Bayern Munich don land for Madrid, Spain, ready to face Real Madrid for di first leg of Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday. Dis match na big one, as two European giants dey fight to reach di last four of di competition. Real Madrid don lift dis trophy 15 times before, while Bayern get six titles for dia name. Dis fixture don become di most-played for major European competition history, with all 28 meetings dem come for European Cup or Champions League.
For Bayern Munich side, all eyes dey on Harry Kane. Di England captain don score 133 goals for just 135 games since e join di Bavarian side, and e be key to dia progress for dis competition. Last week, Bayern fans bin dey worry after Kane suffer ankle injury during training with England national team. E miss Bayern Bundesliga match against Freiburg over di weekend, and coach Vincent Kompany bin say e no go fit play for dat match.
But today, di story don change. Kane don return to training with di squad on Monday, and e dey back for starting lineup for dis crucial match. Bayern sports director Max Eberl bin express optimism about Kane fitness after di Freiburg match, say “di physios dey work on am. We believe e go make am.” True true, Kane dey lead Bayern attack tonight against Real Madrid, with Luis Diaz for left wing and Michael Olise for right wing.
For Real Madrid side, dem get some injury concerns wey dem dey manage. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois dey out with quad injury, left-back Ferland Mendy get hamstring problem, winger Rodrygo dey manage knee issue, and midfielder Dani Ceballos dey sideline with calf injury. But Vinicius Junior dey start for Madrid tonight, after e begin on bench for Saturday match because di winger bin dey tired after representing Brazil.
Midfielder Federico Valverde don return from suspension, while Eder Militao dey on bench after making comeback from long-term injury. Jude Bellingham dey on bench again, as England no risk am during international break. Real Madrid starting XI include Lunin, Trent, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras, Valverde, Thiago, Tchouameni, Guler, Mbappe, and Vinicius Jr.
Bayern Munich starting lineup feature Neuer, Upamecano, Tah, Kimmich, Gnabry, Kane, Diaz, Olise, Laimer, Stanisic, and Pavlovic. Konrad Laimer and Dayot Upamecano go face ban for second leg if dem collect yellow card tonight. Bayern dey come into dis match with strong form, dem no lose for dia last 13 games across all competitions, and dem reach dis stage after beating Atalanta 10-2 over two legs.
Dis match go kick off at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT). For UK, live TV coverage dey on TNT Sports 1, while streaming dey available on HBO Max app. TNT Sports cost £30.99 per month and dem dey available on many devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Meanwhile, legendary football coach Pep Guardiola don talk about Harry Kane before. Di Catalan coach, wey don work with great players like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Philipp Lahm, and Kevin De Bruyne, once call Kane “one of di best strikers I ever see for my life.” Guardiola talk dis for 2023 while discussing his own striker Erling Haaland, say “Tottenham dey extremely happy with Harry Kane.”
Guardiola bin cause small controversy for 2017 when e refer to Tottenham as “di Harry Kane team,” wey make former manager Mauricio Pochettino vex and call di comments disrespectful. Guardiola later apologize, say dem misinterpret his words. Kane don score 280 goals for Tottenham before joining Bayern, making am one of di deadliest players for over decade now.
Interestingly, Guardiola also praise another English striker before. For 2014, while e dey coach Bayern Munich, e call Wayne Rooney “big player, one of di best I see for my career.” Kane later go beat Rooney record as England all-time top scorer with 53 goals. Bayern Munich remain one of favorites to win Champions League dis season, and dia performance tonight go depend heavily on Kane contribution against strong Real Madrid side.
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