2024-02-14 08:44:34
Paris SG and Bayern Munich will begin on Wednesday, against Real Sociedad and Lazio, respectively, the assault on the Champions League title, a common goal of these two giants of European football and which both face injured, although for different circumstances.
. The pending subject
After a beginning of the Luis Enrique era full of difficulties, which even led PSG to fear their elimination in the group stage of the Champions League, the French champion confidently faces these round of 16, which on the other hand are the unfinished business of the club.
PSG’s ambition to finally win its first Champions League crashed in the last two editions with painful eliminations against Bayern and Real Madrid.
But this time, PSG is not facing a ‘big’ and Luis Enrique’s team arrives at a great moment: it has not lost since the defeat in Milan at the beginning of November and since the group stage ended it has played ten games in all competitions, with eight wins and two draws.
. Without punch and with many casualties
Quite the opposite of Real Sociedad, which does not look like the team at the beginning of the season that was able to emerge as champion of a group that included Inter, current continental runners-up.
Since playing in Milan in mid-December (0-0), the Basque team has played 12 games in all competitions, of which they have only won four.
Real Sociedad is not the perfect machine of previous seasons and it is a team that has a hard time scoring: in half of those last twelve games it was unable to score and only scored two goals in two, although it is also true that receives few goals. and this season they have not lost any game by more than one goal difference.
This period has coincided with the plague of casualties suffered by Imanol Aguacil’s team, the main one being that of its captain and scorer Mikel Oyarzabal, whose presence in the Parque de los Príncipes is an unknown.
. Humiliated in the Bundesliga
In the other tie on Wednesday, Bayern Munich visits Lazio in Rome after the humiliation received last Saturday in Leverkusen (3-0) against a Bayer that seems increasingly closer to end the hegemony of the Bavarian club, winner of the last eleven Bundesligas.
Bayern, however, has shown throughout its history that the more injured it is, the more dangerous it is. Also this season: after being eliminated at the beginning of November by a 3rd division team, they beat Dortmund 4-0 in the next game and after being humiliated by Eintracht (5-1) in December they won four times consecutive.
And the Germans have Harry Kane, scorer of 24 goals in the Bundesliga and 4 in the Champions League, against a Lazio that has had a very irregular season and is 8th in Serie A, far from the fight to repeat its presence in the Champions League next year.
– Program of the matches for Wednesday of the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League:
(20h00 GMT) Paris SG – Real Sociedad
(20h00 GMT) Lazio Roma – Bayern Munich
bap/kn/chc/mcd/iga
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