AC Milan v RB Salzburg

This is one of the games to keep a serious eye on this week. It is essentially a straight fight between the two sides for a place in the last 16 and it promises to be a dramatic and tense night at the San Siro.

AC Milan are the team in a position of strength as they have got seven points in comparison to RB Salzburg’s six. The Rossoneri can afford to draw the game, but the watching fans will certainly want the team to get the win wrapped up much sooner than that.

It will not be easy at all, especially given Milan have just been beaten 2-1 in Serie A by Torino, a result that has put an end to a four-match winning run in the league. Fans will be worried that there will be a hangover that leads to a shock exit on Wednesday night.

Salzburg are a very talented outfit too, which means they certainly do have what it takes to get the win that they need. That being said, Milan may have gotten a wake-up call in that match in Turin that snaps them back into life for this Champions League game.

Stefano Pioli will put Olivier Giroud back into the squad and Rafael Leao will certainly be more prolific in front of goal than he was at the weekend. This Milan squad has played big occasions before, and they should have enough to get the job done here, even if it is a very nervy night in Lombardia.

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Juventus v PSG

This is not what Juventus thought they would be fighting for in the final game against Paris Saint-Germain. The Bianconeri need a result to ensure they can at least get into the Europa League rather than plummet out of European competition all together.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side are level on points with Maccabi Haifa but are ahead on goal difference, as they have a level head-to-head record. A defeat would be okay for Juventus as long as Benfica also beat Maccabi Haifa.

The good news for Juve in relation to Benfica is that the Portuguese side are level on point with PSG and fighting to finish top of the group, something that would be a superb achievement. The bad news by the same token is that PSG are in that fight and will go to the Allianz Stadium firmly in the knowledge that they need to win to be sure of the top spot in the group.

For that reason, and the incredible form being shown by Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in recent weeks, it is very hard to envisage this weak Juventus side keeping the Parisiens out all evening on Wednesday.

Juventus are still likely to get their place in the Europa League, but it will likely be because both they and Maccabi Haifa were beaten.

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Maccabi Haifa v Benfica

September 15, 2020. Benfica, coming off a summer that would see them spend a league record €115 million and sign Darwin Núñez, Jan Vertonghen, Gilberto, and various other players and appoint Jorge Jesus as manager, faced off against PAOK in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League in Thessaloniki. Abel Ferreira’s PAOK took the lead within 63 minutes as Chuba Akpom found Dimitris Giannoulis for the opener, and four minutes later, the Portuguese manager made a double substitution: Karol Świderski came on for Akpom, whilst Andrija Živković came on for Dimitrios Pelkas, with Giannoulis driving forward from the left back position and finding Živković on the right flank, who cut inside and beat Odysseas Vlachodimos at the near post. Rafa Siva halved the deficit in the 94th minute but it was too little, too late thanks to a goal from Živković, who had made his debut for PAOK four days prior after joining on a free transfer from Benfica. For the first time since the 2009/10 season, Benfica would not be playing in the Champions League group stage.

Those days are now firmly in the rearview mirror for Benfica, one of three remaining unbeaten teams in Europe alongside Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain, and owners of a six-point advantage on Braga – the largest lead after 11 matchdays since 2010/11 with André Villas-Boas’ Porto – as well as an eight-point lead over Porto, an 11-point lead over Casa Pia and Vitória, and a 12-point lead over Sporting. As opposed to last season, when they needed to beat Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 on the final matchday to ensure progression to the Round of 16, Benfica have already booked their ticket in the next round after beating Juventus twice and drawing Paris Saint-Germain twice, as well as beating Maccabi Haifa 2-0 at the Luz via goals from Rafa Silva and Alex Grimaldo. They’ll be looking to close out their Champions League group stage with a strong performance in Haifa as they take on the leaders of the Israeli Premier League, two points above Maccabi Tel Aviv with eight wins and two losses.

Maccabi Haifa are level on 3 points with Juventus and eight behind PSG and Benfica, and they will be looking to fight for third place and Europa League football in the knowledge that Juve’s injury list of Dušan Vlahović, Bremer, Ángel di María and more could see Les Parisiens secure a lopsided result in Turin as they take on the Bianconeri, who sit seventh in Serie A, but they have a mountain to climb as they face one of the strongest teams in Europe. Benfica still have not lost under new manager Roger Schmidt since the German’s arrival from PSV Eindhoven in the summer, and I don’t think that’s going to change on Wednesday.

After taking their first win against Porto since March 2019, Benfica defeated Juventus 4-3 before thrashing Chaves 5-0 at the weekend, with David Neres grabbing his first start since the first week of October and opening the scoring after two minutes and Grimaldo doubling the lead after 10 minutes, Gonçalo Ramos tripling it and Petar Musa coming off the bench and adding a fourth in the 81st minute and Rafa Silva making it five in injury time. This is a team that is clicking on all cylinders, and one of the biggest reasons why has been a clearly defined starting line-up with Odysseas Vlachodimos in goal, Alexander Bah, António Silva, Nicolás Otamendi and Alex Grimaldo in defense, Enzo Fernández and Florentino Luís in midfield and Rafa Silva, David Neres, João Mário and Gonçalo Ramos combining in attack, although Fredrik Aursnes has become a regular presence in the XI in recent weeks following Neres’ injury with the Norwegian filling in as a withdrawn left winger as well as his more natural position of defensive midfielder. Whilst their chances of securing first place are unlikely – PSG have scored 14 to Benfica’s 10 and both have conceded 6 – Benfica will be looking to build on their flawless start to the season as they travel to Israel before taking on Estoril Praia at the weekend.

After facing off against Estoril on Sunday, four of Benfica’s next five matches will be either in the Taça de Portugal or the Taça da Liga, with three of their opponents playing in Portugal’s lower leagues. I don’t think there’s any chance we’ll see much in the way of rotation from Roger Schmidt as Benfica close out a sensational 2022 in Europe that has seen them beat Ajax before losing to Liverpool in the quarterfinals as well as book their ticket to the knockout round with one match in advance. I’m expecting them to come out with a victory and take care of business against Maccabi Haifa with a comfortable margin.

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