The UEFA Champions League group stage for the 2021/22 season is nearing its conclusion, with the penultimate matchday set to begin on Tuesday. Chelsea and Juventus will face off in one of the Matchweek’s main event at Stamford Bridge, vying for supremacy in Group H.
Manchester City welcomes Paris Saint-Germain to the Etihad Stadium for their Champions League Group A clash on Wednesday, looking to avenge their setback at the Parc des Princes in September.
Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United will all be in action in what promises to be an exciting midweek of champions league football.
this thread, we shall be covering all Match-day 5 fixtures between 23rd & 24th November. Join us in the discussion and share your views on the various matches.
Chelsea has had a strong start to the season, losing only two games. One of those defeats has come against Juventus, but the Blues have shown little indication of slowing down under Thomas Tuchel’s supervision. Their supremacy was most recently demonstrated in a 3-0 victory over Leicester City over the weekend.
Juventus, on the other hand, has dominated in the UEFA Champions League, winning each of their opening four games to take a three-point lead in Group H. Following a sluggish start to the season, their fortunes have improved at home, with the Bianconeri securing an important 2-0 win over Lazio this past weekend.
The reverse fixture, played at the Allianz Stadium in September, saw Juventus eke out a 1-0 win over Chelsea, with Federico Chiesa scoring the game’s only goal.
Tuchel revealed before Saturday’s impressive 3-0 win at Leicester that Lukaku was “very close” to returning to team training and would try to get involved on Sunday.
Mateo Kovacic remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, though it is not thought that fellow midfielder Jorginho will miss any time after suffering from cramps at the weekend.
Juventus were without both Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata when they beat Chelsea in September and the Argentine could miss out again on Tuesday after returning from international duty with a calf injury and not travelling for the 2-0 win at Lazio.
Giorgio Chiellini, Federico Bernardeschi and Mattia De Sciglio are also injured, while Aaron Ramsey remains doubtful. However, Moise Kean did return at the weekend.
Since beating Juventus in the first ever meeting between the two clubs (1-0 in the UEFA Champions League in February 2009), Chelsea are winless in their last four games against the Italian side in European competition (D2 L2).
Juventus have won their last two games against Chelsea in European competition (3-0 in 2012 and 1-0 earlier this season), and they could become the first team to record three consecutive victories against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea’s last 10 games against Italian opponents in the UEFA Champions League have seen the Blues record only one victory (D3 L6), beating Napoli 4-1 in March 2012. They’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in all 10 games in this run, conceding 21 goals in total.
Juventus have won each of their last three away games against English opponents in the UEFA Champions League, beating Manchester City in 2015 and Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in 2018. If they win this game, they will become the first team to win four consecutive away games against English opponents in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League.
In the opening four matchdays of this season’s UEFA Champions League, Chelsea have conceded the fewest goals (1), shots (18) and shots on target (3) of any team. They also have the lowest expected goals against total (2.1) in the competition this term.
Manchester United has entered a period of transition following the sacking of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Michael Carrick has been appointed as the interim manager of a team that has been very inconsistent so far this season, winning only two of their four games in the UEFA Champions League.
Villarreal has a European record that is identical to Manchester United’s, and the only reason they are behind their opponents is since they lost the reverse fixture. The Yellow Submarine have been hot and cold recently, winning only two of their previous six games in all competitions, and their dip in La Liga has dropped them to 12th place in the table.
Manchester United won the reverse fixture, as they came from a goal down to beat Villarreal 2-1, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring an injury-time winner.
Raphael Varane remains sidelined for a number of weeks with a hamstring injury, though captain Harry Maguire is available for European competition amid a one-match domestic suspension for his two yellow cards - which came in the space of just seven minutes - in the Watford debacle.
Paul Pogba is also out for up to three months with a thigh injury suffered with France, while Mason Greenwood is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19.
Luke Shaw is also doubtful with a head injury suffered against Watford, while Edinson Cavani is still dealing with a tendon issue.
This will be Villarreal’s sixth UEFA Champions League match against Manchester United, more than they’ve faced any other in the competition. The Yellow Submarine are winless in all five previous meetings (D4 L1).
Manchester United are unbeaten in five UEFA Champions League games against Villarreal (W1 D4) - they have only faced CSKA Moscow and Bayer Leverkusen more often without losing in the Champions League (six games each).
Since losing 2-1 to Manchester United, Villarreal have won each of their last two UEFA Champions League games, beating Young Boys twice. They are looking to win three consecutive matches in the competition for the very first time.
Manchester United have failed to keep a single clean sheet in the UEFA Champions League this season, shipping seven goals in their four games so far. It is the most they’ve conceded at this stage of a Champions League season since 1998-99 (also seven), though they went on to win the trophy that season.
Manchester United have only won seven of their last 24 away UEFA Champions League matches (D6 L11) and are winless in their last four on the road (D1 L3) since a 2-1 win at PSG last October.
