The second-legs of the Champions League Round of 16 are upon us and there are sure to be some more exciting matches and dramatic moments to follow up an interesting set of first-legs. Liverpool welcome Inter Milan to Anfield with an impressive 2-0 lead in the tie as Manchester City square-up with Sporting CP at the Etihad Stadium. There is also the exciting clash between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain at the Bernabeu as Kylian Mbappe will get a glimpse of what his near future could look like.
Here is everything you need to know about this week’s fixtures.
Liverpool vs Inter Milan
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
When: Tuesday 8th March
Kick-off: 8pm
How to watch: BT Sport 2
Sportsman stat: Liverpool have won each of their three games against Inter Milan in the Champions League without conceding a single goal. All games were in the Round of 16, too.
Jurgen Klopp’s side showed their strength in depth at San Siro in the first-leg as Roberto Firmino came off the bench to put his side in front against the run of play against Simone Inzaghi’s side before Mohamed Salah rubbed salt into the wound. The Reds now have a tasty two-goal lead heading into the home leg. Having recently secured the Carabao Cup, Liverpool are the topic of conversation as a legendary quadruple is on the cards but there are still plenty of hurdles in their way before such history is made.
They may have what appears to be a comfortable advantage against Inter but Inzaghi’s men caused them plenty of problems a fortnight ago and were unfortunate to not have found a breakthrough on home turf. The Nerazzurri still have a chance in this tie, if they play with the same intensity they can look to frustrate the Reds once again, but they will need to sharpen up in front of goal when the chances do come.
Manchester City vs Sporting CP
Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
When: Wednesday 9th March
Kick-off: 8pm
How to watch: BT Sport 2
Sportsman stat: Manchester City won the first-leg 5-0 in Portugal, the joint-biggest winning margin away from home in the knockout stages in Champions League history.
Pep Guardiola’s side have a more than comfortable lead heading into the home tie and it will be interesting to see if the Spaniard makes any changes to the team that stormed the first-leg. After a comfortable victory over rivals Manchester United in the Premier League, the Citizens will be raring to go for their next big fixture and hungry to book their place in the quarter-finals in style.
⏪ Pep Guardiola's side equaled their biggest away win in Europe against Sporting last time out...
This week they welcome them to the Etihad 👊
#UCL
Bayern Munich vs RB Salzburg
Where: Aliianz Arena, Munich
When: Tuesday 8th March
Kick-off: 8pm
How to watch: BT Sport 3
Sportsman stat: RB Salzburg are looking to become the first Austrian side to progress beyond the Round of 16 in the Champions League since FK Austria Wien in 1984-85.
The Austrian side performed admirably to earn a draw on home soil in the first-leg, but they will have to show the same level of intensity if they want to keep their Champions League dream alive. Julian Nagelsmann will be looking for a response from his players after they were held to a draw in their latest Bundesliga clash with Bayern Leverkusen. RB Salzburg will have a lot cut out for them in Munich, but the underdog tag could work in their favour and it will be interesting to see how Bayern approach the game as the pressure could affect them. A stat that will provide comfort to Bayern supporters is that they have won all five home matches against Austrian opposition in European competition.
Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: Wednesday 9th March
Kick-off: 8pm
How to watch: BT Sport 3
Sportsman stat: Real Madrid have been eliminated from nine of their last 10 knockout ties in the Champions League when losing the first-leg, with the exception being a 3-2 aggregate win over Wolfsburg in the 2015-16 quarter-final.
Real Madrid were left disappointed at losing the first-leg in Paris to a goal scored by a familiar face, Kylian Mbappe. The fantastic Frenchman haunted his potential next employers last time out, and now he travels to the place he may soon call home and will look to make another impact on the pitch to help propel his star-studded PSG side closer to the Champions League final. Carlo Ancelotti will likely try to suppress the attacking threat posed by Mbappe and will try to get the ball to veteran striker Karim Benzema who reached 20 for the season in La Liga over the weekend as he continues to prove that age is just a number. The second-leg is sure to be a gripping contest to say the least.
