Tony Kelshaw 
Liverpool have a point to prove when they take on Flamengo in Saturday’s Club World Cup final in Qatar. The Reds are trying to win the only trophy to so far evade them after three previous failed attempts, one of which was a 3-0 defeat against the Brazilian outfit back in 1981.
Dallas superstar Luka Doncic will again be missing when Boston visit American Airlines Center but we still feel the Mavericks are a value pick at home. The Celtics are coming off back-to-back losses to Philadelphia and Indiana, which left their record on the road this season at a moderate 7-6.
Having not played for Manchester United since the end of September, the latest Paul Pogba transfer news and rumours suggest a move to Real Madrid may be imminent. The 26-year-old was first sidelined due to an ankle injury that has restricted him to just six appearances for the Red Devils this season.
Liverpool head into their Club World Cup semi-final with Monterrey in Qatar trying to continue Europe’s dominance of this tournament. The last six Champions League winners have gone on to lift this trophy, while only Corinthians in 2012 have denied the Continent a 12-year monopoly.
Manchester City are expected to march on towards a third straight EFL Cup triumph when visiting League One Oxford in this season’s quarter-finals. The Blues beat United 3-0 at Kassam Stadium in the third round last term, en route to lifting the trophy for the fourth time in six renewals.
Man City are still favourites for outright glory but have eased out to 4/1 after being paired with Real Madrid at the last-16 stage of the Champions League draw. Holders Liverpool can be backed at 9/2 for a seventh European Cup success after being drawn to face Atletico Madrid.
Miami put their perfect home record to the test when hosting Western Conference leaders Los Angeles Lakers at the AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat have been imperious at this venue with their 11-0 record, but come up against a formidable LA side who have only tasted one defeat from 13 away matches.
This will be the fourth time these familiar foes have faced each other in as many months and the set-up of this meeting makes CFR Cluj a percentage pick. Celtic have already wrapped up top spot in Europa League Group E, but their hosts need to avoid defeat here to guarantee pipping Lazio for second.
Rangers only need a draw to qualify from Europa League Group G and are taken to achieve just that result when entertaining Young Boys at Ibrox. This has been an ultra-competitive pool, with a whole series of close contests leaving all four teams still in contention to advance ahead of Matchday 6.
PSV and Rosenborg will both end their Europa League involvement on Thursday night, but the Dutch outfit are at least fancied to bow out on a high note. Mark van Bommel’s men have picked up seven points in Group D, but even a win here would not help them to overhaul Sporting Lisbon or LASK Linz.
Porto will progress from Europa League Group G if beating Feyenoord on home turf at Estadio do Dragao and look well placed to achieve that feat. The visitors could also still sneak through with a victory, but have lost on their previous two road trips to Rangers and Young Boys without scoring.
Bayern Munich and Tottenham are already assured of finishing first and second in Champions League Group B, but there will still be some spice to this game. Spurs will have not forgotten an embarrassing 7-2 loss to the German giants on home turf, when former Arsenal trainee Serge Gnabry netted four times.
Manchester City are already assured of advancing as Champions League Group C winners, so that may make them vulnerable when visiting Dinamo Zagreb. The home team can still qualify in second place if they prevail here and Shakhtar do not beat Atalanta, plus they have looked strong on home turf.
Freddie Ljungberg enjoyed his first win in charge of Arsenal at West Ham and will be keen to build more momentum when visiting Standard Liege. The Gunners only need to avoid a heavy defeat to advance from Europa League Group F but are fancied to claim another morale-boosting victory in Belgium.