UEFA Champions League: What to expect this week

• Champions League football continues this week with the second leg of four last-16 matches being played.
• We look at the major talking points of the midweek fixtures.

Champions League football continues this week with the second leg of four last-16 matches being played.

We look at the major talking points of the midweek fixtures.

A must win game for Bayern

Harry Kane in action for Bayern Munich in a past match. Photo/ Goal.com.

This week, Bayern Munich faces Lazio at the Allianz Arena in a match that may go either way for the German champions. With just one victory in their last four league games, Thomas Tuchel’s team has lost 10 points to Bayer Leverkusen, and their 11-year hold on the Bundesliga is eroding every week.

This season, the Champions League might be the final opportunity saloon for silverware out of the DFB-Pokal. But given their previous performance and their 1-0 loss in Rome during their first encounter, there is still much work to be done to save the draw.

In the past, Bayern has had difficulty losing the opening leg of a Champions League match. In the previous seven matches in which they have lost the first leg, the Bavarians have been eliminated.

City look already through

Phil Foden and Erling Haaland celebrate together. Photo/ English Jagran.

Manchester City’s convincing first-leg victory against FC Copenhagen gave them a huge boost into the quarterfinals.

With a 3-1 victory in the capital of Denmark, Pep Guardiola’s team is now the clear favorite to go to the round of eight and defend the Champions League this year.

This weekend, the Citizens will play their biggest match of the season when Guardiola’s group visits championship rivals Liverpool. The clubs in the Premier League table are separated by just one point, so Guardiola will want his squad to be as competitive as possible when they play at Anfield.

The team has adequate depth to handle the return leg with room and essential players to spare, even though the holders won’t undervalue Copenhagen. This week, Phil Foden, John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, and Erling Haaland can all afford to be wrapped up in cotton wool.

Will Mbappe carry PSG?

PSG players celebrate a goal scored by Kylian Mbappe in the Ligue 1 clash AS Monaco.
| PHOTO: Eurosport |

Recently, there has been much discussion over Kylian Mbappe‘s substitution during Friday’s goalless draw against AS Monaco. The 25-year-old decided to sit in the seats with his mother rather than in the dugout.

This was as plain a signal as any that PSG and Mbappe, who has agreed to accept a deal to join Real Madrid in the summer, are going different ways. But Mbappe is more important to PSG than ever.

For the defending French champions, Ligue 1 appears to be just another parade, but the Champions League is still a mystery. Although Luis Enrique acknowledged that his team would soon have to adjust to life without Mbappe, the France captain remains PSG’s greatest chance of winning this championship.

This season, Mbappe has 32 goals and seven assists in all competitions. He scored one goal against Real Sociedad in the first leg of the playoffs, which ended 2-0. If he can successfully negotiate the return and secure a quarter-final spot, he can be pivotal for a PSG club that hasn’t been very convincing this season in the closing stages.

Madrid defence bolstered

Rudiger is back for the Spanish champions which will be a major boost. Photo/ Marca

With seven straight Champions League victories, Real Madrid has a flawless record in Europe this year.

The Spanish powerhouses survived a storm in Germany to defeat RB Leipzig 1-0 in their most recent victory—possibly the luckiest of their run. The most saves made by a Real Madrid goalie in Europe since the 2022 final against Liverpool, made by Andriy Lunin, was the hero.

Antonio Rudiger’s hamstring injury kept him out of the Leipzig match, which left Carlo Ancelotti’s team vulnerable. With the longer-term absences of first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, fellow center-backs Eder Militao and David Alaba, and the 31-year-old, the team has since welcomed their return.

In three of their previous five league games, Real Madrid has lost, with two of those games occurring when Rudiger was out. Being a leader in center defense, he will give the Spaniards more backbone.