Di Champions League quarter-finals don start for Tuesday, and eight of Europe biggest teams dey ready to fight for di chance to reach Budapest. Di opening night go bring Europe most-played fixture, and Arsenal defence wey don starve every opponent wey dem face dis season. For Wednesday, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid go meet for di fourth time for just two months. Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool, on di other hand, go renew dia rivalry for rematch wey shape by last season round of 16.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich go meet for di sixth time for knockout stage for di past 14 seasons, and Madrid don win all five of dia two-legged matchups since 2011-12 season. Bayern fit never get better chance to end dat miserable run, given say German champions no dey lose for 13 games for all competitions. Star striker Harry Kane dey expected to dey available, even though he miss Saturday win over Freiburg for Bundesliga with minor ankle issue wey he get for national team training last week.
Madrid dey come from comfortable round-of-16 win over Manchester City but, more recently, 2-1 loss at Mallorca on Saturday wey hurt dia Spanish league title hopes. For Madrid, seven points behind Barcelona with eight games remain, di Champions League offer di clearest route to silverware. If dem fit stop Bayern at dis pace, history suggest say dem go give demselves genuine chance to go all di way.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid players fit don tire to see each other by next week second leg. Dat na because dia upcoming Champions League doubleheader go complete barrage of five meetings between di teams for space of two months, culminate with three matches for 10 days. For Saturday, Barcelona come from behind to beat Atletico 2-1 for road to strengthen im hold on Spanish league lead.
For February, dem meet for Copa Del Rey with each win big at home and Atletico advance on aggregate. Dem don meet twice for Champions League knockout stages and both times for quarterfinal stage, with Atletico go through for 2014 and 2016 on im run to di final each season. Atletico play di second leg at home for those occasions too. Di first leg of dia current head-to-head na for Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid don eliminate Barcelona for both of dia previous two-legged Champions League knockout ties: 2-1 on aggregate for di 2013-14 quarter-final and 3-2 for 2015-16. More recently, Atletico edge Barcelona 4-3 over two legs for dis season Copa del Rey semi-final. Wednesday match na di fourth of five meetings between di sides for just two months. Barcelona win Saturday La Liga clash 2-1 at di Metropolitano, leave Atletico on three-match losing streak, with eight goals concede for dat run.
Pablo Barrios dey out with thigh injury, and im absence dey show. He cover di second-most distance of any Atletico player for Champions League dis season and complete di second-most passes, both behind Koke, while also complete more dribbles per 90 than any team-mate. He na di player wey get Atletico from back to front. With Barrios, Atletico average 32.6 line-breaking passes for final third per Champions League game. Without am, dat drop to 22.5. Dia win percentage fall from 55 to 33 percent. Dia possession drop from 53 to 45 percent.
Jan Oblak dey also doubtful with hip problem, while Marcos Llorente dey suspend and Johnny Cardoso dey injure. Barcelona get issues of dia own. Dem don go 13 Champions League matches without clean sheet, dia longest such run, and Raphinha, injure on international duty with Brazil, dey out until May. Dat shift even more of di creative load onto 18-year-old Lamine Yamal.
For Saturday, he no dey playable: he complete di most dribbles, get di most touches for opposition box, and create di most chances of anyone for di pitch. If he score or assist for Wednesday, he go become di youngest player to reach 10 goal involvements for single Champions League edition, beat Haaland record from 2019-20 (19 years and 212 days).
Fresh from guide Sweden into di World Cup, Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres make first return to di club wey turn am into globally renowned striker. For Sporting, Gyokeres score 97 goals for 102 games, including 54 last season when he outscore di likes of Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah. Quite di rise, then, for someone wey previously barely play top-tier league game.
Since join Arsenal for $85 million, goals no dey so easy to come by – he get 16 for 42 matches for all competitions – but remain first choice under coach Mikel Arteta, wey value im line-leading qualities. And, after im recent heroics for Sweden when he grab hat trick against Ukraine and then di crucial late goal against Poland for di winner-takes-all playoff, Gyokeres suppose full of confidence on im return to Lisbon for Tuesday match.
Sporting go look to make home advantage count like e do for round of 16, complete turnaround against Bod/Glimt by win di second leg 5-0 for one of di great Champions League fightbacks. Sporting domestic form support dia confidence: three wins and 13 goals for dia past three matches. Luis Suarez, di Colombian striker sign to replace Viktor Gyokeres last summer, get 33 goals and six assists for 42 matches.
For Champions League, he get five goals and two assists, and need one more goal to match Sporting record for single European Cup campaign set by Gyokeres last season (six). Gyokeres return to face di club where he score 97 goals for 102 games. He come off di bench to score Arsenal equaliser at Southampton, and before dat strike hat-trick for Sweden over di international break to send dem to di World Cup. He don also miss 10 big chances for dis Champions League, more than any player left for di competition. Against im former club, di question na whether he take di moments wey matter.
Arsenal don concede just five goals for Champions League dis season, di fewest of any side left for di competition. Dia defensive numbers per 90 minutes na di best across di board: 0.5 goals concede, 0.75 expected goals (xG) against and only 2.7 shots on target face, according to Opta. Dem don trail for just 42 minutes and 48 seconds all campaign, and all of dat come for di first leg of dia last-16 clash with Bayer Leverkusen.
Dem na di stingiest defence for continental and club football, allow di fewest goals and xG across Europe top five leagues (xG against: 22.1). Opponents don find space and chances for short supply. Dem arrive for Lisbon with few bruises. Back-to-back defeats for di first time dis season — first for di Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, then Saturday FA Cup quarter-final loss at Southampton — don end both of dia domestic cup runs for space of week.
Arsenal never win away to Portuguese opposition for di Champions League knockout rounds (draw four, lose two). Sporting, by contrast, don make di Estadio Jose Alvalade fortress. Dem don win all five of dia home Champions League matches dis season, di longest such streak by Portuguese side since Porto for 1999. PSG, Club Brugge, Marseille and Bodo/Glimt don all been beat there, with Bodo thrash 5-0 after Sporting trail 3-0 from di first leg.
For last season round-of-16 first leg for Paris, PSG get 70.4 percent of di ball and outshot Liverpool 27 to two. Dat 25-shot differential na tie for di worst by winning side for Champions League knockout match since 2003-04. Liverpool still win 1-0: Harvey Elliott score 47 seconds after come on for di 87th minute, and Alisson make nine saves. Dat na how Liverpool escape. Dis time, Alisson miss both legs.
Liverpool arrive after 4-0 FA Cup defeat against Manchester City and don lose four of dia past five away matches for all competitions. PSG sweep aside Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate for di round of 16 and get 34 Champions League goals dis season from 25.2 xG. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia get 11 goal involvements for 11 matches, with seven goals and four assists. Ousmane Dembele na di warning sign.
Last season second leg against Liverpool spark im most productive run: after PSG lose di first leg at home, he score or assist for di subsequent six Champions League matches as dem clinch dia first title. Liverpool fit again spend long spells without di ball. PSG don also show say opponents wey press dem man-to-man fit be punish. Dem play through pressure with sharp combinations and rotations, and fit carve teams open.
Without Alisson, Liverpool back line go need more protection. Arne Slot fit add more conventional midfielder rather than play two No 10s. Dominik Szoboszlai or Florian Wirtz fit drop deeper, possibly to track Vitinha, wey drive much of PSG build-up. If Liverpool sit off, dia press go have to bite when e come: only three sides don win di ball for final third more often for dis season Champions League, and PSG don make six errors lead to goals, di most of any side left for di tournament.
Liverpool go need far more than dem show at di Etihad but dem fit force mistakes for dangerous areas. Dia best hope remain Anfield, where dem don win six of dia past eight Champions League quarter-final ties. Last season, even dat no enough. Dis time, dem go hope to take di tie back to Merseyside still alive.
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