5️⃣ big questions ahead of Wednesday's Champions League action | OneFootball

The final night of Champions League group stage action is here.

Here are five big questions for the final few games.

Can Newcastle find the reserves to down Milan?

Nick Pope, Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Matt Targett, Joe Willock, Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy.

And possibly Martin Dúbravka, Sean Longstaff and Anthony Gordon.

Newcastle have quite the list of absentees as they welcome Milan to the north-east in a make-or-break Champions League battle. Only a win will do for Eddie Howe’s side on Wednesday and even then they will need Dortmund to take points off of Paris Saint-Germain over in Germany.

The good news is Newcastle have been superb at home this season, winning nine of 11 in all competitions, a run that includes wins over PSG, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. For every home win, though, cracks appear consistently on the road and the fatigue mounts for a squad already plagued by injury. It will be a case of digging deep and crossing fingers this time around.

Will it even matter what Newcastle do?

If PSG get anything from their game in Dortmund, Newcastle and Milan are out anyway.

The question is whether the French champions will settle for a point and second place, almost certainly leading to a clash of the titans in the round of 16, or if they will go for the win and leave themselves more vulnerable while looking to secure a comfier draw when the knockout stages come around.

When they’ve had 68% possession or more this season, PSG have won four, drawn three and lost three. When they’ve had less than 68% possession, they’ve won nine and drawn one.

Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart have dominated games against Dortmund lately but the Black and Yellows don’t mind playing on the break and seeing if they can inflict damage attacking at pace, something they failed to do in Paris. Newcastle and Milan will be hoping Edin Terzić’s side have a bit more about them this time around.

All eyes on a straight shootout in Porto?

Who said the knockout stages begin next year?

Porto and Shakhtar are both on nine points and battling to finish second behind Barcelona as the two teams meet in Portugal.

The equation is simple: Porto need to avoid defeat to finish second. Shakhtar need to win.

With the onus on the away side to make things happen, this could be a thriller. They’ve already beaten Barcelona this group stage and the previous meeting with Porto delivered four goals, all scored before the half hour mark, in a 3-1 win for Wednesday’s hosts.

Buckle up, because it is all to play for already.

Is rotation the best policy for Manchester City?

With just two wins from their last six in all competitions, Manchester City are on a run of form worse than they’re used to.

They did win on Sunday, coming from behind to beat Luton Town 2-1, and they did so without Erling Haaland and Jérémy Doku, who both missed training on Tuesday.

The question for Pep Guardiola, with City topping their group no matter how Wednesday’s trip to Belgrade pans out, is how strong a side he puts out.

City could rotate heavily and risk another iffy result or losing more important players. Or they could go for three points and a perfect group stage record, keeping spirits as high as possible before hosting Crystal Palace at the weekend.

Who are the teams to avoid in Monday’s draw?

The end of the group stage means time to look ahead and we already know how the top two will look in five different groups:

FC Copenhagen, PSV Eindhoven, Napoli, Inter and RB Leipzig await.

They will be joined by either Atlético de Madrid or Lazio, who will both qualify but play with top spot up for grabs, Porto or Shakhtar, who meet in a clash to finish second, and one of Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Milan or Newcastle, with anything still possible in Group F.

Whoever qualifies from Group F will undoubtedly be one of the teams for the seeded sides to avoid in Monday’s draw, with Inter also sticking out and the prospect facing Atlético de Madrid also a frightening one.