Champions League - Preview: Match Day 5, Group E
Group - E:
The two matches to be played in Group E on match day 5 will be:
AS Roma V FC Bayern Munich - Stadio Olympico, Rome, 2045 hrs GMT
FC Basel V CFR Cluj - St. Jakob Park, Basel, 2045 hrs GMT
AS Roma V FC Bayern Munich:
Last time out in the Champions League against the same outfit, Roma lost to FC Basel at home and it looked like with that defeat vanished all hopes of Claudio Ranieri’s side of qualification to the knock out phase of the competition. But, Roma bounced back
in the away leg and registered an impressive win to propel themselves to six points and pole position behind Bayern in the group.
Roma have a good chance of progressing to the next round but tonight, they will come against Bayern Munich who have won all their matches in the group so far and have looked formidable in every outing.
Roma are domestically in good form and unbeaten in their last 8 games in Serie A. They currently sit 3rd in the league table above Inter Milan and Ranieri will hope that his side will continue their domestic resurgence into the continental competition
as well. At the weekend, Roma registered a 2-0 win over Udinese in the Serie A despite having 10 men in the game. A win tonight could be enough for them to qualify to the next round if the other match in the group ends in a draw.
But, the going would not be easy for Ranieri’s men as they will face the Bavarian giants, Bayern Munich who were the finalists last year and have been in imperious form this year, winning 4 out of 4 matches in the competition so far.
Despite being on trailblazing form in Europe, Bayern in contrast to their opponents have been woeful domestically and are currently lying in fifth place in the German Bundesliga. They had to play out a drab draw at the weekend in a game that they should
have won. Bayern Munich, after just 13 games in the Bundesliga, are 14 points adrift of surprise league leaders, Borussia Dortmund.
The last time these two sides met was just over a few weeks ago where Luis Van Gaal’s side got the better of the Romans courtsey a peach of a finish by Thomas Meuller. But Bayern have not been much impressive on the road this season and have only won once
and boast a goal difference of -3.
FC Basel V CFR Cluj:
Basel were the surprise of the day when they shocked the Romans at their own den and gave themselves an outside chance of progressing to the next round but the tables were turned just a week later when Romans took their revenge in Switzerland.
Domestically also, Basel were knocked off the top of the perch when they played out a drab draw at the weekend. In their last 5 outings in all competitions, they have only registered all three points once and have also lost two of their last three games.
Cluj, on the other hand, after having already beaten Basel in the first leg will be confident of spoiling Roma’s party with a win over Basel. Cluj are not in the best of forms domestically in Romania and are currently lying in the 8th spot but
Europe is a different competition.
They know how vital a win will be for them tonight in Switzerland as they can go level on points with Roma with a win provided Roma lose against Bayern. If that happens, it will be all to play for on match day 6.
UEFA Champions League: Group E Table
P
W
D
L
F
A
GD
PTS
1
Bayern Munich
4
4
0
0
11
3
8
12
2
Roma
4
2
0
2
6
8
-2
6
3
CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca
4
1
0
3
5
10
-5
3
4
Basle
4
1
0
3
7
8
-1
3
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