Football Daily - Champions League Debrief: Guardiola confident ahead of Club Brugge showdown

Episode Date: January 28, 2025

Pep Guardiola says he's confident Manchester City will qualify for the Champions League knockout stages when they take on Club Brugge on Wednesday. But is that confidence justified?Kelly Cates is joined by correspondent John Murray, ex-Man City midfielder Michael Brown and former Aston Villa player Thomas Hitzlsperger to preview the final round of matches.They also look at Aston Villa's attempt to secure a Top Eight spot against Celtic, and see if Liverpool and Arsenal are in for a straightforward night after confirming their qualification for the knockout stages.TIMECODES 03:45 "Unthinkable" for Man City not to qualify; 05:00 Pep Guardiola on feeling confident ahead of the game. 15:00 Can Club Brugge cause Man City problems? 18:00 Aston Villa v Celtic (featuring Celtic podcaster Paul John Dykes) 28:50 Liverpool and Arsenal's final matches 31:00 Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern - the other key stories to look forBBC Sounds / 5 Live European commentaries this week: Wednesday 29th January CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Manchester City v Club Brugge 2000 KO – 5 Live CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Aston Villa v Celtic 2000 KO – Sports Extra Thursday 30th January EUROPA LEAGUE: FCSB v Manchester United 2000 KO – 5 LiveSaturday 1st February PREMIER LEAGUE: Bournemouth v Liverpool 1500 KO – 5 Live PREMIER LEAGUE: Wolves v Aston Villa 1730 KO – Starts on Sports Extra and moves to 5 Live for Second HalfSunday 2ND February WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE: Manchester City v Arsenal 1200 KO – Sports Extra PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester United v Crystal Palace 1400 KO – 5 Live PREMIER LEAGUE: Brentford v Spurs 1400 KO – Sports Extra PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal v Man City 1630 KO – 5 Live WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE: Tottenham v Manchester United 1845 KO – Sports Extra

BBC Sounds. Music, radio, podcasts. The Football Daily Podcast. With Kelly Keats. Hello and welcome. Wednesday sees the final round of matches in this season's Champions League group stage. All 18 matches taking place at the same time. We're going to be previewing all the key headlines. Correspondent John Murray, former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown and the ex-Aston Villa player Thomas Hitzlsperger are with us. Thomas, this has created quite a dramatic final round of matches, hasn't it? Well, absolutely. I'm excited.

But just the fact that everybody kicks off at the same time. You know, we look at this big table. It's really, really exciting. So many teams got something to play for. I think this new format has really worked out look at this big table, it's really, really exciting. So many teams have got something to play for. I think this new format has really worked out well at this stage where we're at. So I'm looking forward to tomorrow night. Michael could be a bit nervy at times. It could be, couldn't it? Because there's obviously the format, we're wondering what

we were going to expect, whether our team's going to be cut adrift, whether there's going to be something to play for. But you look at Bayern Munich, you look at Real Madrid, you look at PSG, you look at Manchester City, obviously a lot riding on it, even further at the top, who can finish in that top two, so incredible, looking forward to it, as Thomas said, everybody playing right at the same

time is going to be exciting, even John's had to look and see which game he can go to, whether it be Villapark, whether it be the Yeti had. So yeah, a really exciting night. Yeah, the final match day of the new Champions League phase. Just as a kind of headline, all 18 games played at the same time. Eight o'clock kickoffs, coverage here on Five Live from seven with Mark Chapman.

25 of the 36 teams don't know what's going to happen to them. Five live commentary tomorrow comes from Manchester City against Bruges. That's the one that John is going to. Manchester City, the only British team in danger of being eliminated. They must win to make the playoff stage. Liverpool have already guaranteed top eight. Arsenal are almost there. Aston Villa could make it if results go their way.

They play Celtic and commentary of that is on Five Sports Extra. Celtic have already qualified for the playoff round, but they don't have a realistic chance of finishing in the top eight. You can follow the story here on Five Live, the BBC Sport website and app, including Match of the Day highlights on Wednesday night at 10.40. John, it's all very, very simple at this stage with 25 teams waiting to find out

what's going to happen to them. Well, I think you summed it up very well there. I don't think it's possible to do it any more briefly than you did there. That was my aim. Listen, I'm quite excited about it, contrary to my conservative reputation on the airwaves at Five Live Sport.

This is something that we've never seen before, what we'll experience tomorrow night, as Thomas says, with all 18 matches kicking off at the same time. I think I would like to throw in the proviso as well that I think they've got lucky so far, and I hope that is the case tomorrow night. I think it was risky to play all of these final matches in January on a January night all across Europe there has to be a high chance at some stage of the weather playing a part in this but you know touch wood that won't be the case tomorrow

and I think that would put the cat among the pigeons and the other thing I will say is as well I think it needs to be remembered you know we've talked a lot this month about no FA Cup replays anymore and a lot of people are unhappy about that. This is part of the reason why there are no replays in the rounds proper of the FA Cup anymore because of these extra matches in the Champions League in January last week,

this midweek as well. So, you know, let's bear that in mind too. John, there's quite a few big name, big European name teams in there who might not even get into the top eight, but who might not even qualify for the next stage. Yeah, that's the big story, isn't it? Manchester City.

But at the same time, Paris Saint-Germain, who we were commentating on last week, clearly are not safe either in 22nd. And you've got to finish in the top 24 if you want to be into the knockout stages. But as well as them, they've got Benfica and Sporting, Ruben Amorim's old team, either side of them. PSV as well, the Dutch champions, they are not safe yet.

But the big story, of course, is Manchester City. And if they don't win against Bruges tomorrow night, that's it. They'll be out. And that would be shock of shocks. And UEFA today have been trumpeting the new format of the Champions League. They've already,

even before tomorrow night, they've proclaimed it as a success. They say that it's delivered on its promise. They say that this new format has ensured more competitive matches. And I suppose if Manchester City don't make it through, that would back up the unpredictability argument. Well, Pep Guardiola has been talking ahead of the game. He is seeing the positives. I've been in many years in the Champions League. Since I started my career as a

manager, this type of games I've played many times. Sooner or later you have to play these type of games that you win, you go through, you don't win, you are out. So many. But it happened more in further stages, not I would say right now, but we are here for the reasons that we know, that we are not good enough. But in this situation I live in many many times it's not a problem it's an opportunity a challenge and we will face it you've qualified for the second stage knockout phase the champions league for so many years and I would have thought that that's a matter of pride how important is it for you to maintain that record and what kind of a blow would it be to the club if you were to to get knocked out it's not it's not personally for me it's for the club and

of course we'll be it will be not good but i'm not thinking about that right now so i know for all the people concerned about what's going to happen or qualify i appreciate it you're concerned and all of you to you know to don't qualify but i'm thinking we's going to happen in qualifying, I appreciate it, your concern and all of you to, you know, to don't qualify, but I'm thinking we're going to do it. Michael, it's very rare that you hear a manager that confident, that straightforward and that bullish ahead of a game. I suppose he kind of has to be, doesn't he? Well, he's got to be.

I think, obviously, there's been so much said about Pep's side, whether he was right not to strengthen in the summer. Obviously, the amount of injuries, the style, the way they've played. He's had to make changes with senior personnel. He's changed in formations. He's played right on the halfway line, and that hasn't always worked for him. We've seen, obviously, in the Champions League,

three up, blowing that lead, and several things have been thrown at him in regards to what he can do better. How was he feeling in the situation? So he's managed to strengthen. He wanted to do that early, but he's always confident. He believes in his team. He believes in what he can go on and do.

The pressure's on. City have been in this type of situation so many times, end of season, big games, where knowing they've got to win and that sort of approach seems to suit Pep, but it's a very, very dangerous game. Yeah, they've had the experience of this emotionally, but not necessarily at this stage of the season. The last time Manchester City didn't qualify from the group stage

of the Champions League was in 2012-2013. So Pep Guardiola himself has had history with the tournament. Manchester City have had history of progressing in this tournament. It would be unthinkable, Thomas, if City weren't to be in the knockout stages, wouldn't it? Not really. I mean, you know, just look next to them

in Manchester, the other team, United. You know, there's times when you always expect them to be in the top, you know, of anything in the Premier League, international football. And then suddenly they just drop down and it's part of a new reality. Now, I don't expect Manchester City to lose tomorrow or to just get a draw. I do expect them to win. But we must not forget that Club Bruges is on a really, really good run. So it's not just a walk in the park. But I mean, sometimes these things happen. I know Pep just said, you

know, he's used to this knockout stages to those games. but usually he plays top teams. He's in the quarter-finals, he's in the semi-finals. That's when the pressure's on. Now he's in the other half of the table, where I don't think he's used to that situation. So a defeat tomorrow and not progressing into the next round of the Champions League would be a huge disappointment. And that's why it can happen. I don't think that would be the end of Manchester City. We would all be surprised. But having seen Manchester City in November, December, how they're struggling, this is something that can happen.

And it could be just a one-off. But overall, I do expect them to progress. They are such a good team. Lately in the Premier League, they've just proven again they are one of the best teams in Europe. And if they progress, then who knows what's going to happen in March, April, towards the end of the season. Yeah, they have shown it in the Premier League.

Thomas is absolutely right that there was the win over Chelsea. There was the big win over Ipswich when they just blew them away. But then in the middle of all of that, Michael, there's also the game against Paris Saint-Germain. So which city comes to the game against Club Bruges at the Etihad?

Do you know what? We were sat in commentary with John at the Chelsea game and the start of it, well, obviously with a back pass and then the goal behind. And you wonder, here they go again, because it's a different opposition than an Ipswich. Yes, they've gone on and got a result. We've seen in the FA Cup with Salford as well, where they managed to get some confidence, get some goals.

But ultimately, even in the Chelsea game, they concede in too much territory. yn y Cwp FfE gyda Salford hefyd, lle maen nhw wedi cyrraedd rhyw fath o hyder, cyrraedd rhai golau, ond yn y pen draw, hyd yn oed yn y gêm Chelsea, maen nhw'n cymryd y terryfiadau o ddwy fawr. Mae cyfleoedd, cyfleoedd yn eu gwbl yn ei gyflawni, mae angen i'w wella. Felly, yn ystod y tîmau gwell, mae'n dal i'w gwybod bod nhw'n wirf, wirf, yn fwriadol yn ymddygiadol. Yn amlwg, nid oes Diaz yn y gêm. Yn amlwg, nid oes Kusunov yn gallu chwarae. Mae John Stones yn dod yn ôl efallai am hanner o gêmnod, a ydym yn mynd i weld ef. Ond ie, mae'n anodd, mae'n ganddo Matthias Nunes yn y llaw.

Felly, unwaith y bydd y lefel yn mynd i fyny ac rydych chi'n olygu llawer a lawer o bwysau, ac yn y gêm PSG yn benodol, roedd yn rhaid i chi roi Rico Lewis yn y llaw, ac nid oeddent yn gallu cyd-dweud. Mae Blaeser yn rhedeg y gêm, mae'r intensiti wedi'u cael. Felly, mae yna lawer o waith i'w wneud. Rydym wedi gweld arweiniadau, sy'n ymwneud â'r hyn rydym yn ei weld, ond mae'r gwaith yno, gallant ddod â llaw, intensity's got them. So there's still a lot of work to do. We've seen signs, which we expect to see that, but the quality's there. They can score goals.

But overall, Kelly, still a long, long way to go. And you talked about that debut for Abdoukadir Kassanoff, and there's lots of reasons why he may not be performing at his best, certainly in the opening minutes of that game. It was the yellow card which followed that mistake that led to Manchester City conceding. But one of the reasons that he did start in that game, John,

was talked about by Pep Guardiola afterwards, which was that he's trying his best to make sure that John Stones is going to be able to come in and play for Manchester City on Wednesday. Yeah, exactly. So, and as Michael says, it is worth remembering

that none of the recent signings can play in the Champions League until the point came that they would get through into the knockout stages. But yes, you know, there is this uncertainty over this injury,

this foot injury that John Stones has had that has led to him playing so little football this season. And even today, Pep Guardiola was asked about John Stones' fitness

and I thought was quite vague about it. But I think the expectation would be that he plays but as Michael says no Diaz in training today no Doku no Ake Oscar Bob is now back on the scene so he's back training with the first team squad and obviously still no Rodri so it is pretty much the players who were involved last week in Paris and lost the two-goal lead but obviously this is at home but as has rightly been pointed out they are playing a team that is the champion club of their league

they are the Belgian champions and they are on this 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions so they drew with Juventus last week they beat Sporting and okay earlier in the group they lost to Milan and they lost at home to Dortmund in all competitions. So they drew with Juventus last week. They beat Sporting. And okay, earlier in the group, they lost to Milan and they lost at home to Dortmund. But they have been able to squeeze out results.

Beat Aston Villa, of course, as well. And the approach in this one is going to be very interesting because they're at home. The fans are going to be slightly nervous, you would imagine, even though they're going to get behind them from the whistle.

But they said the approach is that to read the game, you have to play. That's what the players have to do. They have to almost kind of play their way into games. So we have to be relaxed, not emotional to try and understand the game. He said, look, we'd like to score in the first 20 minutes, but there are other ways.

You have to be a little bit more patient is what he seems to be saying. Yes. And I thought, you know thought he was strong last week as well about them qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League. And he's backed that up today. And he was respectful in what he said about the potential dangers that Club Bruges can pose to them.

But say things like, I don't have any doubts we will perform what we have to do to go through. He did say, you never know. But I thought he was, as you said at the outset, unusually confident in public pronouncements for a manager ahead of a potential banana skin. John, you're naming stats.

He's putting stats in that he's doubting everyone. Pep's coming out all confident and John's telling us about how good they are. Well, he mentioned that today as well. We've got to slow down a bit John honestly we're putting everybody it was a nervous night

this yeah it is but man for man man for man you know we should win this we were sat there thinking was it over

against Chelsea weren't we because of the defensive woes that's the problem it has been the problem and there are injuries which can be part of

the reason for that. But then that feels like it's brought a bit of nervousness into that Manchester City side. And that kind of seems to have spread itself throughout the team, like apart from the actual positions where City have had injuries, Michael. Yeah, I mean, that's the problem. We've seen obviously Kevin De Bruyne, he'll be much fresher. He's getting better and better. But the areas, it's been all around the pitch. We've seen, obviously, Kevin De Bruyne. He'll be much fresher. He's getting better and better. But the area's been all around the pitch.

We've seen the goalkeeper change. We've seen, obviously, styles of play, more of a three at times. We've seen Fordham coming inside. He's getting back to his best, which is really one that was sort of going under the radar because everything was, the chat was obviously, it was Rodri, Harland not necessarily scoring for a few weeks, Kevin De Bruyne not playing.e, ond Ffoden. Y flwyddyn diwethaf, yr hyn a ddododd, yr hyn a gafodd, oedd hynny'n arbennig.

Gael mynd i mewn i mewnwyr llawr yn y cyffredinol, gallu cyrraedd ar y rhan gyda'r rhan cyffredinol a chael rhai golau'n ffwrdd. Ac nawr, o'r sefyllfa cyffredinol, mae hi'n dod yn dda. Ac mae'n gallu mynd yn fwy cyffredinol. Rwy'n credu bod Harland yn hoffi'r math hwnnw o gwasanaeth hefyd. Felly, rwy'n credu bod popeth wedi'i sefydlu. Marlins likes that type of service as well. So I think everything is set up. I think with the win against Chelsea, where there was uncertainty, a little bit of sort of doubt because of the week they had

going into Arsenal as well at the weekend. It's a massive week of football. He's had to try and judge it, manage it. But he knows at this stage, if he doesn't qualify for the Champions League, he's come out fine, he's come out confident. But this is a massive, massive game for the football club. Well, if it's too nerve-wracking, you can always flick over the 17 more games you can

watch. It seems like everybody's extremely nervous about this one, but that's the beauty, isn't it? What about the way that they play, Thomas? Is that something that can cause Manchester City problems? It's more the run of forms, you know, and older the Man City players and I guess most of the fans, they know as well, it's not just facing a good side from

Belgium, they're facing one of the best teams because they're just three points off Genk, I think, in the Belgian league and this gives you so much confidence, I mean just, I'm trying to avoid talking about my career, but in this case, I can use it just once, you know I haven't been on a really good run of form.

It just gives you so much more confidence. You're going into a game, and even the Bruges players, I think they're going to the Etihad tomorrow thinking, we can upset them, you know. This could really be one of those big games, one of the biggest games in the club's history, to go there and make sure Man City doesn't qualify for the next round. So it is a tough challenge, but I think the biggest challenge was in November, December,

when it all happened. I could have never foreseen Man City under Pep struggling so much for so long, like they have done. And I think they've turned the corner, more or less. I wouldn't say that they win the Premier League. They're definitely too far away from Liverpool. But overall, to achieve the goal and qualify for the Champions League again next season,

that's one of the biggest goals for sure. And I think they've overcome the biggest obstacles to stop that really bad run they've been on. And that's why tomorrow, even if it goes pear-shaped, it's something that happens, they have to get on with. But overall, the club is still in a much better position than some other clubs in England or in European football. That's why, if it happens, I think a lot of fans appreciate

the last few years they've been Man City fans and have enjoyed phenomenal, great football. Yeah, but they'll maybe take a little while to console themselves with that if things go wrong against Club Bruges. And we should point out as well, their qualification is not entirely assured either, even though they're three points above Manchester City. And Thomas, we're always happy to hear about your career.

You have to remember, most people listening don't have a career to refer back to. So it's always good to get that perspective. It was only eight games we won in a row. And I think that was one of the biggest achievements. And definitely made me feel much stronger than in most other parts of my career where I lost one Drew, lost, lost, those kind of runs.

Yeah, feeling invincible at that stage. John Murray, thank you very much for joining us. Looking forward to hearing from you tomorrow. I'll go off and carry on preparing for what should be a very dramatic night. Oh, it will be. It will be.

And it's going to sound fantastic. John, thank you very much for that. Commentary of Manchester City against Club Bruges on Five Live tomorrow night on Five Sports Extra. You can listen to Aston Villa against Celtic. Now, both these sides have guaranteed their spot in the top 24. Celtic are 18th.

They've got 12 points. Villa are 9th with 13. They're only behind Bayer Leverkusen in 8th on goal difference. It was disappointing, though, for Villa last week against Monaco because, Thomas, they started so well and now they need other results to go their way to get a top eight place. Now, look, getting to the playoffs is not the worst case scenario,

but it was almost there for them. It was, and it was very disappointing, of course. And having watched them at the weekend against West Ham, they looked tired. And that's why I think it's so important for them to finish in the top eight, to get a bit of a breather. Don't play those two extra games. That's what I think what they need.

Usually, I enjoy watching Villa. Last season was impressive. This season, they've done well. You know, playing in the Champions League, which is all new to the people at the club, and dealing with that kind of additional pressure but tomorrow is important, like I said, they need a rest

they need to finish in the top eight, otherwise it's going to be tough to maintain that level of success right all the way through the end of the season because of course the objective will be again to qualify for Champions League and do well in the Premier League of course. Thomas, do you know when you say ei ddweud bod nhw'n edrych yn dderbyn?

Rwy'n meddwl bod yn edrych ar y rheolwr hwnnw ac mae'n rhywun sy'n gallu ddelio â'r llinell yn dda iawn. Mae'n hyfforddol yn y sefyllfa, p'un a'i chwarae yn y cyfnod o'r wythnos, a'i chwarae yn ddwydydd, ddydd, wedi, ddydd, a'r hyn a fydd. Rwy'n credu bod y ddwydydd y squad yno, ac rwy'n credu bod nhw wedi dod ymlaen yn dda iawn yn gyflym iawn. Yr hyn sy'n fy mhobl yn fy mhobl yw'r gweithgareddau there. I think they've come a long way very, very quickly. What concerns me is the away performances that have sort of drifted into the game. And obviously, defensively, now

they're going to be very, very light. Yeah, no, I agree with you. I think the manager, of course, he's done so well in European competitions, won the Europa League several times, and he knows how to deal with that. But the players, like you just said, it happens so quickly. They played in the Conference League and then in the Champions League now. I think they have a group of players who are good enough to do that,

but they haven't got the depth. And it takes time to actually spend the money to buy Champions League quality players and not just 10 of them, but have a group of 15 to 20 that you can deal with playing at the highest level twice a week that they're making really good progress but if it's not happening this season then you have to accept that it happened all very quickly and

the manager for me is definitely the best appointment they could have made he's instilled that belief you know and he said it publicly you know he's there to win trophies as well I wouldn't say that he's talking about winning the Champions League this season, but in general, instilling that belief in the players and the fans and everybody in the club, they're in for a lot more and this is only the beginning. So it's been

a joy to watch. However, like I said with West Ham at the weekend, Villa were probably a bit lucky too to get away with a point. And as you said, they look quite tired in that game. When Emery called out some of the players' mentality after the match in Monaco, our interpretation of it, watching it, would be maybe the players look a bit tired, maybe it's a step too far.

But when the manager from inside the dressing room is saying it's their mentality, is that a concern? Yeah, because he's one of those managers who often speaks highly of his players. He doesn't say anything controversial. But when he's really annoyed and upset, you know, he does come out and say these things because it's sort of a wake-up call to his players. And like you all know, the players, they are listening. They are reading what's going on.

If the manager says that publicly, and he said something similar, you know, when Tyrone Minks picked up the ball in his own box against Club Rouge and they lost, you know, he was so upset that he felt the need to say that publicly. So he knows exactly what he's doing. Hopefully the players can take it on. But it is very unusual for Unai Emery to criticise the players, the squad in public. So he probably felt it was necessary

and let's hope it works out for him and the club. Yeah, Tyrone Ming's a big injury doubt for this one as well. Pau Torres obviously out with a broken foot. Esri Konza, Villa's only fit centre-back, which may give a little bit of confidence to Paul John Dykes,

who joins us now from the Celtic State of Mind podcast. Evening, Paul. Hi, how are you doing? Really, really well, thank you. How are you doing? Celtic be on the first phase of the Champions League for the first time in 12 years.

Yeah, it's very exciting. I mean, tomorrow night is absolutely massive for both clubs. But I think Celtic go into that. We know what will be expected of us. We haven't won that many away games in the Champions League two since 2001. So it's a huge task for Celtic tomorrow night. But 10 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. It would sort of be the argument, or the sort of obvious argument to make would be this is the year to go for it in Europe. But what does that look like?

Because it doesn't seem like Celtic have been holding back in terms of Europe. This is the thing. When Brendan Rodgers came back to the football club, he was asked the question in his first press conference, what does European progression look like? It's a difficult one because obviously with the Scottish game, there's a lot of things that kind of hold us back in terms of budgets. But when you look at the record this season,

it's been fantastic. It really has. And, you know, we're going into games now and we're disappointed when we only get a draw. So that shows you that the standards and the expectations have really gone through the roof since Brendan came back for his second tenure at the club. Yeah, standards absolutely through the roof.

But the big transfer news this week for Celtic, obviously, is Kiyo Gofura-Hashi being sold. 85 goals in 165 appearances. What effect do you think that that has? I think it's a huge, a huge effect when any quality player leaves the football club. We've already lost Matt O'Reilly at the beginning of this season. And it's the timing of it, isn't it?

You know, we've got this massive game against Aston Villa tomorrow night. We've got the playoffs coming up as well. And it's a January departure, something we wouldn't like to see because we're going to have to replace him. We really are going to have to bring in another centre-forward. He was a fan's favourite. He had that generational appeal. There was a huge amount of young fans who loved Kyogo. We wish him well,

but you want to keep as many quality players like him at the football club. Yeah, Chris Sutton was saying that on the Monday night club last night, saying what he feels disappointed about is that it's such a talented player, such a clever player, someone who decides games. And that because Celtic have struggled in the Champions League

for a few seasons now, it just feels like a bad time to be selling somebody who can make a difference in the season in which Celtic have progressed. You're absolutely right. So is Chris. When you look at the Champions League campaign at the beginning of the season, you ask yourself, which of our squad are good enough for this level. And Kyogo was definitely one of those players.

He'd scored at that level. He was a big game player. You know, cup finals, games against Rangers. Kyogo was that type of player who would come in and step up, even in his final appearance against Young Boys. He had the ball in the net three times. All three goals were chopped off, of course. But yes, we're gutted as a fan base.

We're absolutely gutted. And to soften the blow, we would need another hero to return and that's what's happened. It is. And we'll get to the good news for Celtic in just a second. But while we're just kind of looking

at the downside, just for a little longer, no Dyson Maeda tomorrow as well because he was sent off against young boys. Is there a concern that the team without some key players might not be quite as strong as you'd hope against Villa?

You need all your top players against a team like Aston Villa and Maeda has been our best player this season. He's the guy when he came in he was more of a cult hero. You would get an inconsistent kind of performance from Maeda. But under Brendan Rodgers, he's been sensational,

scoring a lot of goals. It was unfortunate. It was a red card and he's going to be a massive miss against Villa and in the first game of the playoffs as well. I was hearing earlier on today, Carter Vickers isn't going to make it. Alex Baez away back to Barcelona.

So yes, we're going into the game and there's a few wee gaps here and a few wee concerns. But obviously, the upside is that Jota is back. How much does that change things, do you think? Jota was a sensational player for Celtic

and when he left, again, we get used, unfortunately, we get used to losing our heroes, Matt O'Reilly Kyogo, Jota of course but he's come back and

it was a surprise, I think we kind of got lucky doing the deal with Kyogo obviously with Wren, with maybe Chancellor Mitt a little bit and we've got a player back at 25 who's got a lot of years ahead of him he's a tremendous player. He was outstanding in his first period at Celtic.

We were made an offer we couldn't refuse, obviously. The money was too big for us to refuse. But it's great to get him back and a great bit of business by the club as well. Is the Chiarantini deal looking like it's going to be done? That's obviously a really great addition if that can get over the line, surely. It's more quality, isn't it? It looks as though the pre-contract has been agreed. It's now a case

of whether he joins us in January or in the summer. But again, Kieran Tierney, a lot of injuries over the last few years at Arsenal. A top, top quality player. And he's coming back to Celtic when he's got a lot of football left in the tank, which I think is important. Yeah, they're talking about doing that. trying to do that this week, ideally.

But if not, then maybe in the summer. And as you say, it's adding more quality. I have to say, though, he won't have as good a quote as Jota, who said when he came back to Celtic, he went, the best thing in Glasgow, besides Celtic, obviously, is the people. And I feel like I need a place with soul. That's just lovely. That's pretty much word perfect, isn't it?

It is. And we do have a lot of soul. We do have a lot of soul in Glasgow and at Celtic Football Club. And I think Jotts had a really hard time of it since he left. He's only played 35 games since he left 18 months ago. And we're better to come back into an environment

where you need that confidence back? I think Brendan Rodgers is ideal for that type of thing. Celtic can give him the platform as well to get his career back on track because there's no doubt in that player's quality. Two European Cup winners going head-to-head. It's going to be some occasion. Paul John Dykes from the Celtic State of Mind podcast,

thank you so much for joining us. Good to talk to you. A pleasure. thanks very much The Football Daily Podcast with Kelly Kitts The 72 Plus on The Football Daily I'm Aaron Paul

and I'm Joby Mackinac and on Wednesdays on The Football Daily we bring you 72 Plus the home of the EFL from Five Lives. As we'll get stuck into the latest from the Football League and beyond. We're punching well above our weight already.

We're a part-time team in a full-time league. Hopefully we can stay in the league and that is the aim. We're in a great position at the moment and long may that continue. That's 72 Plus, the EFL podcast, only on the Football Daily. Listen on BBC Sounds. The Football Daily Podcast with Kelly Keats.

Liverpool already know not only have they qualified for the last eight, but they will be in the top two. They travel to PSV tomorrow. A point will mean they finish top of the league table. Arsenal go to Girona, all but secure of a top eight finish. The importance for Arsenal is to make sure, Michael, that they're in the top eight, obviously.

For Liverpool, it's more a question of pride because top two, it means the same in the draw. Yeah, but you know full well with the start that Arnie Slott's had, he's going to want a win. He's going to want a delivery. Just looking at possible changes where you sort of

can art him a callous day if they've got a yellow card. Do they obviously sit them out? So you've got this little squad balance. Make sure everybody's OK. But you'll still want

to progress. I think for Mikel Arteta, the situation there and obviously chasing in the Premier League, he's been touching distance. I quite fancied him in this year's Champions League.

So I feel like he's done all his prep. He said he loves to watch them. He said he's watched them three or four times and it's another game they want to develop and go on and win. I don't think his approach will be cautious. I think he'll be after it to try and get a positive result. I think that's the mentality

he has, wants to win every single game but yeah, it's really a good position that the two clubs are in. And Thomas, you talked earlier about going on winning runs and what that can bring, particularly if you're taking it from one competition into another. Will they both want to just keep up momentum? Well, that's what I believe so. I mean, it's sometimes quite difficult to put in words what Liverpool's achieved this season so far.

When you look at the table, seven games, seven wins, and you just never want to take it for granted and take things easy because one defeat, that could change the momentum, that could change the way, you know, people perceive you. They start talking about this is kind of the beginning of a bad run. And that's why, obviously, every single win that you have, you know, continues bringing on that confidence.

It gives you an opportunity, in this case, as we know, Liverpool are already qualified and Arsenal more or less. They can rest players. So that's also positive. And of course, everybody involved, it's just keep on winning. It's just the best feeling you can get.

But it is impressive. When you look at all the English teams, how well they've performed in the Champions League. And that's why they're in contention for a fifth place in UEFA ranking for next season. That's only good for the Premier League. John Bennett is going to be part of our Champions League coverage tomorrow night. John, we've taken a look at the British sides in action.

What else should we be looking out for? There are some big names who might be either heading to the playoffs or heading out of the tournament altogether. Yeah. Hi, Kelly. There's three storylines I'm going to be keen to follow. So the first one is, which of the top eight teams are going to slip up and maybe hand Aston Villa a chance? So I like the look of Inter against Monaco because Monaco could actually overtake fourth-placed Inter by winning by two or more goals. So that's one to watch. AC Milan as well. That's fascinating, their game against Dinamo Zagreb because they've both got so much to play for.

Dinamo Zagreb trying to get into the playoffs. AC Milan want to secure top eight. Then the second storyline I'm going to be following is that the Portuguese clubs, this is an amazing turnaround. So Benfica are still in danger, despite the fact they beat Atletico Madrid 4-0 earlier in the competition. And Sporting, after match day four, were joint second.

And now they could get knocked out going into Wednesday night and last but not least we've talked about them a lot this season Kelly in the Champions League Paris Saint-Germain so they've been a big story in this revamped Champions League there it's been a stressful campaign for them they still have a bit of work to do against Stuttgart they should be fine a draw should be enough for them but still a bit of stress for Paris Saint-Germain fans no they made things a little bit work to do against Stuttgart. They should be fine. A draw should be enough for them, but still a bit of stress for Paris Saint-Germain fans. They made things a little bit easier. That game against Manchester City was huge for them and, as you said,

left things open for them in this competition at the moment. Now, first time that four French teams have been involved in the Champions League and it looks as though all four are going to make it to the next round, which is a resounding success. They've been brilliant. I mean, nobody expected Stade Brassois to do so well.

They began brilliantly. They were unbeaten after four games, three wins out of four. Then they were thrashed by Barcelona, and you thought, oh, maybe that's it for them. But they bounced back. They beat PSV. So they're going to get into the playoffs.

Lille as well beat the two Madrid teams. You've got Monaco, we've talked about, still have an opportunity of getting into the top eight. So French football's been in great shape in the Champions League. And the bizarre thing is that the French team, everyone expected to do well, Paris Saint-Germain, has done the worst out of all of the four teams. So that's been really interesting to follow.

But yeah, Stade Bressois have been one of the great stories of this revamped Champions League. I think that's been one of the surprise stories, really. Yeah, up against the holders, Real Madrid in their final game, which is how we could describe Real Madrid in pretty much most seasons. But I feel, John, that we've had this conversation

before about Real Madrid at this stage of the tournament, whatever form it's been in. And the question is always, well, Madrid haven't, look, is this finally the year that the wheels come off? They just seem at this stage to do enough. It's not about being spectacular.

Yeah, we've seen it before. I remember a couple of years ago, they lost to FC Sheriff in the group stage and went on to win the Champions League. They have been inconsistent though, that defeat to Lille, Milan, Liverpool. But what I like about them is that, quietly, Kylian Mbappe, we talked about him a lot this season and the way he has underperformed,

but it's not been talked about how well he's doing at the moment. So it's 22 goals in 32 games. From all the coverage about Kylian Mbappe, I wouldn't have thought it was that many goals. And it's eight goals in his last five games. So he's hitting form at the right time. And that shows you that Real Madrid, yet again, as they always do, they're going to hit form just at the right time.

They'll be in the playoffs, so they've got a couple of extra games, but I think they'll cope with it. And yet again, they'll be one of the contenders. Yes, Sid Lowe's written a great piece on Kylian Mbappe in The Guardian. So if you go and read that, it's fantastic on exactly what you were saying, the praise that he hasn't really been given for getting back to that kind of form. Yeah, no one's talking about him. He's been amazing. Sid is. Sid will be putting his hand up now and saying,

I am talking about this and I am making sure that this has been covered. But Real Madrid don't tend to blow teams away at this stage of the competition, Thomas. They tend to be slow burners. They tend to blow teams away at this stage of the competition, Thomas. They tend to be slow burners. They tend to pace this tournament absolutely perfectly. Well, you've got to consider they're top of La Liga. So, you know, they're doing well. But in the Champions League, it's unfamiliar.

And again, this is also a result of the new format to have one big table and not to see them at the top, sort of in the middle. But this is, we all know, it's what happens come March, April, and that's when they usually turn up. I always fancy them in the later stages, and I probably made one mistake, because I remember last time I was in a Champions League show on a match of the day, I said to Chris Sutton, I think Liverpool, they've peaked too early. I don't think they can maintain that level of performance

and results. And he said, no, you're wrong. I think they may hold it up. And that's why I think with such long seasons, so many games, teams have dips and forms, as we often see. But Real Madrid, they come up later in the season, but Liverpool might be that one team that just goes

on from start to finish. And as of now, I'd say they deserve it to win it all. John, we obviously did a show this morning, didn't we? And we were talking about the draw, getting our heads around how the format came. And now with this playoff draw and how it all links up, it's even more complicated, isn't it? But we might see one of the big boys come up against a Real Madrid

or a Bayern Munich very, very quickly. That could really, really bring this, the new sort of formation of the Champions League to light. I'm just trying to get my head around Wednesday night, Michael. Now you're asking me about this for all. Yeah, but you're right. That is correct. This was always the worry with this format,

which was that it was set up for the big names in European football to do well and that that meant that they would get, in inverted commas, an easier pathway to the final. Well, in terms of the names and the size of the clubs that potentially could be meeting in the playoffs, and then in the next round after the playoffs, that's not necessarily going to be the case, is it? Yeah, there's a chance in the last 16,

Liverpool, even though they finished top, could be playing Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. The advantage you get for finishing first is that you avoid who finishes second until the final. That's the big advantage you get. But it doesn't necessarily, the way it's worked out, rule out the fact that you could get a giant in the last 16. I think that last 16 is going to be special because of the fact that Bayern and Real Madrid

haven't performed so well in the league stage. If that's the case, if I may say that, if too many big teams clash in the next round, they will go to Eiffel and say, we want a reform of the reform. This hasn't worked for us at all, at all. And we have seen big names struggling and only one team from Germany in the top eight, John. Yeah, I think Bayern Munich, I'll be interested to ask Thomas about this.

I think there's a lot of pressure on them because the final's in Munich and I wonder if that is impacting their performances because they've had great wins. They won 9-2 against Dynamo, but they've lost to Villa, they've lost to Barcelona,

they lost a final in the last round. I wonder, Thomas, is the pressure getting to them a bit, the fact that they know that that final in Munich is coming? I think we'll need an extra hour to talk just about Bayern Munich and this season. My impression is they do well in the Bundesliga, but the Bundesliga this season is not as good as probably the season before.

Leverkusen, they took a long time to get back to their normal form. Dortmund are struggling. Leipzig, just not where they should be. So it was a bit easier and I'm really pleased for Vincent Kompany, the way they play in the Bundesliga. But I do think they're vulnerable at the back, the two centre-halves,

you know, Kim and Upamecano at a Champions League level. Even though they've got the final in Munich and of course they want to be there, I just don't see them competing as long and being in the final. I see better teams. So they are great going forward,

but defensively they play a high-risk game. They play high up the pitch. I'd be surprised if they go to the final. Of course, I'd like to see them there being German, but the Bundesliga to me is not as strong as two or three other leagues at the moment. And while fans of English football might be keeping an eye for how Vincent Kompany is doing with Bayern Munich,

there'll also be a few people interested in how Jürgen Klopp is doing in his overseeing role with the Red Bull group. And the point is, they're not doing terribly well, John. Yeah, RB Leipzig have had an absolute nightmare. So it's just three points, their 30th. They lost the first six games, then they beat Sporting. And this is remarkable. I thought they'd do a lot better.

They had a really tough draw, Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Liverpool, Inter, Villa, Celtic. So a really tough draw. But I still can't believe they haven't done better because that is a talented squad and they've had an absolute nightmare. So Jurgen Klopp has walked into this with RB Leipzig really struggling in the Champions League.

Yeah, probably not really fair to start laying the blame. He's not to blame. I was just talking about the connection rather than saying he's in there making those differences. But it has all been... John, how have you found it reporting? Does it feel as though when you're going into match days

that it feels that there's more at stake than there has been in the group stages previously? Yeah, I was talking to Michael about this earlier. I think it has lived up to what they said. UEFA said they wanted every match to matter. And I feel that it has been

a lot more dramatic. We're going to this final round of matches where 16 of the 18 matches mean something. They also said there'd be more big games, more games between the so-called bigger sides. We've had repeats of Champions League finals. We've had some great games like Paris Saint-Germain taking on

the likes of Manchester City. And yeah, anecdotally, just the way it's felt every week, it's felt really dramatic and exciting and surprising as well. It hasn't been predictable at all. Has it made it harder, dootally, just the way it's felt every week, it's felt really dramatic and exciting and surprising as well. It hasn't been predictable at all. Has it made it harder, do you think, Thomas, for the more established European superpowers? I wouldn't say that.

Have they made it harder for themselves? Yeah, well, we'll see in the next round. But I think, you know, when you always talk about football and the fans, in this case, as a football fan in my former club, Stgart who are still in it and it's going to be an interesting game tomorrow against PSG this is huge for them but for fans to play seven different teams in Europe that's what it's all about to travel to different grounds and not just have a group of four and going home and away and play the same team, just three teams. It's been exciting. So I've been going to the Juventus-Stuttgart game and just to feel the atmosphere.

And like I said, we now, we discuss so many more teams. If you're in a group of four, you tend to focus on your group as a fan of your team. And now we talk about Brest, we talk about Lille, some other teams, I mean, Italian teams are doing really well. There's three of them in the top eight right now. There is so much more to talk about and not always the same talk about the big teams.

And that was my impression. That's why it's so refreshing. And as I said before, with the big teams, if they draw big teams the next round, they will be very unhappy. Still one of the big teams yet to make sure of qualification. How are you feeling now, Michael? I'm a little bit concerned.

You know, I mean, City have left it so late. I think when we talk about the format, when anybody was watching these big teams, you were looking and thinking, well, there's still four or five to go. They'll all be all right. We'll be able to get that result. It hasn't.

It's caught up very, very quickly. But what I must say, what I was just pointing out earlier, the fact that because they've had to play eight different teams, they haven't got to see what they did in the first game. So when they've already come back the second game, the bigger teams can adapt with the squad,

the amount of analyst work that they can do on them. So as soon as the second game came around, they would adapt, they were all over them. So it's making the workload so much greater and the players don't know what they're coming up against. So that's where it's been a little bit more of a leveler for the top teams I would say. Michael, Thomas, John thank you very much for your company this evening. Five Live Sport will bring you all the twists and turns on what promises to be a thrilling night. Commentary of Manchester City against Club Bruges is on Five Live from 8. Over on Sports Extra it'll be Aston

Villa against Celtic. And remember, the goals will also be on the BBC Sport website and app. And Champions League Match of the Day is on BBC One from 10.40 on Wednesday. From all of us, thanks for listening. What does it take to go racing in the fastest cars in the world? Oscar Piastri. Your head's trying to get rid of one way, your body's trying to go racing in the fastest cars in the world? Oscar Piastri.

Your head's trying to get rid of one way, your body's trying to go another. Lance Stroll. It's very extreme in the sense of how close you're racing wheel to wheel. We've been given unprecedented access to two of the most famous names in Formula 1, McLaren and Aston Martin. I'm Landon Aris, racing driver for McLaren Formula 1 team. They opened the doors to their factories as the 2024 season reached its peak. They work to build a beautiful bit of machinery that I get to then go and have fun in. I'm Josh Hartnett. This is F1 Back at Base.

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