There will be plenty of nerves in Europe between today and tomorrow as the opening phase of the Champions League draws to a close with Matchday Five providing the last chance for some leading clubs to keep alive their hopes of reaching the last 16.
Tomorrow, tension will be in the air in north London, in particular, when out-of-sorts Arsenal face Borussia Dortmund seeking to qualify from the group stage for the 15th successive season.
Six teams have already qualified for the knockout rounds: reigning champions Real Madrid, Barce-lona, Paris SG, Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Porto.
Others, like last season’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen and Basel have a realistic chance of joining them with a match to spare, while for others only a dramatic improvement will see them stay in contention.
The latter include big-spending English champions Manchester City who are bottom of Group E with two points from four games but will remain in contention if they beat Bayern at home today or CSKA Moscow versus Roma ends in a draw.
Bayern have already clinched top spot but Roma (4 points), CSKA (4) and Manchester City (2) are all tightly bunched.
Roma, who beat CSKA 5-1 in the opening match, will go through if they beat the Russians again and City lose at home to Bayern, as they did in the group phase last year when the Munich side beat them 3-1 in Manchester.
While City look for a win over familiar German opposition in the north of England, Arsenal will do the same in the capital after blowing their chance of securing a last 16 spot on Matchday Four.
Arsenal were coasting to victory over Anderlecht, leading 3-0 with half an hour to play, before allowing the Belgian side to recover and steal a point in a 3-3 draw.
However, they should still qualify and will do so if they get at least a draw against Dortmund and the other game between Anderlecht and Galatasaray is also drawn.
But if Arsenal slip up again – entirely possible as Borussia beat them 2-1 at the Emirates in the group stage last season – and if Anderlecht or Galatasaray should win, then nothing will be decided until the final matchday.
Liverpool face Ludogorets away and will be out if Basel beat Real Madrid and the Merseysiders fail to win in Bulgaria
Arsenal though are not in the best of form going into tomorrow’s game, and their late capitulation to Anderlecht has been followed by successive defeats to Swansea and Manchester United.
Some of Europe’s traditionally stronger teams are, like Arsenal, also not yet certain of their survival, including five-time Euro cham-pions Liverpool who are battling to stay alive in Group B.
Liverpool face Ludogorets away and will be out if Basel beat Real Madrid and the Merseysiders fail to win in Bulgaria.
Ludogorets, who have been far from disgraced in their first Champions League campaign with a win over Basel to their credit, will finish bottom of the group if they lose and need to beat Liverpool to have a chance of third spot.
One criticism of the Champions League in recent years has been that the same teams play each other too often in the opening phase, making the competition less exciting.
That will change from next season with a new seeding arrangement in place, but the fourth meeting between Schalke and Chelsea in little over a year could prove incredibly enjoyable for the German side’s new coach Roberto Di Matteo.
He led Chelsea to Champions League glory when they won the title in 2012 but was sacked six months later.
Chelsea top Group G, three points clear of Schalke, and while the Londoners are virtually certain to qualify, Di Matteo’s side can make them wait until the last match and boost their chances with a win to lead the table.
Group E
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| B. Munich | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| Roma | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 4 |
| CSKA Moscow | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| Man. City | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
Roma vs CSKA Moscow - 5-1
B. Munich vs Man. City - 1-0
Man. City vs Roma - 1-1
CSKA vs B. Munich - 0-1
CSKA Moscow vs Man. City - 2-2
Roma vs Bayern Munich - 1-7
Man. City vs CSKA Moscow - 1-2
Bayern Munich vs Roma - 2-0
CSKA vs Roma - today, 18.00
Man. City vs B. Munich - today
10/12/14: Roma vs Man. City
10/12/14: B. Munich vs CSKA Moscow
Group F
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Paris SG | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| Barcelona | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 9 |
| Ajax | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| Apoel | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
Barcelona vs Apoel - 1-0
Ajax vs Paris SG - 1-1
Paris SG vs Barcelona - 3-2
Apoel vs Ajax - 1-1
Apoel vs Paris SG - 0-1
Barcelona vs Ajax - 3-1
Paris SG vs Apoel - 1-0
Ajax vs Barcelona - 0-2
Apoel vs Barcelona - today
Paris SG vs Ajax - today
10/12/14: Barcelona vs Paris SG
10/12/14: Ajax vs Apoel
Group G
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Chelsea | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 8 |
| Schalke | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 5 |
| Sporting | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 4 |
| Maribor | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
Maribor vs Sporting - 1-1
Chelsea vs Schalke - 1-1
Sporting vs Chelsea - 0-1
Schalke vs Maribor - 1-1
Schalke vs Sporting - 4-3
Chelsea vs Maribor - 6-0
Sporting vs Schalke - 4-2
Maribor vs Chelsea - 1-1
Schalke vs Chelsea - today
Sporting vs Maribor - today
10/12/14: Chelsea vs Sporting
10/12/14: Maribor vs Schalke
Group H
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Porto | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 10 |
| S. Donetsk | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 8 |
| Bate Borisov | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 3 |
| A. Bilbao | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
Porto vs Bate Borisov - 6-0
A. Bilbao vs S. Donetsk - 0-0
S. Donetsk vs Porto - 2-2
Bate Borisov vs A. Bilbao - 2-1
Bate Borisov vs S. Donetsk - 0-7
Porto vs Athletic Bilbao - 2-1
S. Donetsk vs Bate Borisov - 5-0
Athletic Bilbao vs Porto - 0-2
B. Borisov vs Porto - today, 18.00
S. Donetsk vs A. Bilbao - today
10/12/14: Porto vs S. Donetsk
10/12/14: A. Bilbao vs B. Borisov
Tomorrow
Group A
Atletico Madrid vs Olympiakos
Malmo vs Juventus
Group B
Ludogorets vs Liverpool
Basel vs Real Madrid
Group C
Zenit SP vs Benfica - 18.00
Bayer Leverkusen vs Monaco
Group D
Anderlecht vs Galatasaray
Arsenal vs Borussia Dortmund