Sports

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — LeBron James had 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 95-90 victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.

Kevin Love had a double-double at halftime and finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds as the Cavaliers ended Charlotte’s seven-game home winning streak and improved to 4-4 on the road.

Richard Jefferson added 13 points and Tristan Thompson pulled down 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Kemba Walker had 18 points and Nicolas Batum added 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Charlotte.

The Hornets led most of the way and took a 76-72 advantage into the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers rallied to take the lead with a little more than 6 minutes to play behind a 3-pointer and a driving layup by Matthew Dellavedova.

Charlotte stayed close and Batum missed a contested 3-pointer from the top of the key with 20 seconds left, as the Cavs put the game away.

Stephen Curry scored 41 points in three quarters, Draymond Green had a triple-double and the Golden State Warriors beat Phoenix 135-116, extending their NBA-record start to 17-0.

The Warriors set a franchise mark for 3-pointers with 22, one shy of the league record.

Curry made a season-high nine of his 16 attempts from long range in his 14th career 40-point game, five of them this season. Green had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his third career triple-double, two this season.

The Warriors, in their highest-scoring game of the season, set another NBA mark by making 15 3-pointers (in 20 attempts) in the first half. Leandro Barbosa added 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including 5 for 5 on 3-points.

Kevin Durant had 34 points and 13 rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons 103-87 for their fourth straight win.

Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter added 14 points apiece for the Thunder. In a matchup of the NBA’s top two rebounding teams, the No. 2 Thunder out-rebounded the No. 1 Pistons 58-38. Detroit centre Andre Drummond, who was leading the league with 17.8 rebounds per game, finished with seven.

James Harden had 50 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Houston Rockets beat the winless Philadelphia 76ers 116-114.

Harden was 14 for 28 from the field and 16 for 20 at the line in his third career game with 50 or more points.

Philadelphia moved one loss away from matching the New Jersey Nets’ NBA-worst mark of 18 losses to open a season. The Sixers have dropped 27 in a row dating to last season for the longest losing streak in major US professional sports history, passing the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to ‘77. The previous record was also matched by the 76ers in 2013-14.

Robert Covington had 28 points for Philadelphia, which made a franchise-record 16 3-pointers in 35 attempts.

Gerald Green scored a season-high 25 points while starting in place of Luol Deng, and the Miami Heat beat New York 97-78.

Chris Bosh added 20 points and Dwyane Wade had 17 for the Heat.

Jared Sullinger had 18 points and 15 rebounds in three quarters and Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points, leading the Boston Celtics to a 111-78 rout of the Washington Wizards.

Also Friday, the Atlanta Hawks had a 116-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Orlando Magic cruised to a 114-90 win over the Milwaukee Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Denver Nuggets 91-80.

AMMAN — Wihdat will aim to capitalise on their lead, taking advantage of Shabab Urdun’s faltering when Week 9 of the 64th Jordan Professional Football League kicks off Sunday.

Wihdat beat Ahli 2-0 this week to climb back to the top spot ahead of their match against That Ras, who held Sarih 0-0.

Shabab Urdun seem set to lose more than their lead. The team was held 2-2 with Kufrsoum as the former champs now have more stumbling blocks to overcome. Financial issues and late payments of salaries prompted players to skip practice. Angered by players attitude at a crucial point in the competition, coaching staff submitted their resignations following which a meeting of club officials tried to get things on track ahead of Sunday’s match against Hussein Irbid. 

Club President Salim Kheir was quoted as saying “if players do not back down, then the U-18 and U-20 line-ups would represent the club in the rest of matches.’’

Meanwhile, former champs Faisali beat Jazira 1-0 to move up to third ahead of their match against Kufrsoum. Ramtha moved up to fourth after a 2-0 win over Baqa’a ahead of their match against Ahli, who dropped to sixth and next play Ramtha.

Hussein Irbid also moved up to fifth after a 2-0 win over Asala who next play Baqa’a for their first win while Jazira play Sarih.

So far this season, Jordan Cup titleholder Faisali beat league titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to win the 33rd Super Cup.

Wihdat have been league champions for the past two consecutive years. Apart from conceding the Super Cup, they were knockout out of the Jordan Cup as well this season.

League Standings 
(Last week’s position in parenthesis)

BERLIN — International federations need to change to become more transparent with some of them still stuck in their “old-school” past, Jordan Olympic Committee chief HRH Prince Feisal said on Wednesday.

Prince Feisal, who is an International Olympic Committee member and whose brother, HRH Prince Ali, is running for the presidency of world football’s governing body FIFA, said the image of professional sports was taking a hit.

World athletics (IAAF) and FIFA are in the midst of their deepest crisis in their respective long histories with top officials investigated for corruption, money-laundering and bribery, while allegations of widespread doping in professional sports has already led to the ban of Russian track and field athletes, with new IAAF chief Sebastian Coe under mounting pressure.

“When you are looking at high-level athletes it does make it challenging with the difficulties several federations are facing,” said Prince Feisal, who is also founder and chairman of nonprofit, peace-building organisation Generations For Peace, when asked by Reuters about the consequences of the current scandals on world sports.

“We do feel globally there is the impression that professional sports are unfortunately corrupt because of some of the issues,” he said in a conference call, adding federations needed to become more transparent.

“We would love to see transformation occur. We would like to see greater openness, transparency and accountability. As members of a sports authority we have the responsibility to be transparent and accountable,” he said.

He said federations and sports organisations were now all brushed into the same category despite major differences in transparency between them. “That is not fair,” he said.

“But not everybody has been able to transform. Some people may be very old-school and have not evaluated their processes to have that transparency and accountability in place.”

He said it was up to the individual federations to put these mechanisms in place, before giving his brother a ringing endorsement for the FIFA top job.

“We would like to see better governance mechanisms for sports in general. That is my position.”

Prince Ali is one of five men seeking to replace Sepp Blatter in February’s special elective vote, with Blatter under investigation and UEFA president Michel Platini, once his likely successor at FIFA, facing a potential lifetime ban from football.

“I am not an expert in that area [football] but we all grew up, my brothers and I, having a great teacher; our father [King Hussein],” said Feisal, a wrestler in high school. “We all embody his values and his commitments.

“[Prince Ali] is a very good candidate, capable. He can do the transformation needed. Whether he is successful or not is up to FIFA and what they choose for the future. He is a capable person who could help that transformation.

“He is passionate about his work and committed to making a difference. That’s the values that will hold him in good stead in this competition,” Prince Feisal said.

ABU DHABI — Lewis Hamilton will find his number up in lights in Abu Dhabi, and that can only be a good omen, as the triple Formula One world champion seeks to end another dominant season on a high this weekend.

The number 44, the one the Briton has on his Mercedes, figures prominently on roadside illuminations as the United Arab Emirates celebrates the 44th anniversary of its founding on December 2, 1971.

The return to Yas Marina will also bring back fond memories for the 30-year-old who clinched his second title by winning at the circuit last season and can take his 50th career pole position this weekend.

“Last year, this place brought probably the most intense weekend of my life. I didn’t sleep much through nerves and not knowing what was ahead,” the race favourite recalled.

“But this time there’s no pressure, so I’ll be well-rested and aiming to go out on a high.

“A lot of British fans come out to Abu Dhabi so it’s like another home crowd for me. To win for them and show how grateful I am for the fantastic support I’ve had all year would be the best way to end an incredible season,” he added.

Another win would also be his 11th of the season, matching his 2014 tally.

For Mercedes, regardless of who wins, a 12th one-two finish from 19 races would also be the icing on the cake by breaking their own record set last year.

With first and second assured in the championship for the second year in a row, and the constructor’s title retained, there is also the hope of seeing both Mercedes drivers battling wheel to wheel.

There was none of that in Brazil two weeks ago, or in Mexico, as Mercedes made clear that their priority was to secure second place for Nico Rosberg.

“We will not be backing off — and an entertaining battle at the front between our boys for one last time in 2015 will be the ideal way to show that,” said motorsport head Toto Wolff.

Rosberg will be aiming to continue two sequences of his own, the German chasing his third win in a row and sixth successive pole to go into the winter with at least some bragging rights.

“I’ve had two really great weekends now in Mexico and Brazil, so I’m heading into the final race on a massive high,” he said.

Rosberg started on pole in the day-to-night race last year but a mechanical failure dashed his hopes.

“Of course, it will be close as always with Lewis and we saw a big push from Ferrari in Sao Paulo, so it won’t be straightforward. But I’m up for a battle and hopefully we can put on a great show for the fans to end the year,” he said.

With little movement in the driver market and familiar line-ups for 2016, there will be fewer farewells than usual in the paddock’s end of term atmosphere.

Abu Dhabi will be Frenchman Romain Grosjean’s last race for Lotus before moving to the new Haas team, while Manor Marussia principal John Booth and sporting director Graeme Lowdon are leaving the tail-enders.

Renault’s future in the sport may also become clearer, with the manufacturer set to take over Lotus — whose name looks destined to disappear again.

Meanwhile, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is confident the Italian Grand Prix in Monza can find the needed cash to stay on the calendar.

Ecclestone tells the Gazzetta dello Sport, “We will find the right solution — I no longer have doubts — to provide a future for the Italian GP.”

No circuit has hosted more F1 racing than Monza, but officials at the track outside Milan have had trouble producing the estimated 25 million euros ($26.6 million) per year that Ecclestone seeks to keep the race in place after the current contract expires next year.

Ecclstone says, “Things have been cleared up and there is only one go between, [Angelo] Sticchi Damiani, the president of the Italian Automobile Club.”

The Italian GP next year is scheduled for September 4.

There were goals galore in the Champions League on Tuesday as Barcelona and Bayern Munich advanced to the knockout stage, and also secured top spot in their groups.

Barcelona had already qualified following BATE Borisov draw with Bayer Leverkusen earlier, but they clinched top spot in Group E in style, hammering Roma 6-1 as Lionel Messi marked his return from injury with two goals.

“It’s tough to get back up to full speed,” said Messi. “I prepared well and trained but it’s not the same as going out on the pitch and lasting 90 minutes. I will take it with calm and get my pace back.”

Bayern routed second-placed Olympiakos 4-0, despite playing almost 40 minutes with 10 men, to ensure they will finish top of Group F, while Chelsea won by the same scoreline at 10-man Maccabi Tel Aviv in Group G.

Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 to keep alive their chances of progressing. The Premier League side need to beat Olympiakos in their final group match.

Zenit St Petersburg secured top spot in Group H with a 2-0 win over Valencia.

Group E

Lionel Messi is back and scoring netting a double in Barcelona’s 6-1 win over Roma that put the titleholders into the knockout round for a 12th consecutive season.

Messi showed no rust in his second appearance since recovering from a left-knee ligament he tore on September 26 and scored Barcelona’s second and fifth goals of the one-sided match.

Luis Suarez opened the scoring at Camp Nou in the 15th minute. Three minutes later Messi scored his first goal from Suarez’s pass.

Suarez and Gerard Pique added more goals before Messi struck again. Adriano capped the demolition after converting from the rebound following Neymar’s missed penalty.

“Messi is the best and I feel very happy for him for his goals and because he played the entire match,” Suarez said.

Edin Dzeko got Roma’s goal just before the final whistle.

Victory moved the Spanish club on to 13 points at the top of Group E with a game to spare.

Roma were left with five points along with Leverkusen, while BATE have four.

BATE’s Mikhail Gordeichuk’s took the lead in the second minute, only for Admir Mehmedi to equalise in the 68th minute.

Group F

It’s all over, at least for Bayern Munich. Pep Guardiola’s team can’t concede, let alone lose, even while playing most of the second half with 10 men. Douglas Costa, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller scored inside the first 20 minutes.

Defender Holger Badstuber was sent off in 53rd minute on his first start after nine months out with a knee injury for downing Ideye Brown. But it was Bayern that went on to score again with Kingsley Coman completing the emphatic win in the 70th minute.

Bayern now top the group with 12 points and cannot be dislodged with one match remaining.

“We managed to win the group again, that was our goal,” Guardiola said. “My compliments to the team, we can be pleased.”

Arsenal can still advance to the knoutout stage as second in the group after beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0. Alexis Sanchez scored twice and set up Mesut Ozil for Arsenal’s first goal.

Arsene Wegner’s side must beat Olympiakos 2-0 or by a one-goal margin of at least 3-2 due to the head-to-head formula used by UEFA to separate teams. Arsenal is third, three points behind Olympiakos with nine.

Group G

Chelsea remained in the hunt to advance from Group G after easing past 10-man Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0.

Tel Aviv was reduced to 10 men five minutes before halftime when former Chelsea defender Tal Ben Haim was sent off for a rash challenge on Diego Costa, but it took Chelsea more than half an hour to double their lead, when Willian curled in a free kick.

Gary Cahill had put the visitors up in the 20th minute. Oscar and substitute Kurt Zouma scored the other goals.

In the only negative point for Chelsea, captain John Terry fell awkwardly in the 75th minute and was taken off on a stretcher.

Chelsea’s win, and Porto’s loss to Dynamo Kiev, tied the first two teams on 10 points, two more than Kiev.

Andriy Yarmolenko and Derlis Gonzalez netted to inflict Porto’s first defeat of the season.

In the final round of group games next month, Chelsea hosts Porto in a likely winner-takes-all match, and Kiev hosts winless Tel Aviv.

Group H

Russia striker Artyom Dzyuba scored again as Zenit secured top spot in Group H by beating Valencia 2-0, while Gent maintained their chances of qualifying after winning 2-1 at Lyon thanks to Kalifa Coulibaly’s injury-time winner.

Gent have seven points, one more than Valencia, and can guarantee qualification by beating Zenit at home on December 9. But Lyon with one point see it miss out on a Europa League berth.

Dzyuba’s 74th minute goal, his fifth of the group stage, was a simple finish after a lay-off from Hulk. Midfielder Oleg Shatov scored the opener.

Valencia finished with 10 men after defender Ruben Vezo was shown a straight red card in the 80th minute for slicing down Shatov.

“Apart from 10 minutes in the second half, we dominated completely,” Zenit coach Andre Villas-Boas said.

Meanwhile, Lyon failed to properly clear a corner and Coulibaly nodded home from close range to punish a lacklustre Lyon side that led through midfielder Jordan Ferri’s seventh-minute goal.

The Belgian side equalised in the 32nd minute through Danijel Milicevic’s cleverly-worked free-kick.

Before the match, Lyon fans held scarves aloft as they sang the French national anthem in honour of the victims of the Paris attacks on November 13, which left 130 dead and hundreds more wounded.

With France under a state of emergency and Brussels staying on high alert over serious terror threat, no Gent fans were allowed in Lyon.

OAKLAND, California — The defending champion Golden State Warriors set the record for best start in NBA history at 16-0, as Stephen Curry had 24 points and nine assists in a 111-77 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

With their coach sidelined, the Warriors surpassed the 15-0 starts by the Washington Capitols of 1948-49 and 1993-94 Houston Rockets.

Confetti streamed down when the final buzzer sounded, but Golden State’s players barely celebrated.

“It’s a special accomplishment any time you can do something that hasn’t been done before,” Curry said. “It’s not going to be total dominance for 82 games.”

Draymond Green added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, as the Warriors extended their team-record home winning streak to 27 games with coach Steve Kerr watching from behind the scenes, while recovering from complications following two back surgeries.

Kobe Bryant shot 1 of 14 for just four points, matching the worst-shooting performance of his career in a game where he had at least one basket. The Lakers dropped to 2-12 with the second-worst record in the NBA.

Bryant sank to a new low in a trying season expected to be his last.

Bryant, slowed by age and past injuries, has looked like a shadow of his former self this year and that was never more apparent then against Golden State who blasted the Lakers to improve to a record 16-0.

The Oracle Arena crowd, hoping to see a vintage Bryant performance amid their team’s inevitable win, seemed to deflate with every miss from the 37-year-old player.

The misses have piled up as high as the Lakers’ (2-12) losses for Bryant this campaign as he entered the night shooting just 33 per cent from the field.

“He’s struggling right now to make a shot. I think he’ll be the first to tell you that,” Los Angeles coach Byron Scott told reporters following his team’s defeat.

“You can see that he was getting pretty frustrated at himself.”

Bryant has indicated that unless something changes this will likely be the final chapter of a career that has included five championships and countless of memorable moments.

Elsewhere, Indiana made a club-record 19 3-pointers in a 123-106 win over Washington, the Los Angeles Clippers ended a three-game losing streak with a 111-94 victory over Denver, and Atlanta routed Boston 121-97.

Paul George scored a season-high 40 points and made seven 3-pointers, while C.J. Miles added 32 points, including eight 3-pointers, in his highest-scoring game since joining the Pacers before the start of last season.

The Pacers, which won for the ninth time in 11 games, finished 73.1 per cent (19 of 26) from 3-point range, crushing their previous season high of 44.4 per cent.

In Denver, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan each scored 18 points for the struggling Clippers, who improved to 7-7 with the win.

The Clippers, who hadn’t been under .500 this far into a season under coach Doc Rivers, made eight 3-pointers after coming into the game at 31.3 per cent.

Jordan finished with 11 rebounds and four blocks, while Griffin had 10 rebounds. Chris Paul had 15 points and 10 assists to give the Clippers three players with double-doubles.

Paul Millsap scored 25 points and Jeff Teague added 16 for Atlanta, which had dropped four of five, including a loss Saturday at Cleveland in which coach Mike Budenholzer was ejected and subsequently fined $25,000 for bumping into referee Ben Taylor.

The Hawks essentially put this game out of reach with an 18-3 run that made it 100-80 with 6:20 remaining on Teague’s three-point play.

In other games, Mike Conley scored 21 points and Jeff Green added 19 to lead seven Memphis players in double figures in the Grizzlies’ 110-96 win over Dallas.

Marc Gasol had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis, which won its fifth in the last six games.

Chicago’s Jimmy Butler scored 22 points and Derrick Rose added 17 in his return to the line-up as the Bulls held off Portland 93-88.

Rose had missed two games with a left ankle injury.

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-23 team is set to play Iraq in a friendly as it prepares for the 2nd Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship, which also serves as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The squad faced Wihdat, Jazira, Faisali and Shabab Urdun in friendlies this month as coach Jamal Abu Abed underlined “matches had served their purpose”. The coach underlined defensive and offensive tactics had improved and added the regrouping had helped ensure “team cohesiveness”. Team officials said that the line-up would not be finalised until mid-December after the final training camp.

The Kingdom qualified to the U-23 Championship after it topped Group B qualifiers in Amman as Jordan held Kuwait 3-3, beat Kyrgyzstan 4-0 and Pakistan 5-0 to advance.

Jordan got a tough draw at the 16-team championship set for January 12-30, 2016 in Qatar where it will play in Group D next to Australia, the UAE and Vietnam.

The Jordan Football Association (JFA) recently assessed national team line-ups and staff after most teams were eliminated from their receptive Asian qualifiers. Those include U-23 and U-19, the U-16 boys and women’s teams who were all eliminated echoing earlier concerns by observers.

Despite a technical issue causing their elimination from the 1st West Asian Championship, the JFA expressed confidence in the U-23 team’s staff and announced coach Abu Abed would stay and prepare for the upcoming agenda. Misinterpretation of regulations cost the team qualification on points at the 1st West Asian Championship. After defeating Yemen 3-1, losing 2-1 to Qatar, assuming Palestine’s results were scrapped after it was eliminated from the competition, so the team’s reserves played as Jordan lost 1-0 to Palestine and ended up fourth in the group, allowing Yemen, the only team they beat, to advance as best second placed team.

In the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship (now renamed the AFC U-23 Championship), the U-23 team beat South Korea to take bronze, as Iraq beat Saudi Arabia to take the title.

The team had a modest preparation period hampered with no training camps and no serious friendlies. In 2014, the U-23 squad had similar circumstances when it represented Jordan at the Asian Games. It made to the quarter-finals despite a bumpy preparation period amid the busy agenda of the national team, as well as, local clubs.

LeBron James joined Oscar Robertson on an exclusive NBA list and Kevin Love scored a season-high 34 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers remained unbeaten at home with a 117-103 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday.

James had 15 points and 13 assists and joined Robertson as the only players in league history to rank in the top 25 in career points and assists.

With his fifth assist, James moved past Norm Nixon (6,386) into 25th place and moved alongside Robertson, who finished his Hall of Fame career with 26,710 points and 9,887 assists. James will soon eclipse Robertson’s scoring total and the unselfish superstar is a good bet to pass the guard on the assist list as well.

Love scored 27 in the first half for the Cavs, now 8-0 at home and an Eastern Conference-leading 11-3.

Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant had 27 points and six rebounds in his return from a hamstring injury as the Thunder downed the Utah Jazz 111-89.

Durant was 10 for 13 from the field in his first game since he got hurt November 10 at Washington. Russell Westbrook narrowly missed his third triple-double of the season with 20 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

The Thunder ran away with the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Jazz 40-26 and shooting 14 for 19 from the field.

In Miami, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each scored 16 points, as the Heat downed the Knicks 95-78 to end New York’s four-game winning streak.

Goran Dragic had 13 points and nine assists for the Heat, who went on a 36-8 run in the first half. Tyler Johnson scored 12, and Hassan Whiteside had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points for New York, which has lost 13 of its last 16 games in Miami.

The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Philadelphia 100-95 to keep the 76ers winless this season after Andrew Wiggins scored 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Garnett had eight points and 10 rebounds and the Timberwolves (6-8) won at home for the first time in seven games this season. They dropped Philadelphia to 0-15 and avoided another embarrassing home loss to the Sixers, who snapped an 0-17 start to last season with a win at Target Centre.

In other games, Greg Monroe had 20 points and 13 rebounds in his first game against his former team, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 109-88 victory over the Detroit Pistons, the Charlotte Hornets downed the Los Angeles Kings 127-122 in overtime and the San Antonio Spurs were 98-84 winners over the Phoenix Suns.

“In the first half, we couldn’t get it going because we were turning it over, too,” said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who had eight points in 19 minutes. 

“We were not as sharp today [as we have been]. We let them get away with a lot of open looks. It’s a win, but we’ve had better ones.”

PARIS — The UEFA Champions League gets to the business end of the group play-offs, with Manchester United and last season’s runners-up Juventus among the sides looking to qualify for the knockout last 16 quarter-finals.

Group A

This game is all about the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to face his hometown club and the team where he started his glittering career before leaving for Ajax in 2001.

The interest in this fixture is huge in Sweden — after the draw was made there was talk of moving it to Stockholm to allow more fans to attend, and tickets have reportedly been going on the black market for as much as 20,000 kronor.

PSG’s 1-0 defeat at Real Madrid three weeks ago remains their only loss this season. A win here will take Laurent Blanc’s side through to the last 16.

A draw would suffice depending on the result in the other game in Ukraine.

Defeat would leave their qualification hinging on the closing set of results next month.

Marco Verratti and David Luiz will be missing for PSG.

Malmo, whose domestic season ended last month, need to win to stay in contention. 

The pressure on Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez is intense in the wake of Saturday’s 4-0 trouncing at the hands of Barcelona in the Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu.

That came after a 3-2 defeat at Sevilla and has left Madrid six points adrift of leaders Barca in La Liga.

Los Blancos are in crisis and president Florentino Perez felt compelled to call a press conference yesterday to give Benitez the dreaded vote of confidence.

At least they can head to Ukraine with the pressure off, having already secured their place in the last 16, although a win in Lviv will guarantee top spot.

Shakhtar are top of the Ukrainian league but realistically need a win to maintain any hope of reaching the knockout stages themselves.

Sergio Ramos and Marcelo have been ruled out for Real.

Group B

In one of the closest groups to call, CSKA are bottom but could move into second place, if they beat Wolfsburg at the Arena Khimki and other results go their way.

However, they could also be eliminated should they lose.

Wolfsburg are third, but just one point behind leaders Manchester United.

CSKA are looking to avenge a 1-0 defeat in Germany in September, and also lost at the weekend.

The 2-0 home reverse against Krylya Sovetov Samara was their third defeat on the bounce, but they remain top of the Russian Premier League.

Wolfsburg, in contrast, travel east after crushing Werder Bremen 6-0 in the Bundesliga at the weekend.

For all the criticism aimed their way this season, Louis van Gaal’s United are just one point off the top of the Premier League.

A win against PSV will secure their berth in the last 16 with one game to spare.

Van Gaal’s side won 2-1 at Watford at the weekend despite being without Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney owing to injury and illness respectively.

United lost 2-1 in Eindhoven in September when Luke Shaw suffered a horrific leg break, and PSV remain right in contention.

Coach Philip Cocu, who played under Van Gaal at Barcelona, is looking for his team to leapfrog United with a win.

Held to a 2-2 draw by Willem II at the weekend, PSV are four points behind Dutch league leaders Ajax.

Group C

Benfica have saved their best form for Europe this season and a fourth win in five Group C outings when they make the long trip to Kazakhstan will take the Portuguese giants through to the last 16.

A draw will also be enough if Galatasaray fail to beat Atletico Madrid later tomorrow, but Rui Vitoria’s side have lost captain Luisao for two months with a broken arm and lost 2-1 after extra time to Lisbon rivals Sporting in the Portuguese Cup at the weekend.

Since they last played in the competition, Astana have retained the Kazakh title and lost to Kairat in the national Cup final.

They are still to win in the group stage but have already held Galatasaray and Atletico at home. They need to win this time to keep their hopes alive.

Beaten 2014 finalists Atletico need only draw against Galatasaray at the Vicente Calderon to secure their place in the last 16, although they may have to win to retain a chance of finishing top of the section.

Diego Simeone’s side, who welcome back Juanfran for this match, are eight games unbeaten in all competitions after a Koke goal secured a 1-0 victory at Betis on Sunday to leave them second in La Liga behind Barcelona.

Galatasaray must win but these are turbulent times for the Turkish champions, who sacked coach Hamza Hamzaoglu last week and drew 3-3 at home to Antalyaspor at the weekend despite leading three times.

Since then Mustafa Denizli, 66, has been named the new coach as he returns for a third spell, 23 years after his last stint in charge.

Group D

With Manchester City already through, Juventus can join them in advancing from Group D with a win in Turin.

A draw will also suffice, as long as Sevilla do not win their game in Germany, and the current form guide suggests Juve are the favourites.

After a slow start to the campaign, the reigning Serie A champions and last season’s Champions League runners-up made it three straight league wins at the weekend by beating AC Milan 1-0.

City, in contrast, travel on the back of a chastening 4-1 home defeat to Liverpool in which their defending was shambolic.

However, a win for Manuel Pellegrini’s men here will secure them top spot, an important objective as they aim to avoid a tricky tie in the last 16.

Samir Nasri is out for several months for City while Hernanes is suspended for Juve.

Sevilla’s only points so far came in a 3-0 win at home to Gladbach in September and they must win again in Germany, and hope Juventus fail to beat Manchester City, to maintain any hope of reaching the last 16.

Gladbach cannot reach the last 16, but can still pip Sevilla to the consolation of a berth after Christmas in the Europa League, a competition Sevilla have won in each of the past two seasons.

Gladbach are fifth in the Bundesliga after beating Hanover 96 2-1 at the weekend thanks to a late Raffael winner.

Sevilla have been dogged by inconsistency all season long, and lost Italian defender Marco Andreolli to a ruptured achilles tendon in a 2-0 weekend defeat to Real Sociedad.

PARIS — The FIFA ethics committee has requested a life ban for Michel Platini, the Frenchman’s lawyer said Tuesday, a move that would rule the UEFA president out of the race to succeed Sepp Blatter.

Thibaut d’Ales told The Associated Press that the maximum sanction was asked for when the FIFA ethics committee investigations unit submitted its final case report.

Platini faces a hearing before FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert in December.

“The overreaching of the request really convinces us of this commission’s total lack of credibility,” D’Ales said in a telephone interview. “There is not a single tangible element in this case that can confirm the suspicions.”

Platini is currently serving a 90-day ban over a $2 million payment of FIFA money he received in 2011 as backdated salary. He worked as a presidential adviser from 1998-2002 for Blatter, who also faces the ethics court’s judgment in the case.

Platini denies wrongdoing and says he had a verbal contract with Blatter to receive the money.

Eckert is expected to give his verdicts in the cases of Platini and Blatter in December. Any sanctions can be challenged at the FIFA appeals committee and Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

D’Ales said he was informed of the ethics committee’s request on Monday and decided to make it public after it leaked in the French press. He said FIFA’s aim is to prove that there was no contract between Platini and Blatter.

“Obviously we’ve got the proof that such a deal existed,” D’Ales said. “We will submit it to CAS, which will handle the case within a fairly short space of time.”

A spokesman for the FIFA ethics prosecutors declined to confirm what sanction was requested last week.

“We are entitled to comment but we decided for reasons of personality rights and the presumption of innocence not to publish the request,” Andreas Bantel told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “If Mr Platini wants to comment on the request he is entitled to do that.”

Platini aims to clear his name and stand as a candidate in the FIFA presidential election on February 26 to succeed Blatter, who is stepping down. Blatter announced his exit plans on June 2 under pressure from American and Swiss federal investigations into bribery and corruption at FIFA.

Switzerland’s attorney-general has opened criminal proceedings against Blatter over the $2 million payment as suspected criminal mismanagement of FIFA money.

Platini was quizzed on September 25 at FIFA headquarters as “between a witness and an accused person”, according to Attorney General Michael Lauber.

A FIFA life ban has been overturned by CAS in the past.

Mohamed Bin Hammam of Qatar had his expulsion by FIFA overturned on appeal in July 2012, more than one year after a bribery allegation ended his presidential campaign against Blatter. The CAS panel said a FIFA investigation did not prove Bin Hammam was the source of $40,000 bribes to Caribbean voters, though it suspected he was.