The UEFA Champions League second-leg ties in the round of 16 get underway this week with two fixtures featuring four European giants to wet fans’ appetites.
UEFA Champions League fixtures:
Tuesday, March 6th
SG vs Real Madrid
Liverpool vs Porto
Both games kick-off at 19:45 (7:45pm) GMT
Paris Saint Germain vs Real Madrid
Parc de Princes, Paris
PSG will be without world-record summer signing Neymar after the Brazilian forward was ruled out for the rest of the season with a broken metatarsal. Unai Emery’s men are on a 10-match winning streak domestically and suffered just two defeats in all competitions since the start of 2018. The Parisians reached the semi-finals of the French Cup last week with victory over Marseille for the second time in the space of four days before a 2-0 win at Troyes this past weekend moved them 14 points clear of Monaco at the top of the table in their quest to reclaim the Ligue 1 crown. Former Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria has netted four times in four appearances since defeat at the Bernabeu when the Argentinian was left on the bench. PSG have never beaten Madrid, in five attempts, including in two friendlies in 2013 and 2014, losing four.
PSG recent results:
All competitions
03/03/2018 – Troyes 0-2 PSG
28/02/2018 – PSG 3-0 Marseille (FC)
25/02/2018 – PSG 3-0 Marseille
17/02/2018 – PSG 5-2 Strasbourg
14/02/2018 – Real Madrid 3-1 PSG (UCL)
Los Blancos spared their blushes against PSG eventually running out 3-1 winners courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo brace after falling behind to Les Rouge-et-Bleu in the first half. They will need to avoid a similar slip up in the French capital on Tuesday having conceded the vital away goal in the first leg and needing to avoid defeat by more than two goals whilst finding the net themselves. Real Madrid recovered from their fifth league defeat of the campaign to Espanyol a week ago by beating 10-man Getafe on Saturday for their sixth win in their last seven games in all competitions with Ronaldo twice on the scoresheet once again. The four-time Ballon d’Or winner has now netted an astonishing 10 goals in his last seven outings as he looks to get back to his brilliant best at just the right time in the season.
Real Madrid recent results:
03/03/2018 – Real Madrid 3-1 Getafe
27/02/2018 – Espanyol 1-0 Real Madrid
24/02/2018 – Real Madrid 4-0 Alaves
21/02/2018 – Leganes 1-3 Real Madrid
18/02/2018 – Real Betis 3-5 Real Madrid
Liverpool vs FC Porto
Anfield, Liverpool
The Reds, who last won the competition back in 2005 all but sealed their place in the last-eight after demolishing the surprise 2004 winners FC Porto 5-0 in their own backyard whose decision to leave star goalkeeper Iker Casillas on the bench a fortnight ago backfired. This was their third victory over their Portuguese opponents in five competitive European contests. Senegalese forward Sadio Mane netted a hat-trick that night and followed that up with goals in wins against West Ham and Newcastle in the Premier League to take his tally to 14 goals in all competitions so far this season.
Liverpool recent results:
All competitions
03/03/2018 – Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle
24/02/2018 – Liverpool 4-1 West Ham
14/02/2018 – Porto 0-5 Liverpool (UCL)
11/02/2018 – Southampton 0-2 Liverpool
04/02/2018 – Liverpool 2-2 Tottenham
FC Porto responded to that hammering at home to Liverpool by scoring five of their own in a league encounters against Rio Ave and Portimonense respectively as they turned their attention back to domestic action in their bid to lift the Primeira Liga for the first time in five seasons. Malian forward Moussa Marega netted twice in each of those victories and could be key to any chance they have of a remarkable turnaround. They remain five points ahead of defending champions Benfica with nine games left to play and are no strangers to spectacular second legs, after beating Bayern Munich 3-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final match-up three years ago before being humbled 6-1 in the second.
FC Porto recent results:
All competitions
02/03/2018 – Porto 2-1 Sporting
25/02/2018 – Portimonense 1-5 Porto
21/02/2018 – Estoril 1-3 Porto
18/02/2018 – Porto 5-0 Rio Ave
14/02/2018 – Porto 0-5 Liverpool (UCL)
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