Arsenal -V- Montpellier
Arsenal come into tonight's Group A clash with French Champions Montpellier in desperate need of three points. Arsenal will take slight comfort from the fact that they have already beaten their counterparts on French soil back in September and that it is mathematically impossible for the French side to qualify for the knockout phase. Montpellier do however harbour hopes of making it into the Europa League but to do so they must win at the Emirates tonight.
Arsenal could potentially book their spot in the last sixteen. If they were to beat Montpellier and Olympiacos were to lose at Schalke in Germany, the Gunners would guarantee their passage whilst remaining in with a shout for top spot. The English side come into the game on the back of a satisfying 5-2 victory in the North London Derby at the weekend. The victory did come at a cost however, with in the in form Theo Walcott picking up a shoulder problem that has ruled him out of tonight's clash. On a more positive note, they do welcome back first choice left back, Kieran Gibbs and Gervinho.
Montpellier have endured a very poor start domestically as well as in Europe. The French side who won their first ever Ligue 1 title last season find themselves languishing in fourteenth spot, eleven points off top spot. They lost start striker Oliver Giroud to Arsenal during the summer which has came as a massive blow. Giroud has found his goal scoring touch in recent weeks and could well heap further misery on his old side tonight.
: Arsenal win
Manchester City -V- Real Madrid
In what is by far the most eagerly awaited clash of match day five in the Champions League, Man City welcome Real Madrid to the Etihad Stadium is what is simply a must win clash for the English side. City are yet to win a game in Group D and have only picked up two points which has put them on the brink of elimination for the second consecutive season. A win tonight would by no means ensure their qualification to the knockout stages but it would at least continue their slim hopes.
Roberto Mancini's men currently sit bottom of the group with Madrid and Dortmund looking like the firm favourites to advance from a very difficult group. Third placed Ajax will need to take something from the Germans tonight if they are to keep their hopes alive. If they fail do to so, a point would be enough to see Jose Mourinho's side through.
Gael Clichy misses out with with an ankle injury for the home side while there are still some doubts over the fitness of Mario Balotelli with the Italian struggling with a back problem. City found their goal scoring touch at the weekend with Silva, Tevez and Aguero all combining well. However Los Blancos will provide a far tougher test than a young Aston Villa defence did. Madrid have no fresh injury concerns and will be hoping for a repeat result of their 3-2 victory over City at the Bernabeu. A certain Cristiano Ronaldo will be relishing his return to Manchester. He has scored four goals in his last six appearances against City.
Jose Mourinho has all but ruled City out of qualifying for the last sixteen. The 'Special One' stated in his press conference that even if City win, it will be almost impossible for them to qualify; "I think they can win on Wednesday, of course, and I think they can win in Dortmund, but eight points is not enough." The writing is on the wall for City's Champions League campaign. Whether or not manager Roberto Mancini will suffer a similar fate remains to be seen.
Prediction: Score Draw
