bwin Sportsblog - Football - Milan and Barca lock horns as English quartet target last 16!

It’s all to play for on matchday five in the Champions League and Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea will all be looking to secure their places in the last 16.

The Citizens have arguably the most intriguing fixture of the four as they travel to Napoli. Following their 3-0 triumph over Villarreal last time out, City are second in Group A, two points clear of the Italians, which means they can advance with victory on Tuesday night.

However, on the flip side, if they were to come unstuck in what promises to be a hot atmosphere at the San Paolo, they would be staring down the barrel of elimination, with Napoli then able to take a top-two finish by winning at Villarreal in the final round of matches.

Back in Manchester, the Red Devils are set to welcome Benfica after goals by Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney gave them a 2-0 win over Romanian minnows Otelul Galati last time out.

The qualification picture is less certain for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, who are tied on eight points with the Portuguese giants at the top of Group C. However, assuming they notch a victory at Old Trafford, they will book their place in the knock-out stages as group winners if Basel fail to beat Otelul in Switzerland.

Arsenal spurned a chance to secure their progress on matchday four as they were held 0-0 at the Emirates by Marseille, who they lead by a single point in Group F. On Wednesday, the Gunners welcome a Dortmund side in high spirits after their 1-0 away success over Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last weekend.

The equation is relatively simple for the Londoners, who will take their place in the last 16 by beating the German champions – a scenario which would also see them win their group if Marseille fail to beat Olympiacos. Arsenal can also make it through with a draw if the French side fail to pick up maximum points at the Stade Velodrome.

Chelsea will be looking to put their domestic woes aside when they travel to another Bundesliga outfit, Leverkusen. The Blues have suffered damaging defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League in recent weeks but know that they will advance with a timely victory at the BayerArena.

Andre Villas-Boas’ men, who were held to a 1-1 draw in Genk last time out, could even qualify as winners of Group F if they triumph and Valencia fail to beat the Belgian side.

Elsewhere, a three-way battle for second place in Group B will resume between Trabzonspor, CSKA Moscow and Lille, with 2010 champions Inter already through.

The permutations are endless, but CSKA have the initiative after grinding out a 0-0 draw in Turkey, while Lille went down 2-1 at the San Siro. The Russians are tied with Trabzonspor on five points ahead of their trip to Italy, while nothing but a win over the Turkish outfit will do for Lille, who prop up the group on two points.

It’s between Lyon and Ajax for the right to finish runners-up behind Real Madrid in Group D, with the two sides facing off at the Stade Gerland on Tuesday. Ajax hold a three-point advantage over the French side after a 4-0 thumping of group whipping boys Dinamo Zagreb in the previous round of fixtures and will advance to the last 16 with victory or a draw in which they score at least one goal.

In Group G, surprise package APOEL Nicosia ensured that their name will be in the draw for the next round by scoring an impressive 2-1 home win over Porto on matchday four. The Cypriots can now win the group if they triumph at second-placed Zenit, who are just a single point adrift. But victory for the Russians would mean elimination for Porto unless they can conjure a victory over Shakhtar Donetsk at the intimidating Donbas Arena.

Last, but certainly not least, is the eye-catching clash between Milan and Barcelona. Both sides are already through but the Rossoneri now trail the reigning champions by two points in Group H after being held to a 1-1 draw in Belarus against BATE Borisov. An injury-time Thiago Silva strike gave the Italians an impressive 2-2 draw in Catalonia in their first meeting, so they will hope to rise to the summit with victory at the San Siro.