bwin Sportsblog - Football - Group stage set for dramatic finale

The final round of group matches in the Champions League is upon us and three of England’s big-hitting representatives are yet to secure their passage to the last 16.

Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are all sweating on their future in the continent’s elite club competition, with only Arsenal certain to progress after their 2-1 win over Dortmund on matchday five confirmed them as winners of Group F.

The Blues looked to be sailing through when Didier Drogba gave them an early lead at Leverkusen, but Eren Derdiyok and a late Manuel Friedrich header gave the Germans victory and blew Group E wide open.

Andre Villas-Boas’ men know that they must pick up either a win or a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge against Valencia to ensure their progress ahead of the Spaniards, who come into the game on the back of a 7-0 drubbing of Genk.

The picture is also fairly straightforward for United, who left themselves needing to avoid defeat against Basel in Switzerland on Tuesday after being held to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford by Benfica.

That result qualified the Portuguese side and they look almost certain to win the group as they welcome whipping boys Otelul Galati to Estadio do Luz in their final fixture.

For all their early-season dominance domestically, it is City and their expensively-assembled squad who look most in danger of flopping on their debut in the Champions League.

They wilted in the hot atmosphere of Napoli’s San Paolo stadium two weeks ago as an Edinson Cavani brace gave the Italians a pivotal 2-1 triumph.

As a result, City are now third in Group A, a point behind Napoli, ahead of their concluding fixture against runaway group winners Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium.

The problem for City is that Napoli travel to Villarreal, who look certain to field a very weak side for two major reasons.

They have lost all five group games and therefore have nothing to play for – not even a Europa League spot – and they also need to rest players to help their bid to revive their crumbling La Liga campaign.

Elsewhere, Trabzonspor can join Inter in the knock-out stages with victory at the San Siro, but if they fail to pick up maximum points, the winner of the Lille v CSKA Moscow clash will advance.

And finally, there’s a make-or-break showdown between Porto and Zenit in Group H, with the Russians needing a draw to reach the last 16, while a home victory would take the 2004 winners through alongside surprise qualifiers APOEL Nicosia.