European football returns this week with Matchday 5 of the 2008/2009 Champions League, which takes place on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 November. We have a few predictions for today’s and tomorrow’s matches at the end plus some stats from this season’s Champions League so far:
Top scorers 2008/2009 Champions League
| Player | Nation | Club | Goals | Apps | All-time goals | All-time Apps |
| Dimitar Berbatov | BUL | Manchester United | 4 | 3 | 11 | 29 |
| Alessandro Del Piero | ITA | Juventus | 4 | 4 | 41 | 83 |
| Steven Gerrard | ENG | Liverpool | 4 | 4 | 16 | 58 |
| Lionel Messi | ARG | FC Barcelona | 4 | 4 | 12 | 25 |
| Vangelis Mantzios | GRE | Panathinaikos | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Emmanuel Adebayor | TOG | Arsenal | 3 | 3 | 7 | 34 |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | NED | Real Madrid | 3 | 4 | 56 | 72 |
| Karim Benzema | FRA | Olympique Lyon | 3 | 4 | 10 | 15 |
| Mirko Vucinic | MNE | AS Roma | 3 | 4 | 8 | 18 |
| Mamadou Niang | SEN | Olympique Marseille | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| Sergio Agüero | ARG | Atlético Madrid | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Joseba Llorente | ESP | Villarreal CF | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Danny Koevermans | NED | PSV | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
Head-to-heads in major European Cup competitions
Group A CFR 1907 Cluj — AS Roma
| UEFA Champions League | 16 Sep 2008 | AS Roma | CFR 1907 Cluj | 1 – 2 (1 – 1) |
Group A Girondins Bordeaux — Chelsea
| UEFA Champions League | 16 Sep 2008 | Chelsea | Girondins Bordeaux | 4 – 0 (2 – 0) |
Group B Anorthosis Famagusta — Werder Bremen
| UEFA Champions League | 16 Sep 2008 | Werder Bremen | Anorthosis Famagusta | 0 – 0 (0 – 0) |
Group B Internazionale — Panathinaikos
| UEFA Champions League | 16 Sep 2008 | Panathinaikos | Internazionale | 0 – 2 (0 – 1) |
Group C Shakhtar Donetsk – FC Basel
| UEFA Champions League | 16 Sep 2008 | FC Basel | Shakhtar Donetsk | 1 – 2 (0 – 2) |
Group C Sporting CP — FC Barcelona
| UEFA Cup | 22 Oct 1986 | FC Barcelona | Sporting CP | 1 – 0 (0 – 0) |
| UEFA Cup | 05 Nov 1986 | Sporting CP | FC Barcelona | 2 – 1 (1 – 0) |
| UEFA Champions League | 16 Sep 2008 | FC Barcelona | Sporting CP | 3 – 1 (1 – 0) |
Group D Atlético Madrid — PSV
| UEFA Champions League | 16 Sep 2008 | PSV | Atlético Madrid | 0 – 3 (0 – 2) |
Group D Liverpool — Olympique Marseille
| UEFA Cup | 11 Mar 2004 | Liverpool | Olympique Marseille | 1 – 1 (0 – 0) |
| UEFA Cup | 25 Mar 2004 | Olympique Marseille | Liverpool | 2 – 1 (1 – 1) |
| UEFA Champions League | 03 Oct 2007 | Liverpool | Olympique Marseille | 0 – 1 (0 – 0) |
| UEFA Champions League | 11 Dec 2007 | Olympique Marseille | Liverpool | 0 – 4 (0 – 2) |
| UEFA Champions League | 16 Sep 2008 | Olympique Marseille | Liverpool | 1 – 2 (1 – 2) |
Group E Villarreal CF — Manchester United
| UEFA Champions League | 14 Sep 2005 | Villarreal CF | Manchester United | 0 – 0 (0 – 0) |
| UEFA Champions League | 22 Nov 2005 | Manchester United | Villarreal CF | 0 – 0 (0 – 0) |
| UEFA Champions League | 17 Sep 2008 | Manchester United | Villarreal CF | 0 – 0 (0 – 0) |
Group E AaB — Celtic
| UEFA Champions League | 17 Sep 2008 | Celtic | AaB | 0 – 0 (0 – 0) |
Group F Bayern München – Steaua Bucuresti
| Cup Winners Cup | 08 Mar 1972 | Steaua Bucuresti | Bayern München | 1 – 1 (1 – 0) |
| Cup Winners Cup | 22 Mar 1972 | Bayern München | Steaua Bucuresti | 0 – 0 (0 – 0) |
| UEFA Champions League | 17 Sep 2008 | Steaua Bucuresti | Bayern München | 0 – 1 (0 – 1) |
Group F Fiorentina – Olympique Lyon
| UEFA Champions League | 17 Sep 2008 | Olympique Lyon | Fiorentina | 2 – 2 (0 – 2) |
Group G Fenerbahçe — FC Porto
| UEFA Champions League | 17 Sep 2008 | FC Porto | Fenerbahçe | 3 – 1 (2 – 1) |
Group G Arsenal — Dynamo Kyiv
| UEFA Champions League | 21 Oct 1998 | Arsenal | Dynamo Kyiv | 1 – 1 (0 – 0) |
| UEFA Champions League | 04 Nov 1998 | Dynamo Kyiv | Arsenal | 3 – 1 (1 – 0) |
| UEFA Champions League | 21 Oct 2003 | Dynamo Kyiv | Arsenal | 2 – 1 (1 – 0) |
| UEFA Champions League | 05 Nov 2003 | Arsenal | Dynamo Kyiv | 1 – 0 (0 – 0) |
| UEFA Champions League | 17 Sep 2008 | Dynamo Kyiv | Arsenal | 1 – 1 (0 – 0) |
Group H BATE Borisov – Real Madrid
| UEFA Champions League | 17 Sep 2008 | Real Madrid | BATE Borisov | 2 – 0 (1 – 0) |
Group H Zenit St. Petersburg — Juventus
| UEFA Champions League | 17 Sep 2008 | Juventus | Zenit St. Petersburg | 1 – 0 (0 – 0) |
Statistic of the week — Sporting CP gained most points of goals scored — minimum of five points
Sporting CP have scored five goals and gained nine points in the 2008/2009 Champions League. This is an average of 1.80 points per goal scored, which makes them the most efficient team with five points or more in this year’s competition.
Poinst gained per goals scored 2008/2009 Champions League
| Pts per goal | Club | Nat | Pts | GF |
| 1.80 | Sporting CP | POR | 9 | 5 |
| 1.67 | Dynamo Kyiv | UKR | 5 | 3 |
| 1.50 | Girondins Bordeaux | FRA | 6 | 4 |
| 1.43 | Juventus | ITA | 10 | 7 |
| 1.33 | Bayern München | GER | 8 | 6 |
| 1.20 | Real Madrid | ESP | 6 | 5 |
| 1.20 | FC Porto | POR | 6 | 5 |
| 1.17 | Chelsea | ENG | 7 | 6 |
| 1.14 | Manchester United | ENG | 8 | 7 |
| 1.14 | Atlético Madrid | ESP | 8 | 7 |
| 1.14 | Liverpool | ENG | 8 | 7 |
| 1.14 | Internazionale | ITA | 8 | 7 |
Note: Only clubs with five points or more have been taken into account
Streak of the week — Most succesive CL seasons reached knockout rounds
| # | Club | Nation | From | To |
| 11 | Real Madrid | ESP | 1997/1998 | 2007/2008 |
| 9 | Manchester United | ENG | 1996/1997 | 2004/2005 |
| 6 | AC Milan | ITA | 2002/2003 | 2007/2008 |
| 5 | Bayern München | GER | 1997/1998 | 2001/2002 |
| 5 | Arsenal | ENG | 2003/2004 | 2007/2008 |
| 5 | Chelsea | ENG | 2003/2004 | 2007/2008 |
| 5 | Olympique Lyon | FRA | 2003/2004 | 2007/2008 |
| 5 | FC Barcelona | ESP | 2004/2005 | 2008/2009 |
| 4 | Juventus | ITA | 1995/1996 | 1998/1999 |
| 4 | Juventus | ITA | 2002/2003 | 2005/2006 |
| 4 | Bayern München | GER | 2003/2004 | 2006/2007 |
| 4 | Internazionale | ITA | 2004/2005 | 2007/2008 |
| 4 | Liverpool | ENG | 2004/2005 | 2007/2008 |
Bold denotes running streak
Note: FC Barcelona have already reached the knockout phase this season
Top ten of the week — Most Champions League wins – Coaches
| Won | Coach | Club(s) | Matches |
| 76 | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | 144 |
| 49 | Arsène Wenger | AS Monaco / Arsenal | 110 |
| 47 | Ottmar Hitzfeld | Borussia Dortmund / Bayern München | 95 |
| 43 | Carlo Ancelotti | Parma / Juventus / AC Milan | 89 |
| 42 | Louis van Gaal | Ajax / FC Barcelona | 68 |
| 38 | Fabio Capello | AC Milan / AS Roma / Juventus / Real Madrid | 78 |
| 38 | Marcello Lippi | Juventus | 76 |
| 34 | Rafael BenÃtez | Valencia CF / Liverpool | 64 |
| 34 | Vicente del Bosque | Real Madrid | 60 |
| 26 | José Mourinho | FC Porto / Chelsea / Internazionale | 54 |
| 26 | Héctor Cúper | Valencia CF / Internazionale | 52 |
This week’s milestones
> FC Barcelona’s Thierry Henry has played 99 Champions League matches so far (French record holder).
> Liverpool have scored 298 goals in the Champions Cup/Champions League.
> Iván Córdoba (Internazionale) has played 49 matches in the Champions League.
> Christian Panucci has played 49 matches in European competition for AS Roma.
> Girondins de Bordeaux have lost 49 matches in all European competitions.
> Olympique Marseille have scored 47 goals and conceded 49 goals in the Champions League.
> Overall, Marseille have conceded a total of 148 goals in all European Cup competitions, 99 of which away.
> Steaua Bucuresti have scored 298 goals in all European competitions.
> Olympique Lyon have scored 249 goals in all European competitions. They have also conceded 198.
> Arsenal have scored 149 Champions League goals.
> Arsenal have lost 49 matches in all their European competitions.
> Juventus have lost 49 matches in the Champions Cup/Champions League.
> Real Madrid have 49 Champions Cup/Champions League away wins.
Matchday 5 Predictions
Zenit v Juventus: Juventus need one point from two games to be sure of qualification, Zenit need to win to stand any chance. The odds are on Zenit getting a win, but I’m going for a draw here.
BATE v Real Madrid: Real Madrid for the win – they need to pick themselves up and perform now or their season is going to collapse embarrassingly.
Villareal v Manchester United: The European Champions and Villareal are tied on 8 points each, and are virtually assured of reaching the knockout stages (United’s remaining game is at home to Aalborg). I would expect United to play for a point and keep players fresh for the weekend league challenge, and my money is on a draw again.
Aalborg v Celtic: Celtic to win and assure themselves of a place in the UEFA Cup, at least.
Fiorentina v Lyon: Lyon to win and wrap up qualification to the second round.
Bayern Munich v Steaua Bucharest: Ditto for Bayern.
Fenerbahce v Porto: Fener have been defensively suspect in Europe and Porto should be able to grab a win here.
Arsenal v Dynamo Kyiv: The perfect antidote to league woes – Arsenal to thrash Kyiv and to come out saying that his methods are working.
Bordeaux v Chelsea: A closer match than you might expect. Chelsea should win, but Bordeaux are fully capable of causing an upset and if they win here (and there’s a winner in the Roma-Cluj game), Chelsea will be looking at a 3 or 4 horse race going into Matchday 6. Money is on Chelsea, hearts with Bordeaux.
Cluj v Roma: Roma to avoid the upset and win.
Inter v Panathinaikos: Inter should wrap this game up in the first half.
Famagusta v Werder Bremen: What a chance for Famagusta – a win for them plus a win for Inter sees them qualify for the knockout stage. Money’s on Famagusta.
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona: Barcelona, for no other reason than their European form this season.
Shakhtar Donetsk v FC Basel: Basel can’t stop conceding goals, and away from home I wouldn’t bank on them scoring too many either. Shakhtar for the win.
Atletico Madrid v PSV Eindhoven: Atletico Madrid can capitalise on their previous performances against Liverpool and get a win here.
Liverpool v Marseille: Liverpool need to improve in Europe; Marseille will be a challenge but if Torres gets his time on the pitch this game is Liverpool’s and Rafa can then rest players for Matchday 6.
Let us know your predictions here.
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