Europe Champions League Round of 8

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Milan vs Tottenham Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Milan:
Tatarusanu; Kalulu, Kjaer, Tomori; Saelemaekers, Bennacer, Tonali, Hernandez; Diaz, Leao; Giroud

Tottenham:
Forster; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Sarr, Skipp, Perisic; Kulusevski, Son; Kane

Milan host Tottenham at San Siro for the first leg of their Last-16 tie. The Rossoneri finished second in their group that also consisted Chelsea, Dinamo Zagreb and Red Bull Salzburg. They lost both games with the Premier League opposition, but collected 10 points on the remaining four matches. That was enough for progress, but many fans are not optimistic about further success. Milan are seven-time European champions, but this match will be the club's first knock-out fixture in the last-16 since the 2013/14 season. Milan were in awful form during the last period, but they managed to beat Torino on Friday, with Olivier Giroud heading home just after the hour mark. It was only their second victory in 2023 and first after seven matches. The victory was narrow, but lifted the pressure from the coach Stefano Pioli. However, the Milan coach needs a positive performance form his side in the Champions League. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan is out with a claf injury, so Ciprian Tatarusanu will continue to deputise. Ismael Bennacer remain unavailable, while veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was an unused substitute on Friday.

Tottenham were lucky during the group phase and finished as first after winning 2:1 against Marseille. They were lucky to score in the stoppage time, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg goal in the 95th minute has secured Tottenham's progress to the Last-16. The actual form is mixed, they suffered a heavy 4:1 defeat at King Power on Saturday. The beginning of the match was good as Rodrigo Bentancur gave Tottenham the lead, but Leicester turned out the result thanks to goals from Nampalys Mendy, James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho and Harvey Barnes. The fans are disappointed, but a good result from Italy could help forgetting the defeat. Manager Antonio Conte is back after recovering from gallbladder surgery, but some players remain sidelined. The absence of the captain Hugo Lloris is the biggest handicap. The French goalkeeper is ruled out with a knee injury. Cristian Romero served a domestic suspension against Leicester, but should start alongside Eric Dier and Ben Davies in a back three. Nevertheless, the situation in the midfield looks very complicated. Rodrigo Bentancur suffered a cruciate ligament injury on Saturday and the season is ended for him. In addition, Yves Bissouma is out injured, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is suspended.

Milan vs Tottenham Prediction:

Mlan have been eliminated at the Last-16 stage in five of their previous six appearances in the competition. That includes the 2011/12 season when they lost 1:0 on aggregate to Tottenham. In addition, the Rossoneri have failed to win any of their four competitive meetings with Tottenham. I think the Spurs will continue the positive series. They are able to remain unbeaten at San Siro.

Milan vs Tottenham Pick: Tottenham +0.5 AH @ 1.58 with Pinnacle

 

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Borussia Dortmund vs. Chelsea Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Borussia Dortmund:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Bellingham, Can; Adeyemi, Reus, Brandt; Haller

Chelsea:
Arrizabalaga; James, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly, Chilwell; Loftus-Cheek, Fernandez; Mount, Felix, Mudryk; Havertz

Borussia Dortmund host Chelsea at Westfalenstadion in the first leg of their Champions League Last-16 tie. Interesting, this will be the first-ever meeting between these two sides. BVB secured the knock-out phase after finishing second in Group G behind Manchester City, but ahead of Sevilla and FC Copenhagen. The actual form is very good, they have maximal record in 2023 - six wins on six competitive games. Dortmund beat 2:0 Werder in Bremen last weekend. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens scored the first goal in the 67th minute,while Julian Brandt sealed the victory five minutes from time. They are currently third in the Bundesliga table and remain title pretenders. Edin Terzic's side are just three points adrift of the leaders Bayern Munich. With 14 games remaining, everything is possible. Terzic has some injury worries ahead of this match Youssoufa Moukoko was forced off with an injury against Werder and he is rated as doubtful. Marius Wolf, Abdoulaye Kamara and Mateu Morey are also ruled out, but Thomas Meunier has recovered from a muscle strain. Nevertheless, he should start from the bench. Striker Karim Adeyemi is available for selection after serving a domestic suspension. Teenage star Jude Bellingham is among the players that could make a difference. So far he has scored four goals in five Champions League games this season.

Chelsea finished as first in Group E, ahead of Milan, Red Bull Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb. However, this season isn't very good for them. The Blues are in the middle of table with 31 points, huge 10 adrift of the fourth placed Newcastle. American owner Todd Boehly isn't satisfied with the results and spent £323 million during January transfer window. Enzo Fernandez from Benfica was the most expensive player. Boehly has paid 106.8m, the most ever paid by a Premier League club for a single player. But manager Potter is without number of players - N'Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic, Armando Broja and Edouard Mendy remain sidelined with injuries, while five players (Aubameyang, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos) are ineligible after being left out of Champions League squad. But there is more as Wesley Fofana (knee), Mateo Kovacic (calf), Denis Zakaria (thigh), Raheem Sterling (knee) and Kalidou Koulibaly (illness) are rated as doubtful. Mykhaylo Mudryk will try to improve his scoring record. The Ukrainian international has netted five goals for Shakhtar Donetsk earlier this season.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Chelsea Prediction:

Borussia Dortmund have struggled against Premier League teams over the years, failing to win any of their last 10 such games in European competition. Their last victory against an English side came seven years ago, in March 2016 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League. Chelsea are former European Champions and I think they are favorites. I expect to remain unbeaten here.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Chelsea Pick: Chelsea +0.5 AH @ 1.61 with Pinnacle

 

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Liverpool vs Real Madrid Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Bajcetic, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Gakpo, Diogo Jota

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

Liverpool and Real Madrid will renew hostilities at Anfield for the first leg of their Last-16 tie. The Reds finished second in Group A, behind Napoli, but ahead of Ajax and Glasgow Rangers. Champions League is their ultimate chance for trophy this season. And everything was different a year ago, the Reds were fighting for an unprecedented quadruple. At the end they lifted two trophies - FA Cup and League Cup, so most of the fans were not fully satisfied. But now they are far from the top in the Premier League. However, two wins against Everton and Newcastle brought Liverpool closer to the fourth place. The Reds have 35 points, six adrift of fourth-placed Magpies. Furthermore, Liverpool have a match in hand, so the difference could be reduced to only three points. I believe the players confidence is higher, something very important ahead of this match. The injury situation is still complicated, as three or four important players remain out injured - Ibrahima Konate, Luis Diaz and Thiago Alcantara are definitely sidelined, while Darwin Nunez is rated as doubtful after he was forced off just before the hour mark with a painful shoulder injury. The absence of the mentioned quartet is a big handicap.

Real Madrid are losing the battle in La Liga. They are eight points adrift of first-placed Barcelona and most probably the Catalans will be the new champions. Los Blancos were beaten in the Supercopa, losing 3:1 to Barcelona in the final. But the Champions League is something special for Real Madrid - they are the most successful club in the history of the competition. Their group-stage results were not at highest level, a 1:1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk and defeat to Red Bull Leipzig threatened Los Blancos' position, but a high 5:1 victory against Celtic on the final day saw the holders finishing on the first place in the group. The actual form is improving, they are in series of four wins in all tournaments. On Saturday they defeated Osasuna 2:0 in Primera thanks to second-half goals from Federico Valverde and Marco Asensio. Ancelotti's biggest problem is the inconsistent away form in Europe. It sounds unrealistic, but Real have won just two of their last six Champions League contests away from home. In addition, some players are struggling with injury. Key striker Karim Benzema missed out the match against Osasuna due to muscular fatigue, but the Ballon d'Or winner is expected to start at Anfield. The midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Toni Kroos have both been suffering from illness. Defender Ferland Mendy is out with a thigh injury, but Courtois has recovered from a hamstring issue and will start on his return to English turf.

Liverpool vs Real Madrid Prediction:

The narrow 1:0 win for Real Madrid in last season's final was the third success for Los Blancos against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. The German coach will try to change something, but it won't be easy. Liverpool will strongly attack from the very first whistle, but that means lot of free space for Benzema and Vinicius Junior. The Reds kept clean sheet on Saturday, but 10-men Newcastle created six or seven clear opportunities. Real are favorites in the competition and I think they will remain unbeaten at Anfield.

Liverpool vs Real Madrid Pick: Real Madrid +0.5 AH @ 1.67 with Pinnacle

 

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Liverpool vs Real Madrid

Liverpool are in good form, having won two games while keeping two clean sheets. Real Madrid are also in good form, having won two games with two clean sheets.
According to the statistics, Real Madrid are better, with 2.3 goals scored and 0.8 goals conceded on average over the last ten games, while Liverpool had 1.1 and 1.4.
Besides, Real Madrid had not been defeated by Liverpool since 2014. Thus Real Madrid stand a better chance to win.

Real Madrid @3.00
Real Madrid 0/+0.5 @1.86