Arsenal, Bayern go toe-to-toe in quarters first leg
Familiar Champions League foes reunite in front of a bouncing Emirates atmosphere on Tuesday evening, as Arsenal and Bayern Munich go toe-to-toe in the first leg of their quarter-final.
The Gunners edged out Porto on penalties to banish their knockout demons from seasons past, while Thomas Tuchel‘s men – who will have none of their fans present in North London owing to a firework misdemeanour – progressed this far courtesy of a second-leg turnaround against Lazio.
The last-16 monkey on Arsenal’s back had plagued the North London giants since their most recent progression to the last eight of Europe’s top tournament in 2009-10, where the Arsene Wenger-led crop recovered from a first-leg deficit against Porto with a dominant 5-0 Emirates triumph.
Fourteen years later, the manner of Arsenal’s fightback against the Portuguese powerhouses was not so emphatic, but thanks to a pair of David Raya saves from the spot while Mikel Arteta‘s outfielders remained perfect from 12 yards, the Gunners finally banished their last-16 hoodoo.
Bayern Munich
Of course, Bayern possess a feared marksman with all the know-how of scoring at the Emirates Stadium in Harry Kane. The England captain and another erstwhile Arsenal academy product in Serge Gnabry put Bayern 2-0 up in the weekend’s Bundesliga showdown with Heidenheim, but owing to a catastrophic second-half collapse, the faltering champions all but conceded the crown to Bayer Leverkusen in an excruciating 3-2 loss. Barring a footballing miracle, the Champions League will be Tuchel’s only saving grace before he calls time on his ill-fated spell this summer. European demons have been haunting Tuesday’s visitors in recent times, as they have been knocked out at this stage three years running.
Injuries
Despite admitting that he was “struggling” towards the end of Arsenal’s triumph over Brighton at the weekend, Bukayo Saka – who lasted just over an hour at the Amex – played down concerns of a debilitating issue and is expected to line up from the off on Tuesday, music to the ears of the Emirates army.
Declan Rice and Kai Havertz will be treading a tightrope on Tuesday; one more booking and the pair will miss the second leg at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern can once again call upon Dayot Upamecano, who was forced to miss his side’s second-leg beating of Lazio. However, the visitors’ treatment room is full to the brim, as all of Manuel Neuer (groin), Kingsley Coman (thigh), Leroy Sane (groin), Noussair Mazraoui (illness) and Aleksandar Pavlovic (illness) sat out the loss to Heidenheim, and Tuchel conceded before Saturday’s loss that the quintet would be doubts for the first leg.
Preview
Kane versus Arsenal almost always leads to the Gunners failing to keep a clean sheet, which may be the case if the quarter-final pressure briefly gets to Arteta’s men, but the clinical hosts should capitalise on the Bavarians’ rearguard vulnerabilities and lack of away support to take a narrow lead to Munich. Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Real Madrid and Manchester City cross paths once again
In a rematch of last year’s unforgettable Champions League semi-final, 14-time winners Real Madrid and current holders Manchester City cross paths once again, squaring off in Tuesday’s quarter-final first leg at the Bernabeu.
A little under 12 months ago, Pep Guardiola‘s men demolished the 14-time winners 5-1 over two fixtures to storm into the final, although nothing could separate the two titanic foes in the Spanish capital before City ran riot at the Etihad.
Real Madrid
Quickly becoming accustomed to intense knockout nights with their Mancunian counterparts, Real Madrid have plenty of wrongs to right after last year’s Etihad embarrassment, but the hot streak of Carlo Ancelotti‘s Blancos suggests that Tuesday’s hosts can rip the crown from the Sky Blues’ grasp.
Real Madrid have conceded in their last five contests on their own turf in all tournaments, but reigning champions Man City arrive in the capital having flaunted their attacking prowess on the road throughout 2024.
Manchester City
After going through the group stage without dropping a single point, Man City customarily made light work of Danish champions Copenhagen in the last 16 with a pair of 3-1 successes home and away, meaning that Pep Guardiola’s men have sensationally scored three goals in each of their eight Champions League matches so far in 2023-24.
Man City’s 10-match winning sequence in the Champions League commenced with last May’s 4-0 home crushing of Real Madrid, who have won just one of their last six games with the holders. However, only one of Los Blancos’ five clashes with the Citizens at the Bernabeu has seen the Spaniards end up on the losing side, but something will eventually have to give between the two managers with the most wins in the history of the Champions League.
Injuries
With Eder Militao now back in Ancelotti’s ranks after a devastating ACL injury, only Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba are taking up beds in the Real Madrid infirmary with their serious knee issues; Dani Ceballos is now working with the group again after being restricted to individual training last week.
Man City defenders have been dropping like flies over the past couple of weeks, as Josko Gvardiol picked up a niggle during his side’s Premier League beating of Crystal Palace at the weekend, although he is only regarded as a minor doubt for the first leg at present.
However, Man City’s doctors have told Guardiola that Kyle Walker (hamstring) has no chance of playing in the first leg – the ex-Tottenham Hotspur man will still try to defy the odds to make himself available – but Nathan Ake (calf) seems set to miss out.
Prediction
As the unstoppable force of Man City meets the immovable object that is Real Madrid, expect fireworks to fly between two sides whose offensive play is a joy to watch, although both defences can still be susceptible to the odd lapse in concentration.
Goals should therefore be a guarantee at the Bernabeu, but as was the case in 2022-23, we just cannot separate the two sides in the Spanish capital and can only envisage a closely-contested stalemate in Tuesday’s first leg, certainly a far better result for Guardiola’s side if last year is anything to go by.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
