UEFA Champions League matches you cannot afford to miss this week

Real Madrid v PSG @Santiago Bernabeu @9 p.m. on November 26

Both Real Madrid and PSG have qualified for the next round of the Champions League, but the only task ahead of the Thomas Tuchel-led PSG side is leaving a lasting mark on a traditional UCL heavyweight.

For Zinedine Zidane, his side have recently found good form and he knows his best 11 – this is a good opportunity to show his side cannot be written off in this season’s tournament.

For PSG, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar are back and primed to start a UCL game together for the first time with either of Mario Icardi or Angel di Maria having to be left out despite good form.

Zidane rested Toni Kroos against Sociedad so the German should be fresh and ready for the French champions.

Current Form: Real Madrid [W-W-W-D-W]; PSG [W-W-W-L-W]

Head to head

18/09/19        UCL    PSG    3 – 0   Real Madrid

06/03/18        UCL    PSG    1 – 2   Real Madrid

14/02/18        UCL    Real Madrid  3 – 1   PSG

27/07/16        ICC     Real Madrid  1 – 3   PSG

03/11/15        UCL    Real Madrid  1 – 0   PSG

Prediction: Real Madrid 1-3 PSG

Juventus v Atletico Madrid @Allianz Stadium @9 p.m. on November 26

Juventus have been near faultless this season and seem to be stronger with or without Cristiano Ronaldo, whom Maurizio Sarri rested for the 3-1 win over Atalanta last weekend.

Atletico’s form has not been the best even though they remain fourth on the La Liga table, just three points off the top. But they have scored just the 16 goals in their 14 matches. That is the challenge Diego Simeone faces as he leads his team in the chase of trophies this season.

READ ALSO: PROFILE: Emmanuel Dennis, the ‘Nigerian Neymar’ who stunned Real Madrid

Simeone admitted in the pre-match press conference that Ronaldo is a difference maker.

“Ronaldo is a champion and we can’t say anything, he is number one, extraordinary and always makes the difference.” Though he was quick to add that Atletico have come to Italy to face Juventus and not Ronaldo.

Current Form: Juventus [W-W-W-W-W]; Atletico [D-W-L-D-D]

Head to head

18/09/19        UCL    Atletico          2 – 2   Juventus

10/08/19        ICC     Atletico          2 – 1   Juventus

12/03/19        UCL    Juventus        3 – 0   Atletico

20/02/19        UCL    Atletico          2 – 0   Juventus

09/12/14        UCL    Juventus        0 – 0   Atletico

Prediction: Juventus 3-1 Atletico

Valencia v Chelsea @Camp de Mestalla @7pm on Nov.27

Valencia, Chelsea, and Ajax are tied on seven points in Group H, which means Chelsea need at least a point from Spain to take into their last group game against unfancied Lille.

Three points for Valencia will almost guarantee a place in the second round because they will have a better head-to-head than the Blues though they still have to visit Ajax in their last game. Both teams lost their last league match 2-1 but Valencia will be hampered by a long injury list – Geoffrey Kondogbia, Cristiano Piccini, Gonçalo Guedes and Mouctar Diakhaby are out while there are serious doubts about the availability of Francis Coquelin, Denis Cheryshev, Ruben Sobrino, and Ezequiel Garay.

Chelsea have no injury worries though Frank Lampard will be debating whether to restore Mason Mount to the starting 11 or start with the team that almost played Manchester City off the Etihad park last Saturday. A dicey match to call.

Current Form: Valencia [L-W-W-W-D]; Chelsea [L-W-D-W-L]

Head to head

17/09/19        UCL    Chelsea          0 – 1   Valencia

06/12/11        UCL    Chelsea          3 – 0   Valencia

28/09/11        UCL    Valencia         1 – 1   Chelsea

11/12/07        UCL    Chelsea          0 – 0   Valencia

03/10/07        UCL    Valencia         1 – 2   Chelsea

Prediction: Valencia 1-2 Chelsea

Barcelona v Dortmund @Camp Nou @9pm on Nov.27

A draw is not good for Barcelona as their last group match is away at the San Siro, but a win ensures they are already qualified for the next round. Dortmund have not been in good form recently with a 4-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in their penultimate match. They also needed a last-minute equaliser against Bundesliga bottom-placed side, Paderborn, last Saturday. Under pressure, Lucien Favre will have to try and engineer a win without former Barcelona man, Paco Alcacer, while Ernesto Valverde will have to continue without his preferred fullbacks, Jordi Alba and Nelson Semedo, who are still injured though Luis Suarez is back to form a front trident with Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.

Current Form: Barcelona [W-W-W-D-L]; Dortmund [D-L-W-W-W]

Head to head

Tue     17/09/19        UCL    Borussia        0 – 0   Barcelona

Prediction: Barcelona 3-1 Dortmund