Arsene Wenger will mark his 200th Champions League game tonight, tasked with perhaps the most difficult fixture in European football.Not only do Arsenal have to go to Barcelona and win, he must somehow conjure up a way of overturning a 2-0 deficit and win by three clear goals.As if that wasn’t hard enough, his Gunners side are suffering their usual end of season slump, with the Frenchman coming under intense criticism recently.Yet another Premier League title challenge has faded away, while he was denied the chance of making it three FA Cup wins in a row by Watford over the weekend.The tide appears to be turning on the Emirates boss as questions over his ability to instil a winning mentality into his sides intensify with every loss.Laurent Koscielny has returned after a calf problem to aid his unlikely cause, though Petr Cech, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey continue to miss out.Danny Welbeck gets the nod up front in place of the much maligned (at this level anyway) Olivier Giroud.For the hosts, Gerard Pique’s strategic yellow card in North London rules him out, so Jeremy Mathieu steps in to partner Javier Mascherano in the heart of defence.As ever, theÂBlaugranaÂare able to call on the ridiculously talented attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez as they look to finish off their visitors this evening.So, here’s a closer look at tonight’s teams:

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Speculation is mounting that Manchester United are set to move for Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez this summer. The Old Trafford club are once again rumoured to spend close to £300million as they aim to compete with Manchester City and the incoming Pep Guardiola.

According to the Manchester Evening News (via Metro), Mahrez is high on the list of potential targets at United. The Algerian has scored 14 goals and waded in with 10 assists, this term, and he is exactly the type of player Manchester United are crying out for.

Despite this, some United fans feel the club should be aiming higher – for a Gareth Bale, Neymar or Cristiano Ronaldo-esque addition.

At 24 years of age Mahrez would be an ideal signing for LVG or Jose Mourinho, or whoever will be in the dugout come the start of next season. United have spent too many transfer windows chasing players they have no chance of getting. Last summer saw them chase Sergio Ramos when it never looked likely that he would come, while January came and went without any movement – or not even any near completion of any transfers.

Manchester United need a reality check – they are no longer the big boys – and they are no longer the club everybody wants to join.

Sure, they have history. The history of United will always play a part in a player wanting to move to Old Trafford. However, Liverpool, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest also have history, yet remain down the pecking order when top players are on the move.

Leicester City have shown you don’t need to have a world class squad full of magnificent players to succeed. You need players who will roll up their sleeves and work for the team. Mahrez came from the second division in France to top of the league with Leicester City.

Manchester United need to stop throwing money at the problem, take a step back a realise there are players out there who can do just as good a job as the big players they have no hope of getting are doing.

The signing of Angel Di Maria is a great example of this. They signed a player who never looked like he wanted to be there, upset at having to leave Real Madrid against his will. Sure he played out of position on occasion, but he showed little desire to succeed at United.

Some fans might think Mahrez is not of ‘United standard’ – whatever that is anymore. I’d rather a Mahrez in my side than a player with a hefty price tag who would rather be anywhere else.

Manchester United face a huge summer ahead with questions to be answered not just in the dugout but also on the pitch.

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Following on from the ever-tedious international break, the Premier League’s returning weekend has abundantly refused to disappoint.

Saturday saw workaholics Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool grind each other to a score draw, Arsenal and Chelsea both knock their opponents for four and Norwich City stage a potentially Premier-League-status-saving comeback against relegation rivals Newcastle United.

This afternoon, meanwhile, Leicester City extended their lead at the Premier League’s summit to seven points with a 1-0 win over Southampton and Manchester United replicated the scoreline against Everton during the 4pm kickoff – with Anthony Martial scoring the 1000th Premier League goal at Old Trafford. Quite a landmark.

But the relentless entertainment wouldn’t mean a thing if we didn’t learn from it – something which has become almost an official ethos at Football Fancast. Indeed, we posed FOUR key questions regarding Sunday’s games yesterday afternoon and with the results all confirmed, we now have our FOUR equally crucial answers.

WILL LEICESTER BOTTLE IT?

On the surface, not a chance. When your captain heads home to find his first goal of the season and just the 22nd of his 597-game career, you know you’re in that magical place all title-winning sides find themselves at this point of the season – where results are relentlessly ground out even if performances aren’t so spectacular.

That was precisely the case this afternoon and a run of five 1-0 wins from their last six games has seen the Foxes go seven points clear of their closest rivals Tottenham Hotspur. With just six more fixtures remaining, it would take an almighty capitulation for Leicester to miss out from here.

But reports of ‘Leicester City – Premiership Champions’ scarves going on sale outside the King Power Stadium inspire an unwelcome sense of de ja vu. Remember when Liverpool fans started celebrating wildly in April 2014 after beating Manchester City, only to end the season in second place?

Can Arsenal claw their way back into contention?

It’s not worth reading much into a 4-0 win over a workaday Watford side who are now entirely focused on their FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace, even if Arsenal did pull it off with some style yesterday afternoon.

In fact, it’s almost classic Arsenal to produce poor results in season-defining fixtures before carving up a rank-and-file Premier League outfit whilst playing a bunch of young kids like Alex Iwobi, leaving Gunners fans to lick their lips at what happen might next season. I’ll give you a hint – they’ll look like challenging for the first five months and then capitulate in traditional fashion.

So as you can tell, I’m not tipping Arsenal to stage the most miraculous of comebacks and become a fixture in the title race once again. They may catch up with local rivals Spurs, who just couldn’t produce the goods against Liverpool yesterday, but are now nine points behind Leicester City and would need a miracle to come anywhere close to closing the gap.

Are Man United on course for fourth place?

The one-nil win against Everton pretty much epitomised Manchester United’s season. An incredibly underwhelming performance overall but eventually a result that pushed them in the right direction – owing much to the club’s youngsters rather than their established talents.

They’re now just one point away from fourth-placed rivals Manchester City after the same number of games (31), so at this point anything is possible – especially considering the Citizens may find themselves more preoccupied with the Champions League if they claim a decent result against PSG this week.

But in terms of quality, there’s still only one winner and it’s not the Red Devils. Their performance against Everton was lumpy and aimless for large periods, requiring some invention from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to get them through. City, meanwhile, have just welcomed back Kevin De Bruyne and boast a squad of incredible depth and talent.

Do Everton need a new manager?

The performance against Manchester United wasn’t particularly condemning of Roberto Martinez; Old Trafford is a hard place to go and for all their shortcomings, there’s a reason the Red Devils are currently in fifth place.

But at the same time, not much paid off for the Everton gaffer this afternoon. Reselecting John Stones at the heart of defence, starting Gerard Deulofeu, moving Ross Barkley into deep midfield and making just one substitution until the 87th minute were all decisions that failed to have the desired effect.

Likewise, this Everton side is abundantly talented and probably should have caused a largely uninspiring United team far more problems today – managing just a single shot on target and one against the woodwork.

Overall, it feels like the Toffees lack direction and Spurs’ impressive rise this term should leave Everton fans lamenting the season they could’ve had.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino is known for working with young players, and the stories of his stints at Southampton and Tottenham are no different. With the likes of Ryan Mason, Tom Carroll, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and the recent emergence of 19-year-old Josh Onomah, Poch’s desire to give nods to English talents isn’t up for discussion.

Pochettino’s two years with Spurs have been excellent, with last season ending with a top three finish. In the process, the Lilywhites not only qualified for the Champions league but also attained their best ever finish in Premier league.

But, Spurs face a big issue in the centre of park, with lack of competitive back-ups. Mason and Carroll failed to cover Mousa Dembele and Alli in their absence, and it proved to be disastrous at the end of the season when Spurs secured just two points from their final four games.

With Spurs heavily relying on Alli and Dembele in midfield, they definitely need another quality playmaker. 21-year-old Derby County ace Will Hughes comes in as a solution, and a cheap option, too. He has been tremendous for the Rams in the past few years and is no less talented than Alli – in fact Pochettino could help him to go on to become a world class midfielder considering his potential. Hughes can also operate as a defensive midfielder and is known for his creativity, immense passing, ball skills, dribbling and vision.

His last season proved to be underwhelming as he was injured for eight months, but now he is back to full fitness and ready to go. Pochettino must not hesitate to bring in an immense talent for a good price, especially as Derby failed to gain promotion again. It would be a coup if Spurs can grab such an exciting player for low price.

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As far as transfer talk goes, Manchester United being willing to pay in excess of £100m for Paul Pogba is a real ‘sit up and take notice’ story.

It’s already been claimed that a deal is in place with the 23-year-old and all signs point towards the club being keen on the Frenchman, especially with Jose Mouirinho having intimated that he wants one more big name to follow Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Old Trafford this summer.

Alas, until the ink has dried on a contract, talk of Pogba to Man United remains just that, ‘talk’.

It would be no surprise to see the bombarding midfielder turn his back on the Red Devils, after all, they were willing to let him walk out on a free transfer in 2012 and the club don’t boast Champions League football for the coming campaign. Indeed, Real Madrid may come into the saga, and when they get involved they usually get what they want!

So, it would be wise for Man united to look at some ‘Plan B’ options, and here are FIVE…

Blaise Matuidi

Perhaps more of a ‘Mourinho player’ than Pogba, the Juventus man’s international compatriot appears well suited to what the Portuguese tactician demands from his midfielders.

Matuidi has long been one of the most underrated players in his position in European football, with his energy, industry and explosiveness having been key in Paris Saint-Germain’s rise to be Ligue 1’s undisputed kings.

Rumours have circulated recently that the 29-year-old may indeed be available amid PSG’s summer shake-up, and, at a fraction of Pogba’s mooted price, he could be one of the steals of the window.

Radja Nainggolan

A popular name in the rumour mill at the moment, Nainggolan has been heavily aligned with Chelsea, but could fit the bill for Manchester United, too.

His unorthodox appearance makes him stand out from the crowd, but the most impressive thing about him is his energy in the middle of the pitch.

Nicknamed ‘The Ninja’, the Roma man has developed a reputation for hurtling around the engine room and winning the ball back for his team with the sort of tenacity that has been squeezed out of many of his modern day counterparts.

Oh, and he has a rocket of a shot, too!

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N’Golo Kante

The unsung (albeit he was heavily lauded) star of Leicester’s title rise, Kante would be the ideal option for Manchester United in terms of an outright defensive midfielder. The energetic ex-Caen man offers little going forward, but his athleticism, tactical awareness and sheer work-rate stood out last term, and have done for France at EURO 2016.

Although Leicester are in a fine position to keep hold of their man, their recent swoop for Nampalys Mandy – who has already been dubbed Kante 2.0 by many – indicates that they could be persuaded to let their man leave.

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Nemanja Matic

It may be a slightly lazy rumour, but Matic to Manchester United form Chelsea has been mooted since Mourinho’s Old Trafford arrival. The Serbian was the anchor point of ‘The Special One’s’ midfield during his last title win in west London, but his form dipped so low last term that Antonio Conte may be willing to sanction his exit to a direct rival.

Although not the most mobile of engine room operators, Matic has Premier League experience and is a formidable presence when fully fit and at the top of his game.

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Andre Gomes

Currently one of the most talked about players in Europe, Gomes is a different mould of midfielder to the rest on this list, but he could be effective in a Mourinho team nonetheless.

The silky 22-year-old is known for his cool passing and composed playing style, which has already drawn links between himself and Manchester United – albeit some reports claim ‘Mou’ has dropped his interest.

Currently gearing up for a EURO 2016 Final clash with either France or Germany, Gomes won’t come cheap, but he could be Mourinho’s new Cesc Fabregas.

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The next to weigh in with FFC Predicts is another new member of the editorial team – Barnaby Lane. 

Just like George Blake before him, we think he’s let his heart rule his head with some of these predictions. Still, got to have a bit of optimism after last season…

Title Winners – Manchester City

With Pep Guardiola at the helm, a handful of magic new signings and some world class players already on their books, I think the Sky Blues will be too much for everyone else this season.

The players at City have already talked positively of the effect the Spaniard has had at the club. Expect big things.

Top Four

Manchester City

Chelsea

Leicester

Manchester United

Despite all their big money signings I don’t see United making the top 3 – a bold statement I know – but the Red Devil’s still look like a group of players slung together rather than a team and their defensive frailty and lack of depth will ultimately be their downfall.

It’s hard to see the Leicester train keep rolling however Ranieri has made some good additions and the Foxes will put up more of a fight for their crown than many expect.

Three to go down

Burnley

Hull

West Brom

Neither of the two promoted clubs have made significant additions to their squad, and with the tigers having also lost manager Steve Bruce earlier in July, I won’t be surprised to see both sides go straight back down.

West Brom’s fall from grace over the past few seasons is likely to mirror that of their troubled striker Saido Berahino.

FA Cup – Chelsea

The Blue’s have recently lost their grip on a trophy they once dominated, however with no European football and with a point to prove after last season, I expect them to do well in the domestic cups.

Signing of the Season – Borja Baston

Borja Baston. This boy can score, as proven by his impressive record in La Liga of 63 goals in 113 appearances. Over 40 of those have come in the last two seasons while on loan at Eibar and Zaragoza.

Flop of the Season – Vincent Janssen

Despite enjoying a terrific season for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie last time out, I expect Janssen to be another Dutch striker who fails to replicate his form in England.

Young Player to Watch – Nathan Redmond

Still only 22, the exciting winger has finally earned himself a move to one of England’s bigger clubs, and deservedly so. Playing alongside better players will only help him improve.

Team most likely to ‘do a Leicester’ – Southampton

I don’t think any team will quite do a ‘Leicester’, but I think Southampton will surprise in the sense that they have once again lost a host of key players and their manager but will still be up there and challenging for Europe.

Top Scorer – Diego Costa

The Spaniard will thrive under Antonio Conte as the pair are equally as passionate as each other on the pitch and the sideline.

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At the ripe old age of 23, it’s hard to believe any player has packed as much into their career already as Arsenal transfer target Mauro Icardi. Serie A hotshot, captain of a major team at a young age, an affair with a team-mate wife who then became his and transfer speculation left, right and centre.

Makes Mario Balotelli seem pretty standard eh? All drama aside, there’s a simple reason why you’ll keep hearing Icardi’s name until the window shuts: Goals. The hottest commodities in football are goal-scorers and if they carry a name and can sell shirts – that’s the icing on the cake really.

Originally in the La Masia Academy at Barcelona, the Argentine forward could make the breakthrough at the Camp Nou and subsequently moved to Sampdoria on loan. This is where Icardi began to make his name, as a record of 11 goals in 33 games for Sampdoria drew the attention of bigger clubs.

A move to the San Siro followed for what seems a miserly €11.7 Million and in the last two years, his career has really taken off. In 2014/15, the striker recorded a return of 27 goals and 9 assists in 48 games and followed that up last season with 16 goals and 4 assists in 34 games.

The Rosario-born forward was even rewarded with the captaincy of Inter in recognition for his contribution, so it seems a certainty that Premier League clubs would go all out for the player, right?

It’s off the field where the questions about Icardi begin to arise. Whilst at Sampdoria, the striker began an affair with the wife of team-mate and fellow Argentine Maxi Lopez, news which gripped all of Serie A when it broke.

Wanda Nara, who has three children with Lopez, is an Argentine media personality and there have been concerns about her impact on his career as the squeaky clean image has been replaced with a bad-boy personality, tattoos galore. The most notable of these is a large piece on his right-arm of the three children that Nara and Lopez share. Mauro obviously enjoys the quiet life then.

The player has a contract with Inter Milan until 2019 and with three years remaining, it’s crunch time from a contract perspective. Inter and Icardi don’t seem on the same page in this regard though.

Nara, who also acts as Icardi’s agent, revealed in early July that “From what I can see, Inter have put Icardi up for sale. There are many clubs interested. We will evaluate the situation with all due respect for everyone. Mauro would be very sad to leave Inter, but we’ve understood the club’s economic situation and evidently they cannot hold Icardi back”.

So it seems pretty straightforward what’s going to happen, but President Erick Thorir is singing a different tune. “We won’t sell Icardi. We received many offers, even from Napoli, but we won’t sell him. One year ago, we extended his contract; we are like a family, if there are some problems, we can always talk. He’s our captain and an important player, we are happy with him.” Mmm….

Money talks in football and it’s a win-win for Icardi. He either gets a big-money move to another club, signs an extension on a higher salary or runs his contract down to leave on a free.

You can’t see Inter allowing the latter to happen as if the economic issues are true, it doesn’t make any financial sense. As long as the window is open and no new contract is signed, the links won’t go away.

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Manchester United lost their second successive Premier League game and third in all competitions in the space of a week as Watford ran out 3-1 winners at Vicarage Road on Sunday lunchtime.

That defeat sees United already six points behind their cross town rivals Manchester City and it was the first time since Jose Mourinho was in charge of FC Porto that he has lost three consecutive matches.

It has been a week to forget for United but on the balance of play, you can’t say that Watford didn’t deserve their win. That win was the first at Vicarage Road for Walter Mazzarri and his side has now picked up back to back victories in the league.

Let’s now have a look at the three key areas that led to Watford recording their first win over United in 30 years…

United couldn’t deal with the aerial threat

United’s defence had a long and somewhat torrid afternoon as they struggled to deal with the aerial threat that Watford had. Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling were short of their best and had it not been for David De Gea’s acrobatics then the scoreline could have been even worse for Jose Mourinho’s side.

They had a very early let off when Smalling and De Gea collided, giving Odion Ighalo a perfect opportunity to open the scoring, but he somehow shanked his effort wide with the goal gaping. A scare for United, but not one that they learnt from.

Especially in the first half they were under constant bombardment from high balls. Sebastien Prodl and Troy Deeney both went close for The Hornets. Deeney called upon De Gea to be at his very best and the Spaniard needed a strong hand to keep out Deeney’s powerful header

The aerial threat was the biggest nuisance but they actually got undone by not tracking the runs from deep in midfield. Etienne Capoue’s opener was symptomatic of this. Watford just had more desire and they were rewarded for all their grit and determination throughout the afternoon.

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Mourinho getting his tactics wrong

After going with a 4-3-3 in the defeat to Feyenoord in the Europa League, Mourinho opted to start with this setup again, only with a different set of midfield personnel. This formation was chosen to bring the best out of Paul Pogba but in doing that it sacrificed the talent of Wayne Rooney.

It seems quite apparent that Rooney and Pogba can play in the same lineup but in doing so, you deprive one of them of being able to fully influence the game. With a midfield three of Rooney, Fellaini and Pogba, Rooney had to take up the right side of centre midfield and was largely ineffectual.

That said, if it was a move to get the best out of Pogba, he offered very little either as he still looks for his first real positive contribution since returning to Old Trafford. Once United reverted to a 4-2-3-1 with Rooney playing in the No.10 role, they looked more dangerous – but again The Red Devils started a game slowly and left themselves playing catch up.

United have failed to score in the first half of a Premier League game in their last three attempts, and they need to be getting a foothold on games much quicker if they are to come away with all three points.

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Walter Mazzarri’s super substitutions

Watford manager Walter Mazzarri may have had to make an enforced second half change when Daryl Janmaat came off injured, but the Italian’s two other substitutions were absolutely flawless and the kind that earn your money as a Premier League manager.

Etienne Capoue was brought off for Juan Zuniga with the move set to be a defensive one as United started to finally edge themselves into the game, but Zuniga’s contribution couldn’t have been better. Less than a minute after coming on he had found the net in a similar way to how Capoue did in the first half. A move that was designed to make sure a point was earned had now turned into a large possibility of being three.

And the afternoon would prove even better for Mazzarri and Watford as his third and final substitution played a large part in making sure Watford secured all three points. With Issac Success coming on for compatriot Ighalo, he harassed Eric Bailly late on and edged his way into the box, by the time his pass had found fellow sub Zuniga, Maroune Fellaini had already wiped out the former Napoli man.

All that was left to do was for captain Troy Deeney to thump home the awarded spot kick and the party had well and truly begun at Vicarage Road. Mazzarri not only got his substitutions right but the 3-5-2 formation was crucial, as it gave Watford additional men to go up against an already dysfunctional United midfield. The Watford boss got his tactics spot on and when you do that it doesn’t matter who you go up against, you always give yourself half a chance of winning.

A fantastic result for Watford and an afternoon to forget for United.

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Liverpool made it five wins in a row at the weekend, beating Swansea 2-1 at the Liberty Stadium.

A number of players stood out in the win, which takes Jurgen Klopp’s side to fourth, but one man singled-out by the plaudits was James Milner.

The 30-year-old was on hand to score an 84th winner from the spot after Roberto Firmino was fouled.

The former-England international has deservedly earned praise after a series of eye-catching displays at left-back.

Milner has not only impressed in open play, but also boasts four goals this season, all of which have come from the spot.

Liverpool had to come back from a goal down after Leroy Fer’s opener, with Firmino scoring the equaliser with his third of the season before Milner put his penalty away.

Klopp came in for criticism in the summer for not bringing in a new left-back to compete with Alberto Moreno, but if Milner keeps going as he is then the Spaniard’s error-prone performances will be a distant memory.

Whether it’s down to the rejigged Champions League seeding or some sort of spell cast upon the competition, this week’s set of fixtures produced some extraordinary results and moments. Matchday five is so often crucial in the four team groups, with clubs wanting to avoid the pressure of a crucial final group game.Football doesn’t get much better than the action from Tuesday and Wednesday, so here’s a handy recap of the best bits.

Record-breaker in Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund against Legia Warsaw was not the most appetising of games on paper. A comfortable victory for Thomas Tuchel’s men was on the cards. It was comfortable, eventually, but an early goal from the visitors turned a routine group game into a record-breaking 12 goal thriller.

[ffc_insert title=”European Roundup” image=”https://www.footballfancast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2016-11-23T210726Z_122936846_MT1ACI14681758_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-CHAMPIONS-CEL-FCB-2.jpg?admin” link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/european-round-up/euro-roundup-your-weekly-continental-fix” link_text=”Your weekly Euro fix” ]

With seven goals scored in the first half, there was an inevitability that this would be one of the most extraordinary games in living memory.

From there on in, it did not disappoint. Eventually finishing 8-4 to Dortmund, with a hat-trick for the returning Marco Reus to maintain Dortmund’s position sitting pretty atop of Group F.

The 12 goals is the mostÂscored in a single Champions League game, Dortmund’s eight are the most scored by any one team in a Champions League game, and Legia’s four are the most scored by a losing team in the Champions League. Quite a game!

Questionable priorities

Having spent years fighting to get back into Europe’s premier cup competition, Tottenham Hotspur fell at the earliest hurdle. Given a group without any of the biggest names, Spurs were still in a challenging situation in the most even group in the competition. Without a nominal walkover member of the group, Spurs struggled.

An abject defensive display against Monaco cost Mauricio Pochettino’s team their Champions League status and the Spurs manager is left with plenty of questions to answer about his prioritising of the Premier League. Resting players for a must-win Champions League game has not gone down well and makes you wonder if clubs only see the Champions League as a money maker, rather than a competition to actually win.

Oh, Carlo

Carlo Ancelotti has already broken some unwanted records at Bayern Munich. One of which is that he has already lost three games, a milestone that Pep Guardiola only reached once he’d already wonÂhis first Bundesliga title.

[ffc_insert title=”” image=”https://www.footballfancast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Villans-to-Heroes-Episode-Two.jpg?admin” link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/championship/aston-villa/villans-to-heroes-the-fm17-aston-villa-project-episode-two” link_text=”Episode Two” ]

Without intensity in possession and all at sea defensively, Bayern were simply outplayed by Rostov as they fell to a 3-2 defeat that guarantees they now cannot win their group.

Defeat to Dortmund last weekend meant this was a massive game for Ancelotti, he is already under pressure thanks to Bayern’s recent results and their position in the league, and defeat to European minnows does nothing to help.

Stepping into the shoes of Guardiola was always going to be an unenviable challenge and the Italian is currently failing to achieve even the bare minimum for Bayern.

Arsenal flounder

November has been yet another troubled month for Arsenal. Poor performances throughout have seen yet more grumpy Gunners after a lacklustre display saw them fortunate to finish with a draw against PSG.

Relying on Ludogorets to get a result against the Ligue 1 champions is not where Arsenal want to be – obviously – meaning another year in the second group spot is likely.

Istanbul comebacks

Just like Liverpool in 2005, Besiktas pulled off a comeback from 3-0 to draw 3-3 with Benfica in Istanbul on Tuesday night.

The result keeps Besiktas in realistic contention for a place in the last 16 despite the Turkish club only winning one of their five group games so far.

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