UEFA Champions League 2013: Fixtures and Predictions for Matchday 5

The Champions League makes its comeback this week in the penultimate round of group-stage fixtures, with many qualifying participants yet to find out their fate but so close to making it into the knockout phases.

Teams now nestled back into club matters following the international break, Europe's elite will clash once more in the hopes of claiming the points necessary to advance, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City having already sealed their progress.

Looking to the week ahead, read on for a complete breakdown of these predictions for Matchday 5, picking out several key encounters that promise to shape who qualifies from those respective pools. 

Matchup	Group	Date	Time	Prediction
FC Basel vs. Chelsea	E	Tuesday, Nov. 26	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	2-1 Chelsea
Steaua Bucharest vs. Schalke 04	E	Tuesday, Nov. 26	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	1-0 Schalke
Arsenal vs. Marseille	F	Tuesday, Nov. 26	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	2-0 Arsenal
Borussia Dortmund vs. Napoli	F	Tuesday, Nov. 26	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	2-2 Draw
Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Atletico Madrid	G	Tuesday, Nov. 26	5 p.m. GMT/12 p.m. ET	2-1 Zenit
Porto vs. Austria Wien	G	Tuesday, Nov. 26	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	2-0 Porto
Ajax vs. Barcelona	H	Tuesday, Nov. 26	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	3-1 Barcelona
Celtic vs. Milan	H	Tuesday, Nov. 26	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	2-1 Milan
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Manchester United	A	Wednesday, Nov. 27	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	2-2 Draw
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Real Sociedad	A	Wednesday, Nov. 27	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	1-1 Draw
Juventus vs. FC Copenhagen	B	Wednesday, Nov. 27	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	3-1 Juventus
Real Madrid vs. Galatasaray	B	Wednesday, Nov. 27	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	4-0 Real Madrid
Anderlecht vs. Benfica	C	Wednesday, Nov. 27	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	2-1 Benfica
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Olympiacos	C	Wednesday, Nov. 27	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	3-1 PSG
CSKA Moscow vs. Bayern Munich	D	Wednesday, Nov. 27	5 p.m. GMT/12 p.m. ET	3-1 Bayern
Manchester City vs. Viktoria Plzen	D	Wednesday, Nov. 27	7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET	2-0 Manchester City

  

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Manchester United

Manchester United were handed one of their toughest group-stage draws of recent memory this season, and it's beginning to show in just how close Group A matters remain.

This week, David Moyes' men travel to the BayArena with the hopes of tying up home-and-away results against Bayer Leverkusen, the English side having opened their European campaign with a 4-2 beating of their German counterparts.

Since that meeting, Sami Hyypia's side have gone from strength to strength and now find themselves second to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga rankings, capitalising on Borussia Dortmund's loss this weekend to creep further.

Having said that, Bayer Leverkusen's defence has been better away from home than anything else this season, but their average of 2.86 goals scored per home fixture poses issues for United, another team largely centred on their attack.

Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Manchester United

Borussia Dortmund vs. Napoli

With Arsenal taking a grip of matters in Group F, Napoli and Borussia Dortmund could turn out to be the outfits fighting for second spot, despite the fact that the former lie level on points with Arsene Wenger's side.

Just as they did against Bayern over the weekend, the Black and Yellows will be without the defensive talents of Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic and Marcel Schmelzer this week, some defensive absences that could tell against the Serie A title contenders.

For Arsenal, a draw between these two might be the most favourable outcome while they take on Marseille, and they might be fortunate in that vein.

Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Napoli

FC Basel vs. Chelsea

Basel have a healthy history against Chelsea over the last year or so, having met in this year's competition after overcoming the Swiss champions in last year's Europa League.

That being said, it's never been a dull affair between the two, with both sides managing to get on the score sheet in every meeting.

This time around, Chelsea will have more motivation to achieve an away result, considering they can seal a top-two finish in Group E with another three points this week.

Basel have already been shown up at home by Schalke this season, and although they managed to claim a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge in September, Jose Mourinho's side should have the ammunition to finish the job this time around.

Prediction: FC Basel 1-2 Chelsea