Anything better than a two-goal defeat will see Sevilla qualify for the knockout stages but will mean they can no longer defend the Europa League title they have won thrice in a row. PHOTO: AFP
PARIS: While Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund grapple for top spot in Group F, twice former winners Porto and Sevilla look to clinch the two remaining spots in the Champions League last-16 tonight.
Portuguese giants Porto, European champions in 1987 and 2004, host Leicester City in their final group stage match wary of FC Copenhagen pipping them to second in Group G.
Despite a woeful defence of their Premier League crown, Leicester are guaranteed top-spot and avoid the likes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the next round.
And the Foxes could well decide which team joins them in the knockout phase with Copenhagen, third in the group, trailing Porto by two points ahead of a trip to Club Brugge, who are yet to register a point.
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Porto halted a run of five straight draws courtesy of teenager Rui Pedro’s 95th-minute winner over Braga at the weekend, ending a club record run of 520 minutes without a goal.
“What matters is that we won three points and we are going to try to take advantage of this to continue to grow and believe,” said Porto coach Nuno Espirito Santo. “I believe the results haven’t been showing what we do.”
Porto will secure their passage to the last-16 with victory over Leicester, but anything less will open the door for Copenhagen, who have a head-to-head advantage over the Portuguese on away goals.
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“We kept a clean sheet, and now we just have to go Brugge and get victory — and then hope that Leicester do their job and beat Porto,” said Copenhagen’s Swedish international Erik Johansson after last month’s 0-0 home draw against Porto.
Copenhagen, unbeaten domestically this term, stretched their lead in Denmark to 11 points on Saturday after securing an eighth successive win with a 1-0 defeat of Randers.
Three-time reigning Europa League champions Sevilla are favourites to advance alongside Juventus in Group H, with Lyon needing to beat the Spaniards by at least two goals at Parc OL.
But Lyon will draw encouragement knowing Sevilla — without manager Jorge Sampaoli due to a touchline ban — have lost on all three previous trips to France.
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Sevilla’s troubles away from home resurfaced in a 2-1 defeat at Granada over the weekend, with captain Vicente Iborra lamenting a sub-par performance.
“It’s clear it wasn’t our best match and you pay for that,” said Iborra. “I think we were a bit distracted by the Lyon game and now that we’re here we must make the most of it and achieve qualification.”
Juventus, a point clear at the top, will be expected to cement first place with group makeweights Dinamo Zagreb rounding out their fruitless campaign in Turin.
Dortmund are one shy of the 20-goal group stage record — achieved by three sides including Manchester United’s treble-winning side in 1998-99 as well as the Real team that landed ‘La Decima’ in 2014 — ahead of their visit to the Santiago Bernabeu.
A draw would send Dortmund through as winners of Group F, with Real facing the prospect of a tougher draw unless Zinedine Zidane’s men come away with all three points.
Bayer Leverkusen, confirmed as runners-up of Group E, host Leonardo Jardim’s impressive table-topping Monaco, while Tottenham Hotspur must avoid defeat to CSKA Moscow at Wembley to parachute into the Europa League.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2016.
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