Champions League - Preview: Match Day 5, Group A
GROUP A:
Internazionale V FC Twente - Guesseppe Meazza, Milan, 2045 hrs GMT
The match at Guesseppe Meazza is extremely important for both participants as Inter Milan are currently lying in the second spot behind Tottenham and only two places above their opponents tonight, FC Twente. Inter have not been playing well and from nowhere
they look like the same team that won the Champions League just over 6 months ago.
The speculations are circulating in the market that Rafael Benitez’s days are numbered at the club. Inter go into this match on the back of no wins in their last five matches including the derby defeat against Milan and the loss at the weekend against Chievo
Verona. The ban handed to Samuel Eto for his head butt on Bostjan Cesar has also done Inter no favours ahead of this match.
The last time Inter met Twente, they shared the spoils with the Dutch outfit and anything less than a win tonight may just cost them a place in the knockout rounds. For the defending champions that would be nothing short of a calamity.
Twente, on the other hand, kept alive their hopes of qualification with a slender win over Bremen on the last match day but domestically, they have not been firing on all cylinders as they lost back to back matches in the last couple of weeks to hand over
the top spot in the Dutch Eredevisie to PSV Eindhoven. But tonight, they will have to pull up their socks if they are to progress to the next round.
Tottenham Hotspur V Werder Bremen - White Hart Lane, London, 2045 GMT
Spurs may be the Champions League debutants but their win over Inter Milan on the last match day propelled them to the dizzy heights of group toppers. Tonight, against Weder Bremen at home, they can seal their qualification to the next round with a win.
Spurs are on the back of moral boasting win against Arsenal in the league and a depleted German side will hold no demons for Harry Redknapp’s men tonight at White Hart Lane.
The first leg of this tie in Germany ended in a stalemate but Tottenham are aware of the rewards of a win tonight and will leave no holds barred against their German opponents.
Werder Bremen are rooted to the bottom of the Group A table and have only conjured 2 points from 4 games this season. Although, their chances of qualification into the next round are slim but they can still have a big say in deciding the winner of the group.
Mathematically, it is still possible for Bremen to qualify but their chances remain slim and anything less than a convincing win tonight will mean curtains for them in the competition.
Claudio Pizzaro, who is the leading goal scorer for Bremen this season, will once again be relied upon to carry the Bremen attack on his shoulder but Spurs have been good in defence and Kaboul and Gallas may prove to be a good match for Pizzaro.
For Spurs, Bale is set to dazzle once again after his magical performance against Inter last time out while Van Der Vaart is also fit to take his place in the side.
UEFA Champions League: Group A Table
P
W
D
L
F
A
GD
PTS
1
Tottenham
4
2
1
1
12
8
4
7
2
Inter Milan
4
2
1
1
11
8
3
7
3
FC Twente
4
1
2
1
6
7
-1
5
4
Werder Bremen
4
0
2
2
3
9
-6
2
Remaining fixtures of the group :
FC Twente v Tottenham
Werder Bremen v Inter Milan
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