Berlin (dpa) – The final spurt in football begins before Christmas: In the men’s European Cup competitions, further decisions are made this week about advancing and eliminating, including for German clubs. At the weekend the leagues will continue.
Champions League, men
For FC Bayern, Wednesday’s home game against FC Barcelona is about ending the group stage flawlessly with a sixth win. It is almost more important for the Munich team to find out which teams are in the pot as possible opponents in the round of 16.
On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund will no longer be part of the draw for the other premier class rounds. After the already established third place, which at least entitles to participate in the Europa League, the last group game of BVB against bottom side Besiktas Istanbul on Tuesday is sportingly meaningless.
For RB Leipzig, after the separation from coach Jesse Marsch, it’s about wintering in the European Cup. For this, the club must collect at least as many points against Manchester City as Bruges at the same time at Paris Saint-Germain.
After the embarrassing 3-0 defeat in Mainz, VfL Wolfsburg will face Lille OSC on Wednesday. The wolves can still reach the round of 16. One win and Wolfsburg progresses, possibly even as group winners – then duels with Manchester City, Liverpool FC or Real Madrid would be possible. In the event of a draw or a defeat, the European adventure will end prematurely.
Europa League/Conference League
1. FC Union Berlin has a real final in the Conference League. A win against Slavia Prague and the Iron are in the knockout phase. If this does not succeed, the European adventure is over. For Frankfurt, the guest appearance in Istanbul is about winning the group in the Europa League. A draw at Fenerbahce Istanbul would qualify you directly for the round of 16. Bayer Leverkusen had already achieved this before the duel with Ferencvaros Budapest.
1. FC Köln and FC Augsburg, which is on the relegation rank, will open the 15th matchday on Friday evening. The duel between Hertha BSC and Arminia Bielefeld is also about points against relegation. Front runners FC Bayern are expecting the strong Mainz team, Borussia Dortmund, after losing in the top duel against Munich, will play against VfL Bochum, who have started the season well.
Champions League, women
FC Bayern Munich has the best starting position before the penultimate group matchday as second in Group D behind record winner Olympique Lyon. The German champions will compete in Sweden at BK Häcken on Thursday (6.45 p.m.). Before the game on Wednesday (6.45 p.m.) at Servette FC Chênois / Switzerland, VfL Wolfsburg are third in their group behind FC Chelsea and Juventus Turin and must absolutely win. Newcomer TSG 1899 Hoffenheim has little chance of progressing before the duel with Danish champions HB Köge (Thursday, 6.45 p.m. / all DAZN and Youtube). For this, the team of coach Gabor Gallai would have to win the last game against Arsenal with 5-0, because if there is a tie, the better goal difference from the direct encounters counts. And TSG lost the first leg 4-0. The two best teams in each group advance to the quarter-finals.
Foreign football
Top runners Real Madrid are leading in the Spanish league and can distance a pursuer even further with a win on Sunday evening in the city derby against defending champion Atlético. Paris Saint-Germain is even more clearly ahead in France despite two draws in a row and will host AS Monaco on Sunday evening with coach Niko Kovac, international Kevin Volland and goalkeeper Alexander Nübel.
Sports court to Rostock / spectators
The DFB sports court will hear the appeal of the second division club FC Hansa Rostock against the payment of a fine of 97,300 euros on Tuesday. The club was sentenced to this sum on November 24th for unsporting behavior of its supporters in six cases. The offenses were registered in the games against FC Schalke 04 (September 25th), Holstein Kiel (October 2nd) and against SV Sandhausen (October 17th).
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