5 Tips for Tuesday’s Champions League Action - 2/11/21

On Tuesday night, Juventus take on Zenit St Petersburg at the Juventus Stadium on matchday two of Group H, with the hosts knowing that a victory would seal qualification through to the knockout stages.

As things stand, Juve have nine points from nine, having beaten Malmo 3-0 on matchday one thanks to goals by Alex Sandro, Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata, before narrowly defeating Chelsea at home where Federico Chiesa scored the only goal of the game. The Old Lady beat Tuesday’s opponents last time out in Group H 1-0 in Russia, as Dejan Kulusevski scored an 86th-minute winner to give Massimiliano Allegri’s side a vital win.

Meanwhile, Zenit were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea on matchday one, before thumping Malmo 4-0 on matchday two before their loss to Juve, as Claudinho, Daler Kuzyayvev, Aleksei Sutormin and Wendel all got on the scoresheet.

A player to look out for in this match is Dybala, as the Argentinian playmaker has scored one goal in his only Champions League appearance of the season, as well as finding the back of the net three times and creating three assists in eight Serie A appearances.

In the Champions League, Manchester United travel to Atalanta in what is a must-win game for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men due to the Norwegian’s uncertain future at the Old Trafford club.

The last time these two sides met was on matchday three, where United took all three points thanks to a dramatic comeback from 2-0 down at the Theatre of Dreams, as the Serie A outfit took the lead through goals from Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral, before second-half strikes by Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and a header from Cristiano Ronaldo saw the Red Devils take the spoils.

Atalanta come into this match having earned four points from their opening three matches, having drawn 2-2 with Atalanta on matchday one in Group F, before beating Swiss champions Young Boys 1-0 at home via a goal from Matteo Pessina.

Meanwhile, United have won their last two matches in Europe following on from their shock 2-1 loss to Young Boys, as they also sealed a dramatic comeback versus Villarreal via goals from Alex Telles and Ronaldo, as well as the Atalanta victory, showing that there hasn’t been a dull game in the Champions League for Solskjaer’s men this season.

On Tuesday night, Barcelona travel away to Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kyiv, knowing that anything but a win could be a fatal blow to their chances of qualification to the knockout stages.

The last time these two sides met was on matchday three where Barca scraped a 1-0 win at the Nou Camp via a first-half goal by Gerard Pique. This was the Catalan club’s first win in the competition this season, having been hammered 3-0 by both Benfica and Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, Dynamo Kyiv drew 0-0 at home to Benfica and were hammered 5-0 by Bundesliga champions Bayern in their other group stage matches. Barca come into this match under the management of interim coach Sergi Barjuan who served the club as a player for over a decade, which may give them more emphasis to impress following the sacking of Ronald Koeman.

Bayern Munich host Liga NOS outfit Benfica at the Allianz Arena in Group E of the Champions League, with the Bundesliga outfit looking to guarantee themselves a place in the knockout rounds.

On matchday one, Bayern thumped Barcelona 3-0 at the Nou Camp, before hammering Dynamo Kyiv and Benfica 5-0 and 4-0, where goals by Leroy Sane (2) and Robert Lewandowski, as well as a Sousa Soares own goal gave Julian Nagelsmann’s men an impressive win, having dominated the match with 65% possession and 21 shots.

Benfica drew 0-0 with Kyiv on matchday one, before beating Barca 3-0 at home and being hammered by Bayern, with the Germans looking to inflict a similar style of defeat on the Portuguese outfit.

Lewandowski is the player to watch in this match, as the 33-year-old has scored 12 goals in 10 Bundesliga appearances, as well as five in three Champions League appearances, seeing the Pole priced at 11/8 to score two or more in this match.

In Group F, Europa League winners Villarreal take on Swiss champions Young Boys at Estadio de la Ceramica, with both sides looking to enhance their chances of progressing through to the knockout stages.

Villarreal have scored seven goals and conceded five in three matches, following a 2-2 draw with Serie A outfit Atalanta on matchday one, as well as in a 2-1 loss to Manchester United and a thumping 4-1 victory over Young Boys last time out, where goals from Yeremi Pino, Gerard Moreno, Alberto Moreno and Samuel Chukwueze gave Unai Emery’s side all three points, with Meschak Elia’s 77th-minute goal to half the deficit to 2-1 being a mere consolation goal in the end.

On the other hand, Young Boys have shown their goalscoring capabilities, having scored in their defeat to Villarreal, as well as in their shock 2-1 victory over United on matchday one, where goals from Moumi Ngamaleu and Theo Siebatcheu gave David Wagner’s side a memorable win.