-fd17266a-ffc5-4878-a870-0def7e36e794.jpeg)
Liverpool, March 7 (BUS): Liverpool and Manchester City occupy leading positions. PSG and Bayern Munich still have some work to do.
The top four places in the Champions League quarter-finals will be ready this week, with most of the tournament’s favorite titles running, according to the Associated Press.
A look at the second leg matches in the Round of 16:
Tuesday:
Bayern Munich VS. Salzburg (1-1)
Thomas Muller’s first own goal in his long career with Bayern Munich has left what should have been a relatively straightforward preparation for the visit of Austrian champions Salzburg on Tuesday.
Muller scored the wrong goal for Bayer Leverkusen to draw 1-1 in his 407th appearance in the Bundesliga on Saturday, when communication between the Bundesliga leaders was clearly a problem.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Sven Ulrich, who is compensating for Manuel Neuer’s injury, said he told Muller he had covered Kerem Demirbay’s harmless cross, but Mueller was already on his way to paying it. In defence, Salzburg’s German striker Karim Adeyemi is likely to penalize any mistakes on Tuesday, a target reported for Borussia Dortmund next season.
Salzburg, who had pushed Bayern Munich with a 1-1 draw in their first match, prepared to return in Munich with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Altach SCR. Bayern suffered with the pace of the Austrian team in the first leg before Kingsley Coman saved the equalizer for Bavarian in the last minute.
There is growing talk of a possible four trophies for Liverpool, who have already won the League Cup, in the FA Cup quarter-finals and are closed to Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
The Reds’ Champions League involvement should extend into next month after late goals by Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah at San Siro gave Liverpool a useful advantage to return to Anfield, where Liverpool are hard to beat – especially on the big European nights. .
Liverpool are unbeaten in all competitions in 2022 and may have the strongest squad in the Jurgen Klopp era, with the German coach having plenty of options in attack. Klopp’s big decision may be who will start from Diogo Jota and the new signing of Luis Diaz, along with Sadio Mane and Salah.
Inter’s defeat against Liverpool began a four-game winning streak without a goal for the Nerazzurri. They went over 400 minutes without scoring before ending their goal drought in stunning fashion on Friday with a 5-0 win over last-placed Salernitana. Lautaro Martinez scored a hat-trick in that match but hasn’t scored in the Champions League since 2020.
Wednesday:
Manchester City VS. Sporting (5-0)
With a major advance from the first leg, City have the luxury of being able to rotate their players amid a crowded series of matches in three competitions as the season draws to a close.
The defense is an area where Pep Guardiola has few options, although right-back Kyle Walker serves up the second game of his three-game suspension, Robin Dias is out for up to six weeks with a hamstring problem and fellow centre-back Nathan Ak is also injured.
Up front, Guardiola could make changes, as the match comes three days after the Manchester derby in the Premier League – where City beat United 4-1 – and the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish are looking for game time after returning from injury.
City will reach the quarter-finals for the fifth consecutive season unless Sporting delivers something exciting, which is likely to enter the match in damage-limiting mode after their defeat three weeks ago in Portugal. Since then, Sporting have lost at home to rivals Porto in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals.
Real Madrid VS. Paris Saint-Germain (0-1)
Real Madrid plays the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain as coach Carlo Ancelotti has to find a way to prepare his midfield. Casemiro has been suspended and Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde are listed as suspect due to health issues.
Valverde is likely to miss Saturday’s La Liga match against Real Sociedad due to flu symptoms, but Kroos is expected to miss due to a muscle injury.
Casemiro played a key role in Madrid’s 4-1 win over Sociedad, when he played alongside young Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga and Luka Modric. Left-back Ferland Mendy will also be absent due to the suspension.
Paris Saint-Germain prepared for the trip to Spain by losing only for the third time in 27 Ligue 1 matches this season – to second-placed Nice. Coach Mauricio Pochettino hopes for the return of right-back Achraf Hakimi (groin), Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes (groin area), and Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera (eye injury) to face Madrid.
A weak temporary defense line appeared in front of Nice. It was clear Pochettino was thinking of the European match as he rested defenders Presnal Kimpembe and Nuno Mendes.
Kylian Mbappe did not play due to suspension, so he will be new to restore his electric speed to face Real Madrid and link up with Lionel Messi. Reaching the final as in 2020 is where PSG want to be in May – and winning the Champions League for the first time.