The UEFA Champions League resumes Tuesday and Wednesday as the big boys of Europe look to book passage into the round of 16 on Matchday 4. The matches that will take place this round are simply the reverse fixtures from Matchday 3 which means the match of the day is certainly the current European Champion's trip to White Hart Lane in North London to take on Tottenham Hotspur.
UEFA Champions League, Tuesday Preview: Inter Milan Travels To Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United Heads To Bursaspor
Two weeks ago, the Group A match lived up to the hype when Inter went up 4-0 at the San Siro before Spurs midfielder Gareth Bale scored a second half hat-trick to give the Premier League club something to build on in the Matchday 4 redux. Harry Redknapp's men are coming off of a 0-2 loss away to Manchester United in the league while Rafa Benitez's Inter Milan won away in Serie A against Genoa on Friday. A win would put Inter on 10 points which is often enough to secure knockout round passage and adds to the fact that the game in London is sure to be one of the biggest in Tottenham's history.
The group’s other match sees Werder Bremen host Twente in what could be a crucial tie as it pertains to the second team to emerge from Group A and into the round of 16 as both teams are level with two points each.
French side Lyon lead Group B with nine points and are away to Benfica in Portugal who are third on three points. Second in the group Schalke travels to Tel-Aviv to face Hapoel in a match they’ll desperately want to gain three points in. Depending on the exploits of Lyon, Schalke still have a very good chance of winning the group as they continue to struggle with their league form in the Bundesliga.
The very close Group C matches will witness Manchester United travel to Turkey to face pointless and goalless Bursaspor while Valencia will host Rangers in Spain after the two sides drew 1-1 in Glasgow last time out. Like Inter, Manchester United can book their ticket to the round of 16 with a win away in Bursa while second spot in the group remains up for grabs between Scottish Champions Rangers and Valencia.
Lastly, Group D will see the 2008-09 Champions League winners Barcelona travel to Denmark to face FC Kobenhavn, which places first against second in the group. Barcelona will hope to win their first away match in Europe in 11 months when they take the field and like former Champions United and Inter, Barca can also reach the magical 10 point mark if they can manage the three points on offer.
Towards the bottom of Group D, Russian Champions Rubin Kazan host Panathinaikos and are separated by only one point as Rubin sit in third with two just ahead of Pana on one.
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