The UEFA Champions League has reached the pressure cooker stage, with the last eight teams from the top championships in Europe fighting it out for a place in the semi-finals of UEFA’s flagship club competition.
The second leg quarter-final matches take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the aggregate scorelines determining the semi-finalists.
We take a closer look at the encounters set for Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
The surprising result of the first leg was a 2-0 away defeat for Spanish giants Real Madrid against Wolfsburg, with the Germans doing phenomenally well to stop the stellar La Liga side from dominating Champions League proceedings.
The first leg score puts the Galacticos under immense pressure to make sure their home leg is successful, with a 3-0 win needed to secure a place in the semi-finals.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been up to the challenge this season, with excellent individual performances from the Portuguese star seeing him contribute to Madrid’s attacking powers, and he will need to be on form at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night to secure a comprehensive win for Real Madrid.
Wolfsburg may have a defensive strategy in mind, hoping that a strong defence will be enough to hold on and maintain a positive aggregate scoreline that will see them surprise the Spanish giants.
Real Madrid have no injury concerns this week, but opponents Wolfsburg will be without Jung, and perhaps even Caligiuri depending on a late fitness test.
Manchester City welcome Paris Saint-Germain to England on Tuesday night for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. A 2-2 draw between the Citizens and the Parisians in France leaves this second leg very open, with the English side favoured due to their home advantage and the two away goals that they managed to score in their first match.
PSG super striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is yet to win the UEFA Champions League, and his determination to change that fact has been on show all season. He will no doubt aim to bring his A-game this week in an effort to lead his team to victory and ensure a place in the final four of this tournament.
Nicolas Otamendi and Vincent Kompany are both doubts with injuries that they are desperately trying to recover from in time for the match, leaving the Man City defence exposed.
For PSG Marco Verratti and Javier Pastore remain doubful due to their injuries, but goalkeeper Kevin Trapp should be available for selection despite substituting due to a collision on the weekend.
Barca emerged from the first leg with the Spanish bragging rights after coming back from a goal down to turn things around and earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory over their La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid, but they now need to deliver a more solid performance if they are to ensure their passage to the semi-finals.
Travelling to Atletico Madrid has been a notoriously difficult task for Champions League teams in recent years, so Barcelona will not be under the illusion that an easy match awaits. Diego Simeone’s side will be using home advantage and pure determination to push for a win in the second leg, so that they can overturn the 2-1 defeat from the first game.
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Suarez have been excellent this season, notching up over 100 goals between them, and if they are on song, it will be difficult to imagine them being knocked out at this stage.
Barcelona will be without the services of Mathieu, Sandro and Vermaelen due to injuries, while Atletico Madrid have Tiago and Giminez out injured, and will miss the ability of Fernando Torres in attack following his red card in the first leg.
When the Champions League draw was first completed, the pundits suggested that an encounter against Portugal’s Benfica would amount to a walk over for the Germans, but they were underestimating the ability of the Portuguese side.
Benfica did very well to emerge from the first leg in Germany with a 1-0 defeat, especially considering the fact that the game began terribly, as they conceded in the second minute. Now the result shifts the pressure squarely on the Germans, who will need to put in a great performance to stop the Lisbon club from embarrassing them and progressing to the semi-finals.
On the injury front Bayern will be without Jérôme Boateng, Badstuber and Arjen Robben, but Kingsley Coman has recovered from his injury and will be available this week. Moroccan Mehdi Benatia is also a doubt at the moment, but may feature if passed fit in time.
Júlio César is out for Benfica with an injury, while Jonas is suspended. Gaitán is carrying a thigh injury, and may not be selected to protect him from further injuring his leg.
