Can City keep their hopes alive when they host Real Madrid?
Champions League action returns to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening when Manchester City host Real Madrid in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Los Blancos arrive in England holding a commanding advantage after a dominant first-leg victory in Spain, leaving the Citizens with a major task if they are to overturn the deficit and keep their European hopes alive.
Manchester City face an uphill battle after suffering a heavy 3-0 defeat in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Federico Valverde stunned the hosts with a sensational first-half hat-trick.
The first-leg result also sparked criticism of Guardiola’s tactical choices, particularly his surprising team selection in Madrid.
Savinho was handed only his second start after returning from a two-month injury layoff, while regular attacking options such as Phil Foden, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki began the match on the bench.
Those decisions came under scrutiny, especially with Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri both omitted despite impressing in recent weeks.
Guardiola also opted for an unconventional midfield partnership of Bernardo Silva, Antoine Semenyo and Rodri, while Nico O’Reilly was deployed at left-back despite typically operating in midfield in recent games.
Although Guardiola defended his selections after the match, the City manager will likely adopt a stronger and more familiar lineup for this decisive second leg.
Manchester City are likely to produce a stronger performance in front of their home crowd, but overturning a three-goal deficit against a side with Real Madrid’s experience in this competition remains a daunting task.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Chelsea, PSG reunite at Stamford Bridge today
A Liam Rosenior comeback is required from Chelsea if they are to somehow keep their Champions League dream alive at the expense of Paris Saint-Germain‘s title defence.
The Blues and the Parisiens reunite at Stamford Bridge for the second leg of their last-16 tie, after Luis Enrique‘s crop stormed to a 5-2 victory in the French capital last week.
Twice Chelsea fell behind to the reigning European champions at the Parc des Princes in the first leg, and twice Rosenior’s men pegged PSG back, but the Blues had no answers to goals number three, four and five from the continental champions.
To make matters worse for Rosenior, the Blues are now reeling from a third loss in five games across all competitions following Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Newcastle United, which was overshadowed by a never-before-seen referee incident.
However, Rosenior’s defenders did not “focus on their job” during the final 20 minutes of last week’s first leg against PSG, whose dream of back-to-back Champions League crowns is surely still very much alive.
PSG’s astonishing first-leg success saw Enrique’s men take belated revenge for their 3-0 Club World Cup final defeat to the Blues last summer, and Les Parisiens have also enjoyed a weekend off from Ligue 1 football to prepare for their trip to London.
There, PSG will endeavour to record their fifth win from six away games in all competitions, on what will be their fourth visit to Stamford Bridge overall and their first in almost exactly 10 years.
Les Parisiens have past trauma when it comes to second-leg turnarounds, but this is not Barcelona 2017, so Enrique’s champions should stroll into the last eight.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Arsenal host Leverkusen in last-16 showdown
Champions League action returns to the bright lights of the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening, when Arsenal host Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their last-16 showdown.
The Gunners were on the brink of suffering a first-leg defeat at the BayArena last week, but Kai Havertz channelled his inner Nicklas Bendtner to deny his old club a precious victory.
Served a painful dose of their own set-piece medicine in Germany, Arsenal were ostensibly set to succumb to Robert Andrich’s header from a corner in last week’s first leg with Leverkusen, who stunted an ineffective Mikel Arteta attack for almost 90 minutes. However, two inspired changes from the Arsenal boss saved the Gunners’ bacon, as the effervescent Noni Madueke replaced the underwhelming Bukayo Saka and won a late spot kick for Havertz to coolly convert against his erstwhile employers.
Only one of Arsenal’s last 22 UEFA competition games at their home ground has seen the Gunners fall to defeat – last year’s semi-final reverse to holders Paris Saint-Germain – and Arteta’s men experienced a familiar sense of Emirates euphoria as recently as Saturday.
Tuesday’s second leg is unlikely to be a gripping watch for the neutrals, but Arteta’s men still have our backing to set up a likely quarter-final with surprise package Bodo/Glimt.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Bodo/Glimt travel away to face Sporting Lisbon
Facing an uphill task to keep their Champions League campaign alive, Sporting Lisbon welcome Bodo/Glimt to the Estadio Jose Alvalade for the second leg of their round-of-16 tie on Tuesday evening.
The Lions were swept aside when the sides met in the first leg in Norway last Wednesday, suffering a 3-0 defeat in what was the first ever meeting between the two clubs.
In a round-of-16 first-leg round where Bayern Munich were the only travelling side to claim victory, Sporting were among four away teams that crumbled and now require a rare remontada to keep their European campaign alive.
Joining the Premier League trio of Chelsea (capitulating to Paris Saint-Germain), Tottenham Hotspur (crumbling at Atletico Madrid) and Manchester City (falling at Real Madrid), who need to overturn a three-goal deficit, the Lions at least have history to draw inspiration from.
The Lisbon club previously recovered from a three-goal first-leg disadvantage in UEFA competition when they secured a 6-4 aggregate triumph over Manchester United in the 1963-64 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals after a remarkable 5-0 second-leg victory.
Sporting will not rule themselves out of producing a similar comeback given their formidable record at Jose Alvalade, having won 17 of their last 18 matches at the ground – including all four in the league phase – with 10 of those victories coming by margins of three goals or more.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Sporting CP 17:45 Bodø / Glimt
Arsenal 20:00 Bayer Leverkusen
