2024-02-13 03:31:43
A brief overview of the first portion of the upcoming matches of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League
İdman.biz presents an article with a link to livesport.ru.
On Tuesday, February 13, the first matches of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League will start. We have already studied in detail immediately after the draw for the pair of the first round of the playoffs of the most prestigious UEFA European Cup tournament. Now we will briefly assess the current state of the teams after two months and one winter transfer window.
Copenhagen – Manchester City
February 13, 00:00
The Danes were the most unlucky among all the participants in the 1/8 finals. Not only were they paired with the main favorite of the tournament, but they were also approaching matches without match practice.
The season in Denmark is played according to the spring-autumn system, so over the past two months, Copenhagen has played only three or four test matches at the training camp – a story familiar to Russian clubs when they still played in European cups and qualified for the spring part.
Yes, the Danes have already defeated clubs from Manchester on their field – Manchester United was beaten 4:3 in the group stage, and the Copenhagen club held up well at Old Trafford, but City are a completely different calico.
The Citizens are approaching the first match of the 1/8 finals with ten wins in a row in different tournaments, as well as with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland returning to action. To say that nothing will happen to Copenhagen is only to emphasize the obvious.
RB Leipzig – Real Madrid
February 13, 00:00
Things were not going well for the German club in January, but before returning to European competition they began to improve – after three defeats in a row, the Bulls beat Union, and in the last match they did not retain the victory over Augsburg.
As a result, they are three points away from the top 4 of the Bundesliga. In January, Leipzig parted ways with Emil Forsberg and loaned out Timo Werner and Angelino, but bought Macedonian midfielder Elif Elmaz from Napoli for substantial money.
Real Madrid are the second main favorites of the tournament and are approaching the match in Germany on the back of a confident victory over upstart Giorna, which strengthened their leadership in La Liga and, possibly, secured the championship.
But in the same match they lost a key player for 2-3 weeks – Jude Bellingham, who joined the already extensive list of injured (Courtois, Alaba, Militao). Fortunately for Madrid, Vinicius Junior is in form and they are still favorites, but do not forget that in the last Champions League, Real lost to Leipzig with a score of 2:3 in the group stage.
Paris Saint-Germain – Real Sociedad
February 14, 00:00
After the unconvincing performance of the Parisians in the group stage, it is difficult to say who is the favorite in this pair, especially if you remember how the Basques destroyed everyone in the fall, conceding only two goals in six matches.
However, the Mbappe factor has not gone away, the leader of PSG’s attacks played out in the winter, and in January PSG strengthened the squad with Brazilian midfielder Lucas Beraldo, who had already won the first trophy with the new club – the French Super Cup. In the Ligue 1 table, PSG has a huge lead over its competitors and all their strength will be thrown into European competition – for this reason, they even saved Mbappe in the last match with Lille.
Real Sociedad, meanwhile, is not in the best condition, with three goalless draws in its last four matches (two in La Liga and one in the Cup semi-final with Mallorca), plus a minimal defeat to Osasuna in the last match, where due to European Cups were not without rotation.
That is, the Basques are still conceding a little, but they have stopped scoring altogether – which was facilitated by Oyarzabal’s injury. And at the Parc des Princes they obviously won’t rush headlong into the attack.
«Lazio» – «Bavaria»
February 14, 00:00
Two months ago, the balance of power in this couple looked completely different, but how things have changed. Yes, the “Eaglets” spent January-February unevenly, but it should be noted that in Rome they are invincible in the last matches – in the last four meetings at home there are three wins (including a derby with Roma in the Cup) and one goalless draw with the current champion “Napoli”.
Yes, it’s still a long way to reach the top 4 of Serie A, but the European Cup zone is just around the corner, so Maurizio Sarri’s men are approaching the home match on the back of a victory over Cagliari and in a good mood.
This cannot be said about Bayern – in Munich the chair under Thomas Tuchel is gradually beginning to sway more and more. The team’s performance and results in the winter were not the best, the coach’s relationship with the fans, the club’s management and, most importantly, with the players was upset.
And as an apotheosis – a humiliating crushing defeat in Leverkusen from the main competitor in the fight for the championship, after which Bayer pulled away by five points. It looks like Harry Kane has taken the trophyless curse with him from Tottenham.
However, Bayern is still Bayern, and in January the Munich team did a good job of strengthening their problem areas (primarily the defense).
İdman.biz