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Champions League: Home Advantage For Barca And Bayern

Champions League: Home Advantage For Barca And Bayern

The second leg matches in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 continue this week, with the final four matches left to play in order for four remaining teams to secure progression to the quarter-final stage of the competition.

With the first leg matches having been completed a few weeks ago, and four return leg matches completed last week, the four return fixtures in the coming days will reveal the remaining quarter-finalists.

We take a closer look at the encounters set for Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Manchester City welcome Dynamo Kyiv

Manchester City host Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday night in their second leg UEFA Champions League encounter, feeling comfortable with a 3-1 lead gained from the first leg in Ukraine.

Goals from Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure allowed the Citizens to be the first English side to beat Dynamo in Ukraine.

The three away goals and home advantage will no doubt give Manchester City a great sense of confidence and belief that they will be able to secure a ticket to the quarter-finals without any serious problems.

For Manchester City Delph and De Bruyne are injured, and will not take part in the second leg, while Tasende is suspended. Dynamo have a selection of players out through injury, including Rybka, Morozyuk, Moraes, Petrović, Burda, Myakushko and Rybalka, while Danilo Silva is doubtful.

Atletico set to make home advantage count against PSV

Spanish club Atletico Madrid will be at home to face Dutch rivals PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night, with a disappointing goalless stalemate from the first leg meaning that the team from the Spanish capital is expected to progress due to their 12th man in the stands.

The Dutch side will need to come out firing if they are hoping to make life difficult for the home team, but few would bet against Atletico in this encounter.

Uruguayan midfielder Pereiro will be missing for PSV due to his red card in the first leg, while Poulsen is out due to a calf injury. For Atletico Tiago and Savić are unavailable through injury.

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi – suitelife.com

Little hope left for Arsenal away to Barca

Arsenal fans are not feeling hopeful ahead of this encounter, and few opposition teams would at the moment, considering the incredible form that Barcelona’s trio of strikers are in.

Two goals from maestro Lionel Messi in the first leg allowed the Spanish side to leave London with a 2-0 win, making life extremely tough for the Gunners as the travel to face the Catalan giants on Wednesday night.

While the Gunners did well to suffocate a typically uncontrollable Barca attack in the first half, a few moments of magic from Neymar, Messi and Suarez led to the result that leaves little hope for the North London club.

This will be a difficult return leg for Arsenal in Spain, where they are not be expected to earn the win they will need to progress to the quarter-finals.

Barcelona will not be able to count on the services of Rafinha and Sandro, as they are injured, while Piqué is suspended. For Arsenal the usual injury concerns are present, with Ramsey, Čech, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rosický and Wilshere confirmed as injured players, while Koscielny is a doubt.

Bayern host a determined Juve

The Germans did well in the first leg to race to a 2-0 lead over their Italian counterparts, dominating an away fixture as the Turin side seemed out of sorts, but a comeback from the Italian champions was on the cards, and before the 90 minutes were up Juve levelled matters and made things very interesting ahead of the second leg.

A 2-2 score means that the Germans have two valuable away goals, but Juve know what they will need to do in Munich in this return leg if they are to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Bayern should still feel fairly confident, as they are playing in front of their home fans, and a betting man would likely put his money on the Germans to find their way through to the next round at the expense of Juventus.

Bayern Munich will be missing the injured Boateng and Badstuber, while Martinez may not be fit enough to take part. Juve are without the injured Cáceres, while a decision on whether Chiellini and Mandžukić are fit to play will be made before Wednesday night’s game.

Kwadwo Asamoah - Juventus
Kwadwo Asamoah is finally fit again for Juventus – GoolFM.net