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Big Champions League Nights Are Back
United dent Klopp’s hopes of winning Liverpool’s 20th league title & a belter of an Old Firm
Erik Jansson
April 09, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes
Big Champions League Nights Are Back! 🥳 😃 🏆️
United dent Klopp’s hopes of winning Liverpool’s 20th league title & a belter of an Old Firm
Hey there MVP,
That was another huge weekend of football! In Serie A, Roma got a big 1-0 win over Lazio in the Rome derby; Rangers and Celtic played out a mad 3-3 draw; and Manchester United dented Liverpool’s title hopes in a 2-2 draw (Kobbie Mainoo is the real deal). The results in the Premier League mean the title race is even tighter than it was. Arsenal are top of the league on goal difference, with Liverpool in second, and City in third. In the Bundesliga, Leverkusen won again to go 16 points clear of second-placed Bayern Munich who lost 3-2 to Heidenheim.
We’re obviously keeping an eye on the upcoming Premier League fixtures, but this week the Champions League is back so we take a closer look at two of the big quarter-finals.
Today's game plan…
Don’t Miss These Games
This Week’s Shocker
Around The World
Games to Keep an Eye On
Goat Trivia, Meme of the Week & Rate the Play
Real Madrid vs Manchester City | Tuesday | 20:00 IST
After last season’s sensational semi-final, Real Madrid and Manchester City meet again in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Having won the European Cup 14 times, Real Madrid are the big fish, but after being demolished 4-0 in the second leg of the semis last year, Madrid will be very wary of Pep Guardiola’s team.
With this first leg being played at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid will be looking to take the game to City. Madrid are sitting pretty at the top of La Liga and are on a great run of form so will go into the game full of confidence, but with Kevin De Bruyne back up to match fitness and scoring goals, City are looking dangerous.
Gif by uefa on Giphy
Form & Team News
Real Madrid have been going along nicely since mid-January. Carlo Ancellotti’s team are on a 13-match unbeaten run across all competitions, with the last game being a comfortable 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. Madrid’s home form is a big factor in this game. Los Blancos have gone 26 games without defeat at the Santiago de Bernabeu and they’ve only conceded 1 goal in their last 5 home games.
Considering Real Madrid’s last match was the victory over Bilbao on March 31st, the players should be fresh for this one. Other than two long-term injury concerns, Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba who are both out with knee injuries, Ancelotti has a full squad to choose from. Vinicius Junior is fit to play and Brazilian centre-back Eder Militao is back in the squad after returning from a serious knee injury a few weeks ago. However, Militao may not be ready to start the game, especially up against a physical striker like Erling Haaland.
Having gone through a bit of a rocky Christmas period, City are looking formidable again. In the Premier League, City responded to the 0-0 draw with Arsenal with a 4-1 win over Aston Villa and then a 4-2 win over Crystal Palace. And, in the Champions League, City have been unstoppable. Pep’s men have scored three goals in each of their Champions League matches this season and they’re on a 10 match win streak —that's the second-longest winning streak in the history of the Champions League (FYI Bayern hold the record with 15 wins). Although Madrid are strong at the Bernabeu, City are playing well away from home, having won 11 of their last 12 away games.
Gif by uefa on Giphy
Although City have been welcoming players like Ederson and Bernardo Silva back from injury, they have a few injuries to defensive players. Gvardiol picked up a slight injury during the victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend and is a doubt for the game against Madrid, which might be a problem considering Nathan Ake is also struggling with a calf injury. Kyle Walker is also struggling with a hamstring problem and is unlikely to feature in the first leg in Madrid.
PSG vs Barcelona | Wednesday | 20:00 IST
The game of the night on Wednesday is the first leg of the quarter-final between PSG and Barcelona. These are two clubs with a history of intense head-to-head encounters in the Champions League, some big transfers in both directions, and current managers who are both Barcelona legends. We’re taking this opportunity to remind you of the famous ‘Remontada’ (comeback) win for Barcelona, when they came back from a 4-0 defeat in the first leg to win 6-1 in the second.
With the first leg being played at the Parc des Princes again this season, you could argue that Barcelona have a slight advantage knowing they can do a job on PSG in the second leg at the Camp Nou. But, this is a Barcelona team that has conceded a lot of goals this season which means a certain K Mbappe will be confident he can add to his Champions League goal tally.
Gif by psg_inside on Giphy
Form & Team News
With Ligue pretty much wrapped up (PSG are 10 points clear of 2nd-placed Brest with 6 games to go), Luis Enrique can focus a lot of energy on the Champions League quarter final against Barcelona. Although PSG haven’t lost in 27 matches, they come into Wednesday’s first leg having just drawn 1-1 with Clermont Foot, the team who happen to be at the foot of Ligue 1. Before the draw with Clermont, PSG had recorded four straight wins including a 2-0 win over Marseille and a 6-2 battering of Montpellier. In the Champions League, PSG played Spanish opposition in the previous round, beating Real Sociedad 4-1 over two legs.
PSG will be missing centre-half Presnel Kimpembe who is still out of the game after rupturing his achilles tendon. Other than Kimpembe, PSG have most of their main players match fit and well rested. Ex-Barcelona player Ousmane Dembele is fit to play in attack as are wingers Bradley Barcola and Lee Kang-in.
Barcelona go into this first leg against PSG having won four of their last five games in La Liga and are on an 11-game unbeaten run across all competitions. Although their recent form has been promising, Barca have conceded too many goals this season and are 8 points behind Real Madrid in La Liga. In the Champions League, Barca knocked out Napoli in the previous round, drawing 1-1 in Naples before winning 3-1 at the Camp Nou. It’s likely that Xavi will select a similar lineup to the side that started the second leg against Napoli.
Gif by uefa on Giphy
Barcelona have three major injury doubts. Frenkie de Jong picked up an ankle injury at the start of March and is a ‘maybe’ to be fit for the first leg against PSG. Pedri has been struggling for fitness after straining his hamstring and is also a doubt for Wednesday. Meanwhile, homegrown talent Gavi is still not match fit after he injured his anterior cruciate ligament whilst playing for Spain in November 2023.
This Week’s Shocker…
The VAR decisions and general interference over the weekend.
We don’t remember a weekend of football with so many dodgy VAR decisions and interruptions.
Wolves had a late equaliser ruled out against West Ham after VAR judged a player to have obstructed the goalkeeper’s view. Seems like overreach.
In Scotland, the Old Firm game had three VAR incidents that involved the ref being sent to look at the screen.
In the game between Manchester United and Liverpool, the decision to award Harvey Elliot a penalty was reviewed by VAR, but wasn’t overturned.
Literally no contact !! So fuming
— 𝑅𝒶𝓈𝓂𝓊𝓈 𝐻𝑜𝒿𝓁𝓊𝓃𝒹 (@RasmusHojlundFC)
8:12 PM • Apr 7, 2024
Would it be too gimmicky if each team had 1 VAR challenge per game? In a similar way to how tennis players can challenge an umpires decision, what if football managers got 1 VAR challenge a game?
Around the world
Apparently, these cup final antics were Fenerbahce's way of signalling their displeasure with the Turkish Football Federation. The final was abandoned and Galatasaray were handed the victory
Reports coming out of Italy that PSG are willing to trigger Osimhen’s €130 million release clause.
After 9 years with Man United, Anthony Martial’s contract is running down, and Inter are interested in taking a risk on the injury-prone Frenchman.
Al Hilal beat Al Khaleej 4-1 to secure their 32nd successive win. The question is: Will Al Hilal keep the win streak alive when they face Al Nassr in the semi-final of the Saudi Super Cup tonight?
After playing out a 1-1 draw, Athletic beat Mallorca 4-2 on penalties to end their 40-year wait for Copa del Rey glory. Good to see.
Two goals up and cruising at the end of the first half, Thomas Tuchel's Bayern Munich went on to concede three goals in the second half. Not the best preparation for the first leg of the Champions League quarter final against Arsenal.
Having tried his hand at managing various football clubs, Frank Lampard is a potential hire for the Canada national team, currently 49th in the FIFA world rankings.
Games to keep an eye on
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich | Tuesday | 20:00 IST
A huge game for Arsenal, as they look to make it past the quarter finals of the Champions League for the first time since the 2008/09 season. Arsenal will fancy their chances as Bayern are all over the place.
Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund | Wednesday | 20:00 IST
Atletico beat Inter in the previous round, whilst Borussia put out PSV. This one should be a tactical battle between two teams that are tough to beat.
Olympiakos vs Fenerbahce | Thursday | 17:45 IST
This is a Europa Conference League game, but we have a rule of watching any game between Greek and Turkish opposition.
Bayer Leverkusen vs West Ham | Thursday | 20:00 IST
West Ham should be a good test of Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen, who are 1 win away from winning the Bundesliga. Will this season’s Europa League be a Leverkusen vs Liverpool final?
Liverpool vs Atalanta | Thursday | 20:00 IST
After drawing against Manchester United when they probably should have killed the game off in the first half, Liverpool will be hoping a good performance against Atalanta can build some momentum again.
Newcastle vs Tottenham Hotspur | Saturday | 12:30 IST
After starting the season so well, Newcastle have fallen away. There’s a 13 point gap between the teams but this is a match up which always seems to produce a decent game of attacking football.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Werder Bremen | Sunday | 16:30 IST
Leverkusen can win the league at home and with 4 games to spare if they can beat Werder Bremen on Sunday. A historic moment in a league that has been seen as a 1-team league for a long time.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa | Sunday | 16:30 IST
Arsenal have a quarter final against Bayern to handle, but at the weekend they’ll be playing to stay at the top of the Premier League table. Villa are starting to wilt in the league and also have a Thursday night game vs Lille in the Europa Conference League.
GOAT Trivia
Say congrats to…
Royston Drenthe —the Dutchman, who turns 37 today, played for various clubs including Feyenoord and Everton but will always be remembered for his Real Madrid goals.
The streets will never forget Royston Drenthe
— Managing Madrid (@managingmadrid)
2:11 PM • Mar 31, 2024
On this day in football…
On the 9th April 1988, Alan Shearer made his full debut for Southampton against Arsenal. Aged just 17 years and 240 days old, Shearer scored a hat-trick and became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the top flight of English football, breaking a record that had been held by legendary striker Jimmy Greaves for 30 years.
Goal of the week…
Our goal of the week is Rabbi Matondo’s injury time equaliser in the Old Firm. Whips it into the far corner with the instep, quality finish.
Classic game…
With PSG playing Barcelona in the Champions League, we have to revisit the famous round of 16 tie from the 2016/17 season. PSG won the first leg 4-0, before Barca won the send leg 6-1. The game is known as La Remontada ‘the comeback’ in Barcelona circles. As well as the drama, this game had Iniesta skills; a Messi penalty; a peach of a free kick from Neymar; and a smash from Edinson Cavani.
Enjoy these classic highlights!
Meme of the week
Defence! No matter the cost! 🤣 😂
Fan Highlights: Your MVP Reviews!
