What to look out for on UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 Wednesday
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
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Heading into the final day of group stage action, the likes of Milan, Shakhtar and Paris are bidding for one of the two remaining knockout spots.
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Fourteen down, two to go. The line-up for the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League knockout stage is almost there heading into the final set of Matchday 6 fixtures.
We pick out some key talking points ahead of the last-day deciders.
12 December
Group A: Man United 0-1 Bayern, Copenhagen 1-0 Galatasaray
Group B: Lens 2-1 Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Arsenal
Group C: Napoli 2-0 Braga, Union Berlin 2-3 Real Madrid
Group D: Inter 0-0 Real Sociedad, Salzburg 1-3 Benfica
13 December
Group E: Atlético de Madrid vs Lazio, Celtic vs Feyenoord
Group F: Dortmund vs Paris, Newcastle vs Milan
Group G: Leipzig vs Young Boys (18:45), Crvena zvezda vs Man City (18:45)
Group H: Porto vs Shakhtar, Antwerp vs Barcelona
All kick-off times 21:00 CET unless stated
What to look out for
Pitmen digging for victory
Shakhtar's 3-1 opening-night defeat by Porto feels a long time ago. The Pitmen have since beaten Barcelona, picked up two wins against Antwerp and are thriving with the freedom new coach Marino Pušić has given them. "No one expected us to be in contention for the knockouts heading into the final matchday," says Shakhtar defender Valeriy Bondar. "But this is our little dream."
The Ukrainian side, who have played their home games in Hamburg this autumn, are certainly up against it. Not many go to Porto and win but the lack of expectation could be beneficial. "We'll give it a shot," warns Pušić.
Milan aiming to time their run
The last spot up for grabs is in Group F, where Paris, Newcastle and Milan are all in contention to join Dortmund in advancing. The French side are in the box seat thanks to their late draw with Newcastle last time out, and victory in Dortmund would secure their last-16 place as group winners. Slip, though, and Newcastle or Milan could take it away from them.
It has been an up-and-down campaign for the Rossoneri. Their solitary victory to date came against Paris but there is no masking their issues in front of goal – no team has scored fewer in the competition. Get that right, though, and last season's semi-finalists could yet make another surprise run.
When is the last-16 draw?
The round of 16 draw takes place on Monday 18 December, from noon CET. Group winners will be drawn against runners-up, though no side can face another team from the same national association and clubs cannot face opponents they met during the group stage.
Further ahead
• Round of 16 first legs take place over two weeks, on 13/14/20/21 February; the second legs are scheduled for 5/6/12/13 March.
Where is the 2024 Champions League final being played?
The 2023/24 Champions League final will take place at Wembley Stadium in London on 1 June 2024.