, Moura)
- V Bayern Munich (H) – L 2-7 (Son, Kane)
- V Red Star Belgrade (H) – W 5-0 (Kane 2, Son 2, Lamela)
Tottenham enjoyed a nightmare start to the group, throwing away a 2-0 lead in Greece and a 1-0 lead at home to Bayern Munich to draw their opener 2-2 and lose their first home game in shattering style by a 2-7 scoreline, the worst ever defeat for an English Premier League team on home soil in European competition.
However, they bounced back to beat Red Star Belgrade 5-0 in their last game which rescued their goal difference and saw them leap above their opponents to jump into second in the group. Spurs know another win here and a win at home to Olympiakos would see them qualify, meaning that tough away leg in Bayern may not matter.
That is their aim and I can see Spurs doing something here. They haven’t won away from home in a long time but it is coming as they showed at Everton on Sunday. I’m backing Spurs to do a job here and claim a vital win a 4/6.
Group C – Matchday 4
- Atalanta v Manchester City
- Dinamo Zagreb v Shakhtar Donetsk
| Pos | Team | Pl | Pts | GD |
| 1 | Manchester City | 3 | 9 | 9 |
| 2 | Dinamo Zagreb | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 | 4 | -2 |
| 4 | Atalanta | 3 | 0 | -9 |
Manchester City’s Results So Far
- V Shakhtar Donetsk (A) – W 3-0 (Mahrez, Gundogan, Jesus)
- V Dinamo Zagreb (H) – W 2-0 (Sterling, Foden)
- V Atalanta (H) – W 5-1 (Aguero 2, Sterling 3)
Manchester City’s group always looked the easiest for the English teams in the Champions League this season but credit has to go to City for the easy work that they have made the group look so far. A fine start with a 3-0 win against Donetsk in the Ukraine was followed up by a 2-0 home win over Zagreb, a scoreline which in truth should have been far more in City’s favour.
They went a goal down to Atalanta at home in their last game in the group, but rattled in five goals in response and they just need a win in their next game to ensure they finish in the top two in the group and have a place in the knockout phase in the New Year.
In truth, I can’t see anything other than a confident city win over at Atalanta side that have struggled home and away in this competition so far. I am backing City to repeat their 3-0 success on the road against Shakhtar here at odds of 14/1.
Group E – Matchday 4
- Napoli v Red Bull Salzburg
- Liverpool v Genk
| Pos | Team | Pl | Pts | GD |
| 1 | Napoli | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | Red Bull Salzburg | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Genk | 3 | 1 | -7 |
Liverpool’s Results So Far
- V Napoli (A) – L 0-2
- V Red Bull Salzburg (H) – W 4-3 (Mane, Robertson, Salah 2)
- V Genk (A) – W 4-1 (Oxlade Chamberlain 2, Mane, Salah)
Defending Champions of Europe Liverpool started slowly in Naples as they went down to a 2-0 defeat to Napoli in their opening game and after roaring into a 3-0 lead against Red Bull Salzburg at Anfield, they were worryingly pegged back to 3-3 before a late Salah goal snatched them a vital victory. A solid win over a poor Genk side in Belgium followed on Matchday 3 and in truth, the Reds should repeat that scoreline, if not better it, in Matchday 4 against the same opponents.
Indeed, if Liverpool win and Napoli also beat Salzburg once again, then Liverpool would need just one point from their final two games to ensure they qualify. That would mean the Liverpool v Napoli game on Matchday 5 would likely decide which team tops the group, and which team finishes second and gets a potentially tougher draw in the knockout phase.
Liverpool are 1/12 to beat Genk and they are unbackable at those odds, so I suggest backing Liverpool to win by a score of 4-0 which is a 13/2 shot.
Group H – Matchday 4
- Chelsea v Ajax
- Valencia v Lille
| Pos | Team | Pl | Pts | GD |
| 1 | Chelsea | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2 | Ajax | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| 3 | Valencia | 3 | 4 | -2 |
| 4 | Lille | 3 | 1 | -4 |
Chelsea’s Results So Far
- V Valencia (H) – L 0-1
- V Lille (A) – W 2-1 (Abraham, Willian)
- V Ajax (A) – W 1-0 (Batshuayi)
Chelsea got off to a slow start against Valencia where a missed penalty by Ross Barkely proved crucial as Valencia sneaked away from Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 win. However, since then Frank Lampard’s men have been away day specialists, earning a fine win in France over Lille and then backing that up with a victory over last year’s semi-finalists Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena.
Lampard’s men now face Ajax at home and as they have already showed this season, as well as last, nothing should be taken for granted against this Ajax side who have often picked up better results on the road than at home. This is a tricky game for Chelsea and Ajax will try to hit them on the counter and that rather rickety Chelsea defence needs to toughen up here.
That said, Chelsea’s youngsters created plenty of chances for themselves in Amsterdam too and I think they will also be able to do so on home soil, however I do feel Ajax have the ability to get something from this game and I feel a 1-1 draw is the most likely outcome.
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