With only two games remaining in the group stage of the Champion’s League, some teams have a clear path to the knockout stages, while other groups are still very close.
Group B has three teams separated by only a few points. Schalke 04 leads the group with eight points, Arsenal is second with seven points, and Olympiakos has six points. This should make for an exciting finish for this group. If Arsenal fails to reach the knockout stages, Arsene Wenger will be feeling pressure, especially with their poor performance in the Premier League at this point.
Group D is another interesting group. Borussia Dortmund leads this group with eight points. Real Madrid sits only one point behind Dortmund. Ajax is in third with four points and Manchester City are currently last in the group with only two points from four games. Manchester City still claim they have a chance of advancing, however it does not look promising. City face Dortmund and Real Madrid in their final two games of the group stage. Real Madrid is looking to be crowned champions of Europe this season, which is one of the reasons Real Madrid brought Jose Mourinho in, so they will have to focus and make sure not to slip up in their final two group stage games if they want to advance.
The final group to watch as the group stage is coming to an end is Group E. This group features the Champions League holders and the top three teams are all extremely close. Chelsea and Shakhtar Donetsk are both tied at seven points, while Juventus sit one point behind with six points. Juventus must play both Chelsea and Shakhtar in their final two games, which will be interesting and exciting to watch. (Nerve-wrecking as well if you are a supporter of these teams.)
The Champions League always provides great entertainment, which is what you would expect when the top teams from around the world compete against each other. At this point, there is only one team that has run away with their group and that is Manchester United. (However, United’s group was not a terribly hard group to be a part of, unlike Group D.) These final games will be very exciting as some teams, like Manchester City, play for their Champions League lives, and others battle to see who will win their group. It is sure to be a great ending to a close group stage before we get to the knockout stages!
Written By: Eric Stoyanov, Contributing Writer, soccerprose.com
