on their minds

MANCHESTER, England - Five-time winner Liverpool and the champions of England and Italy are among the 11 teams competing for five remaining spots in the knockout stage of the Champions League going into the final round of group games. Cheap Stan Smith Free Shipping .Liverpool has been a let-down on its return to Europes top competition after a five-year absence, but can still qualify as runner-up behind Real Madrid in Group B by beating FC Basel at Anfield on Tuesday.That is one of three direct deciders for places in the last 16, with the most high-profile coming in the Italian capital where Roma hosts English champion Manchester City for second place in Group E on Wednesday.Italian champion Juventus needs a point against already-qualified Atletico Madrid to advance in Group A, Sporting Lisbon or Schalke will join Chelsea in progressing from Group G, while Monaco and Zenit St. Petersburg meet for the right to go through from Group C.First place — and a possibly easier last-16 game — is up for grabs in four of the eight groups while eight teams will drop into the Europa League by finishing in third place.___LIVERPOOLS CHALLENGEGiven its record against English clubs in the Champions League, Basel is one of the last teams Liverpool would have wanted to face in a must-win game.Basel has won its last four games against Premier League opposition in the competition — against Liverpool in their second group game in October, home and away against Chelsea last season and at home to Manchester United in 2011 to knock out the then-English champion. Basel has lost just once in nine games against teams from England in the Champions League.Anfield is famous for its atmosphere on big European nights but a trip to Liverpool shouldnt be daunting for the Swiss team.Liverpool produced a string of great performances at home last season on its way to a second-place finish in the Premier League, but its attacking spark has disappeared with the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona and an injury to fellow striker Daniel Sturridge.A disappointing ninth in the Premier League, Liverpools only points in the Champions League this season have come against Bulgarian team Ludogorets Razgrad.Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was rested for the 0-0 draw against Sunderland on Saturday, with the Basel game in mind.___CITYS PROBLEMSManchester City could be without arguably its best four players as it goes to Rome in search of a win the team requires to qualify.Star midfielder Yaya Toure is suspended, top scorer Sergio Aguero is out with a serious-looking knee injury sustained on Saturday, while playmaker David Silva and captain Vincent Kompany are major injury doubts.City is back in form, winning its last five matches in all competitions, but has never won in Italy.Roma is level on points with City and CSKA Moscow, which plays first-place Bayern Munich away. Roma will qualify with a win.___REPEAT FOR JUVENTUSJust like last season, Juventus finds itself needing a point to qualify in its final group game. It will be hoping for a different outcome this time.A goal by Wesley Sneijder for Galatasaray eliminated Juventus last year but, 12 months on, Massimiliano Allegris team is at home, where it is unbeaten in nine matches in European competition.The Bianconeri could even snatch first place by winning by a margin of two goals or more. Lose, and Olympiakos will finish second with a win at Malmo due to its head-to-head record against Juve.Wednesdays match against Atletico Madrid is a very important match for the whole Juventus world, captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said. Its like a final.___SCHALKE OR SPORTINGSchalke coach Roberto Di Matteo needs his team to win and a favour from his former club Chelsea if Germany is to have four representatives in the last 16 for the second straight season.Schalke heads to eliminated Maribor lying two points behind Sporting, which travels to already-qualified Chelsea.Di Matteo, who guided Chelsea to its first Champions League title in 2012, has changed Schalkes formation and the new 3-5-2 system has proved effective. The teams last three matches were all big-scoring wins — 3-2 (Wolfsburg), 4-1 (Mainz), 4-0 (Stuttgart).We are investing a lot of time in the new system, defender Jan Kirchhoff said, and its beginning to pay off,___WINNER TAKES ALLIt is winner takes all when Monaco hosts Zenit — with first place in Group C on offer for either club if Bayer Leverkusen loses at Benfica. Monaco will also qualify with a draw.Real Madrid is the only team with five wins from five games ahead of its home match against Ludogorets in Group B while Barcelona needs to beat Paris Saint-Germain to overhaul the French champions at the top of Group F. Wholesale Stan Smith . -- Max Domi scored twice and set up two more as the London Knights toppled the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 6-4 on Sunday in Ontario Hockey League action. Discount Stan Smith .Y. - Islanders forward Anders Lee has been fined $2,286 by the NHL for elbowing St.LAKELAND, Fla. - New Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler doesnt mind admitting he had gotten comfortable in Texas. Until his traded to the Tigers in the off-season for slugger Prince Fielder, Kinsler had spent his entire professional career in the Texas Rangers organization. He said he had an inkling after last season that he was on the trade block. He also said he was excited about a change. With the rumours swirling, Kinsler ended up with the Tigers who needed fielding and speed. The Tigers finished last in the American League in 2013 with only 35 stolen bases, 114 behind the Rangers. New Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he wants to run more this year. Speedy Austin Jackson led the Tigers with eight steals as the Tigers relied on their sluggers, including Fielder, to knock in runs. With the trade of Fielder, the Tigers received Kinsler, who stole 15 bases for the Rangers last year, but has stolen more than 20 bases three times. In addition to Kinsler, the Tigers added Rajai Davis from the Toronto Blue Jays. Davis stole 45 bases for the Blue Jays in 2013. Kinsler was one of several high-profile additions for the Tigers during the off-season. He isnt expected to hit with Fielders power, but his line-drive hitting might be better suited for Comerica Park, which is a haven for line drive hitters, not sluggers. Kinsler lost nearly 20 pounds in the off-season once he was informed of the trade. "I like Comerica Park and wanted to lose weight," Kinsler said after reporting to Tigers camp on Sunday. "I wanted to get faster and get back to hitting line drives. If you hit it in the gap out there, you should get at least three (bases) out of it. I have more chances to run and set up the heart of the order. I never had to lose weight in Texas. As hot as it was, it was easy over there. I had to try to add weight over there. Now I have to lose it. Im ready to go right now." Ausmus said that the additions of Kinsler and Davis change the dynamics of the lineup. Former manager Jim Leyland wasnt big on stealing bases and his recent teams tended to be cautious on the bases. Ausmus said things might be diffferent this season, his first as a major league manager. Cheap Stan Smith Online. "Kinsler and Davis bring us the opportunity to get some more stolen bases," Ausmus said. "With Jackson and Torii Hunter to go with them, we have some speed this year. It is a different team with a different personality." Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said the discussions on the Fielder-for-Kinsler trade went quickly and set the new running philosophy into motion. "We wanted more speed, but if you look at last years team, we had very few places where we could just add speed to the order," Dombrowski said. We had to find a way and the Prince trade set everything into motion. Well be faster this year." Kinsler batted .277 with 13 homers and 72 RBI for the Rangers last season, but said he was prepared for a trade. "I wanted to go to a contender," said Kinsler, who lost two World Series with the Rangers. "It is a place I feel very strongly has a chance to win a World Series. It will be a new experience and I am excited to get out of my comfort zone. I love the park, it suits me, and I can run. We have star power on this team and I worked hard to lose those pounds because I expect to do a lot of running this year." NOTES: Once again, C Victor Martinez is working as a catcher during the daily bullpen sessions. Ausmus said Martinez will see duty behind the plate this season, especially during early interleague play. Ausmus said Martinez will be limited. "Theres no way hell catch 100 games this year," Ausmus said. "Hell work, but not as much as the other catchers.". Ausmus has started a new clubhouse ritual just before opening morning practice. The players and coaches get together and talk about not only baseball, but whatever is on their minds. Some of it, Ausmus said, is just good-natured kidding around. "It gives us a chance to laugh and laugh at each other," he said. "Its all in fun and to loosen things up."... The Tigers will host their first full-squad meeting no Tuesday even though most key position players have already reported