UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 Preview: Group E on November 3, 2010

Basel vs. Roma

Basel are technically above Roma in Group E, but when it comes down to it, they are a much worse side than the Italians. They will struggle, although they may shave an opportunity if Roma are off their game—and they have been a little flaky in recent weeks. Playing for a strategic draw could go in favour of Basel, although anything short of a win will take qualifying out of their own hands. They would then have to rely on the results of other games. Their goal difference could factor into whether or not they decide to play for a draw or not—with them having the best goal difference of the teams at three points in Group E (which is everyone except Bayern), then it does make quite good sense.

Roma are wallowing in mid-table obscurity due to their wandering form. They could, and should by all rights, win this match without any difficulty at all. Odds are that if they play like they do on a good day, then they will—a win here is paramount if they are to avoid struggling to qualify for the next round.

CFR Cluj vs. Bayern Munich

CFR aren’t on the same level as Bayern. It’s not simply a matter of if they’ll lose—it’s a matter of by how much. At least that’s the case if Bayern play as well as they have been in the group stages and not like they have been domestically. Cluj do still retain a reasonable chance of progressing to the next round, assuming that they can manage to claw some points out of this match. The downside is that a single point simply won't do for the home side—they really need all three if they are going to keep things on track.

Well, Bayern haven’t got off to a good start this season, at least on a domestic front. In the Champions League, however, they have been playing more the way they are expected to. The Germans are normally slow starters in terms of the domestic season, but they have started to pick up a little bit. They won last time this fixture was played, although they did look a little wobbly at the back, conceding two goals. If they can make fewer silly mistakes, then they should breeze through this match.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores and live sports