RB Leipzig v Liverpool, Tuesday
Liverpool travel to Budapest rather than Leipzig to kick off their double header with the Bundesliga side. Any escape from domestic football will be welcome right now for Jürgen Klopp’s team. They surrendered the lead and a relatively comfortable position against Leicester on Saturday to lose three straight league games for the first time in more than six years.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side had no such problems in the Bundesliga, strolling to a more comfortable win over Augsburg than the 2-1 scoreline suggests. With Liverpool’s confidence through the floor, Leipzig will be keen to make a fast start, just as they did in their last Champions League outing, when they raced into an early lead against Manchester United and exacted revenge for their 5-0 thrashing earlier in the season at Old Trafford. Leipzig also benefitted from a quick start when they knocked Tottenham out of the Champions League at this stage last season, so Liverpool will need to be wary.
The strengths and weaknesses of the two teams are opposed in many ways, with Leipzig’s lack of a goalscorer since the departure of Timo Werner emphasised by the fact that wing-back Angeliño is their top scorer, with eight goals in all competitions. Three Liverpool players can beat that tally this season – Diogo Jota (nine), Sadio Mané (10) and Mo Salah (23) – but their issues are at the other end of the pitch. With Fabinho still a major doubt, Klopp will need to decide whether to stick with Ozan Kabak or show faith in Nat Phillips or Rhys Williams in defence. Prediction: Liverpool to go through.
Barcelona v Paris Saint-Germain, Tuesday
This is PSG’s first trip to Camp Nou since one of the most memorable Champions League games in recent history, and they will be desperate to put right the almightiest of wrongs. After beating Barça 4-0 in Paris almost exactly four years ago, the Ligue 1 champions capitulated to a 6-1 defeat in the second leg, having also been dumped out of the tournament by Barcelona two years earlier.
These sides have met six times in the Champions League in as many years, with Neymar often playing a pivotal role. He scored seven goals in those six games and would have loved to have lined up against his former club had it not been for his usual injury at this time of year. His absence is a huge boost to Barça, who have a decent record on paper, having won 11 of their 13 matches since the turn of the year, but tend to struggle when up against strong opposition.
Barcelona are third in La Liga, 18 points behind Atlético Madrid, and they have lost to the other three teams in Spain’s top four, most recently in the Copa del Rey to Sevilla. Their last games in the Champions League ended in a 3-0 defeat to Juventus.
PSG are not doing much better. They trail Lille in Ligue 1 and have not shown any significant improvement under Mauricio Pochettino. This tie brings together two former Southampton managers, with Ronald Koeman in the home dugout. The two managers have met seven times, with Pochettino recording four wins to Koeman’s one. Prediction: PSG to go through.
Sevilla v Borussia Dortmund, Wednesday
Sevilla are undoubtedly the form team in this tie. They are on a nine-game winning streak in which they have conceded just one goal. By contrast, Borussia Dortmund have not enjoyed the upturn in results they were hoping when they parted ways with Lucien Favre in mid-December. They have won just two of their last seven games, one of which was an extra-time victory over second-tier Paderborn.
Borussia Mönchengladbach manager Marco Rose will take over at Dortmund at the end of the season but, until then, they remain somewhat in limbo. Erling Braut Haaland and Jadon Sancho remain a reliable source of goals but the squad is ageing and inevitably regressing. They are currently sixth in the Bundesliga and at risk of missing out on the Champions League next season, which could lead to an exodus of their outstanding young talents.
Jules Koundé, one of Sevilla’s young talents, was rested at the weekend along with the free-scoring Youssef En-Nesyri. Lucas Ocampos is a doubt but Sevilla’s decision to sign Papu Gómez from Atalanta in January was superb business, and the diminutive playmaker could start here. Dortmund, meanwhile, will be without first-choice keeper Roman Burki, so it’s a big night for veteran Marwin Hitz, who has conceded seven goals in four games since stepping into the side. Prediction: Sevilla to go through.
Porto v Juventus
Much like Barcelona, Porto have struggled to overcome high quality opponents this season, even if they are generally avoiding defeat. The Primeira Liga champions drew for the fourth game running at the weekend. Their inability to convert draws to wins has left them 10 points behind a rejuvenated Sporting side in the league.
Juventus are also off the pace in Serie A. They lost to Napoli at the weekend, leaving them with a big task if they are to retain their seemingly customary title. In truth, their regression last season was a precursor for their problems in the current campaign, with a seemingly inescapable over-reliance on 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo. He returns to his homeland with 23 goals in all competitions this season to face Porto for the first time in 12 years – when he scored an outrageous goal from 40 yards to take Manchester United into the semi-finals.
Porto’s main goal threat this season has been the Iran international Mehdi Taremi, who has scored nine goals in the league despite starting just 12 of his 19 appearances. He didn’t make it into the starting XI at all during the group stage but will surely be too hard to overlook for a side that spreads their goals throughout the squad and lacks star quality. Juventus are not entirely dissimilar in that respect, but they have the one player in this tie who can really make a difference. Prediction: Juventus to go through.
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