Champions League

On the 8th and 9th of December the final games in the group stage of the 2009/10 Champions League will take place. We are lucky enough to visit three teams involved in this stage of the competition, but how are Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan faring?

Juventus are at home to Bayern Munich on the 8th. A win or draw will see them through, but this is no walk in the park against Germany's most successful club side, in the last decade. It is win or bust for Bayern as Bordeaux have already qualified. Juventus are a point ahead of Bayern and hope to maintain their 16 game unbeaten home record in the UEFA Champions League. In fact the last time they lost at home was against Deportivo in the 2003/04 season. When the teams met in Germany, it ended in a 0-0 stalemate. Juventus have to favourite to progress but will be nervous without an early goal. Expect some serious nail-biting if it goes into the last 10 minutes with both teams level. Whichever team loses out will go into the Europa League, but that won't seem as much of a consolation in comparison to progression in the Champions League.

AC Milan are also second in their group and face Zurich who are already eliminated from the Champions League and cannot qualify for the Europa League. Milan's biggest threat are Marseille who are playing Real Madrid. Milan have to do better than Marseille to ensure progression to the knock out stages. If Milan and Marseille both win, then Milan will win the group, which will be advantageous for the knock out draw where first place teams can only meet second placed teams from the groups. Milan will be weary of Zurich as although they are eliminated, they beat them at the San Siro in a shock result early in the campaign.

Inter Milan have the easiest task on paper. they play the little heard of Russian Champions, Rubin Kazan at the San Siro. However, having been demolished by Barcelona in game 5, Inter have to ensure they get a result on Wednesday the 9th. A 1-1 draw would also be enough for Inter, but 2-2 would see Rubin Kazan through on head to head goal difference. The Russians will take heart in the fact that Inter are enduring their worst run of home form in their long European history. Jose Mourinho will be hoping he can inspire his team to a performance more in keeping with the Serie A, where they are undefeated this year. Inter fans will not enjoy this match unless they are 3-0 up by half time!

Olympique Lyon have already qualified for the knock out stages. They meet the Hungarian champions Debreceni who have yet to collect any points in the Champions League this year and will hope to get something, even if it's just for pride. Lyon need to secure a victory to stand any chance of overtaking Fiorentina who are 2 points ahead but face a tricky tie away to Liverpool. Should Lyon win and Fiorntina draw then Lyon would finish top as they have a better goal difference. The previous game finished 4-0 to Lyon.

Barcelona just need a point away to Dynamo Kiev to get through from one of the tightest groups. Kiev on the other hand need to win and hope the Inter draw. Otherwise it gets complicated and they need to beat Barcelona 2-0 or by 3 clear goals. This could prove tricky as Barcelona have yet to concede on their travels in this years group stage. Barcelona will be full of confidence following their emphatic victory of Inter Milan in game 5 and beating Real Madrid in El Classico at the weekend. Dynamo will be hoping those efforts will leave them short when they visit the Ukraine.