Champions League Matchday 6: 10 Players Who Are Key to Their Clubs' Chances
The UEFA Champions League reaches its final round of group stage fixtures this week, and here are 10 players key to their teams' chances.
With some teams vying for qualification, some vying for top spot and some simply vying for some respectability, certain players need to step up.
Read on for more details.
Burak Yilmaz
1 of 10Galatasaray have been reliant on Burak Yilmaz's strikes this campaign, scoring all five of the team's goals.
He'll be hoping to add to that tally in Braga while looking for Manchester United to see off CFR Cluj at Old Trafford.
The Cimbom have impressed on their long-awaited return to the UEFA Champions League and look good value to continue their adventures into the knockout stages.
Lionel Messi
2 of 10This is the kind of game Lionel Messi would be rested for, unless you're just one goal short of Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals in a calendar year.
The Argentinian won't want to rest and should be eager to set his own mark on world football, and he, as usual, will be key to Barcelona's chances of beating Benfica.
Jorge Jesus should be suitably irritated.
Arturo Vidal
3 of 10Juventus face a daunting task on Wednesday—travel to the Donbass Arena and get a result to ensure qualification from Group E.
Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon are the headliners for Juventus, but Arturo Vidal is probably their key player right now.
The Chilean's combative nature and goal-scoring knack could come in handy—especially considering the Hirnyky haven't lost in their last 15 matches at home.
Oscar
4 of 10All Chelsea can do is beat FC Nordsjaelland and hope the Shakhtar Donetsk-Juventus scoreline doesn't conspire against them.
Rafa Benitez is winless in three, and the Blues will be hoping someone can produce something to give them a boost.
Oscar has been Chelsea's standout performer this season in the UEFA Champions League, scoring four excellent goals.
Christian Eriksen
5 of 10Borussia Dortmund are guaranteed first place in Group D, and Real Madrid are guaranteed second. Manchester City face archrivals Manchester United the following weekend, leaving Ajax the only team who probably have any heart left for this round of fixtures.
Christian Eriksen has been a big influence in Ajax's midfield this season, collecting four UEFA Champions League assists so far.
Frank de Boer's side travel to the Santiago Bernabeu knowing they'll come up against a second-string team. They'll fancy a coup and a guaranteed UEFA Europa League place.
Jonas
6 of 10Valencia are neck and neck with Bayern Munich for the top spot in Group F, bettering the Bavarian giants by just one goal.
With Bayern at home to BATE Borisov, Los Che's away tussle with Lille looks the harder of the two fixtures, especially considering the Spaniards just fired their manager (via SI.com).
Roberto Soldado has scored 11 goals this season, with four coming in the UEFA Champions League. He's suspended for this tie, so the onus falls on Jonas to score the goals.
Valencia have to win and hope for a result in their favour.
Georgios Samaras
7 of 10Celtic find themselves in a very similar position to Valencia, except they're battling for second place in Group G.
They face bottom club Spartak Moscow at home, while Benfica travel to the Camp Nou to face Lionel Messi and co.
The Bhoys will hope Barcelona can continue their red-hot form and bury the Benfiquistas, while they themselves will look to Georgios Samaras, who has scored three goals already in this season's UEFA Champions League.
Andrey Gorbunov
8 of 10BATE Borisov travel to Bavaria in the hope of securing a UEFA Europa League place for 2013.
They've already turned Bayern Munich over once this season, and Andrey Gorbunov was rather busy on that night. If they're going to do it again, the Belarussian goalkeeper is sure to all over the place at the Allianz Arena.
Best of luck to him, and everyone should feel sorry for the kit man.
Sammir
9 of 10Dinamo Zagreb are just playing for some semblance of pride now as they look to arrest an alarming run of defeats.
The Croatian side are yet to score a single goal in five attempts so far, so they'll be looking for Sammir, who has scored 11 goals in the domestic league, to be the one who breaks that duck.
Truthfully, they'll be looking for any goal from any player, but if you're going to pin your hopes on someone, it's wise to pick the Brazilian.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
10 of 10Paris Saint-Germain can still qualify first from Group A if they top FC Porto at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the focal point of Les Parisiens' attack and he will need to outshine Jackson Martinez to scoop up the win.
Ibra leads the assists charts so far with five, and PSG fans won't care if he's creating or scoring so long as they secure top of the pile.
Statistics via WhoScored?
