Europe Champions League Quarter-finals 2nd Leg 18-19. April

[spkutano]

 

[spkutano]

Chelsea vs. Real Madrid Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Chelsea:
Kepa; James, Fofana, Silva, Cucurella; E. Fernandez, Kante, Kovacic; Mudryk, Havertz, Felix

Real Madrid:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Camavinga; Modric, Valverde, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr

Chelsea welcome Real Madrid to Stamford Bridge in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night. Los Blancos won 2:0 in the first leg played at Santiago Bernabeu and they are close to secure progress. Karim Benzema opened the result after 21 minutes with his 90th goal in the competition. The crucial moment in the second half happened in the 59th minute, when Ben Chilwell was shown a straight red card for fouling Rodrygo as the Brazilian striker threatened to go clean through on goal. Fifteen minutes later Real scored what could be a decisive second goal through substitute Marco Asensio. Chelsea had some opportunities, but Thibaut Courtois was excellent and kept the net untouched.

Chelsea are in very complicate situation. The change of the owners is surely between the reasons for the poor season. The American businessman Todd Boehly, who replaced Roman Abramovich, has no previous experience in English football. Some of his decisions were maybe wrong, or at least questionable. He sacked Thomas Tuchel and appointed Graham Potter from Brighton, while two weeks ago made another move and appointed Frank Lampard. But his debut wasn't successful. Chelsea lost to Wolverhampton and Brighton in the Premiership and lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League. Lampard also has some injury and suspension worries. Ben Chilwell will serve his suspension, while Kalidou Koulibaly is out with a hamstring injury. Armando Broja is also sidelined, while Kai Havertz, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Carney Chukwuemeka are rated as doubtful. Finally, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Noni Madueke are all ineligible.

Real Madrid are the most successful club in the history of the Champions League and this fact should not be underestimated. They have a two-goal advantage from Madrid and they are clear favorites in this match. During the weekend Los Blancos beat Cadiz with 2:0 thanks to goals scored by Nacho Fernandez and Marco Asensio. The leaders Barcelona dropped two points against Getafe on Sunday and allowed Real Madrid to cut the gap down to 11 points, but it seems Blaugrana will become new La Liga champions. Nevertheless, this could be a successful season for Real as they are in Copa del Rey final and close to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Ancelotti has three injury worries ahead of this match. Ferland Mendy is out with a calf injury, while Vinicius Junior and Toni Kroos should be assessed on Tuesday. Both missed out the weekend match due to muscular issues, but they are expected to play in London.

Chelsea vs. Real Madrid Prediction:

According to me, Real are clear favorites in this match. Chelsea have excellent individuals, but they are looking pathetic as team. The Blues lost to Brighton on Saturday, but something else was a bigger problem - they were outplayed and the fans left Stamford Bridge frustrated. I see no way Chelsea to escape the defeat here.

Chelsea vs. Real Madrid Pick: Real Madrid to win @ 2.40 with Pinnacle

 

[spkutano]

Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Bayern Munich:
Sommer; Pavard, Upamecano, De Ligt, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sane, Musiala, Coman; Choupo-Moting

Manchester City:
Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Ake; Stones, Rodri; Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland

Bayern Munich welcome Manchester City to the Allianz Arena for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night. The Citizens travel to Germany with a 3:0 advantage from last week's first leg. Rodri broke the deadlock in spectacular way with a curling left-foot drive into the top corner after 27 minutes while Bernardo Silva extended the lead with 20 minutes left. Finally, Erling Haaland scored the third six minutes later, getting on the end of Stones' headed knockdown to sweep a finish past Bayern goalkeeper. It was his 45th goal of the season and he become the highest scorer in all competitions in a single campaign since the Premier League began 30 years ago, surpassing Salah and Van Nistelrooy.

The current situation is not ideal for Bayern. The club officials decided to sack coach Julian Nagelsmann despite his perfect record in the Champions League. Just to remind, Bayern had eight victories in the competition, while the opponents weren't naive at all. Nagelsmann won twice against Barcelona, Inter Milan, Plzen and PSG. There is another problem - the atmosphere in the squad is far from ideal. The club officials have confirmed that Sadio Mane punched his teammate Leroy Sane in the face after the match at Etihad last Tuesday. The two players were seen arguing on the pitch in the latter stages of the contest, but Mane reaction is unacceptable. He was dropped from the squad to face Hoffenheim at the weekend, but could return for this match. Two players remain sidelined - Manuel Neuer and Lucas Hernandez. Striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is back in training following a knee injury, but he is rated as doubtful.

This is a good period for Manchester City. They are in series of 10 victories across all competitions and they look unstoppable. Some of these victories are exceptional, like 7:0 against Red Bull Leipzig, 4:1 against Liverpool or 3:0 against Bayern in the reverse fixture. The atmosphere in the squad is excellent, while the players confidence is "High as Everest." Pep Guardiola is doing an excellent job and the fans are satisfied. However, they are hungry for European glory, as well as the Arab owners. Man City are dominating in England, but so far were unable to lift the Champions League trophy. Guardiola has almost all players available, only Phil Foden is sidelined as he continues to recover from appendix surgery. Haaland will try to continue his scoring show. He has 11 goals to his name so far in the Champions League and one more would draw him level with Ruud van Nistelrooy for the most goals in a single campaign by a Premier League player.

Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City Prediction:

According to many experts, Pep Guardiola's men are already in the semi-final. But it is clear the Germans will not give up easily, they will try to make a miracle. I doubt they are able to win with three goals, but I expect an open and efficient match. At least four goals should be scored at Allianz Arena.

Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 2.31 with Pinnacle

 

[Ronan1001]

Real's victory was expected. The team looks very stronger than Chelsea. But the next match of Real Madrid is not so obvious...

 

[Ronan1001]

And as for Benfica and Inter. In the first match the referees were on Inter's side... Penalty kick in the goal of Benfica can be viewed in different ways. But when there was a hand in Inter's penalty box, there was no penalty.
The second match was more fun, but it didn't help Benfica. Overall, Inter does not look very strong, but still they beat Benfica.