The quarter finals of the Champions League will be over after this evening's two games. Here is everything you should know about tonight's very interesting fixtures.
Bayern Munich will receive Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. The Bavarian side lost 3-0 in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium. A defeat that caused many troubles in the Bayern squad as Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane got into a fight. Manchester City will try and maintain their advantage in order to progress to the semi finals.
Inter will welcome Benfica in the last matchup of these quarter finals. The Milan team won the first leg 2-0 away from home. Benfica will try and create a huge upset by making it to the last four of this year's Champions League.
Bayern Munich v Manchester City (Allianz Arena, Munich, 8pm)
Bayern Munich
Place in domestic league: 1st
Last three league results: D W W
Bayern Munich have had a very inconsistent second part to this season. A mix of winning streaks and defeats have caused them a lot of harm in all their titles races. They are only two points ahead of rivals Dortmund in the German league and are knocked out of the domestic cup (DFB Pokal). Thomas Tuchel's side is in a very uncomfortable place in the Champions League. They will have to overcome a 3-0 defeat if they want to hope of winning the Champions League trophy.
Tuchel has recognised that the mountain will be hard to climb but with a bit of chance and 'momentum' they can qualify:
We need the momentum and those little moments to go our way. It won't come off otherwise. We have to get the balance right. We know the size of the task that awaits us and just how difficult it will be.
A long list pf injured player won't help their cause. Manuel Neuer, Erick Choupo Moting, Paul Wanner and Lucas Hernandez remain all injured for this second leg. On top of all that it seems Sadio Mane won't be part of the squad as he's punished for his actions against teammate Leroy Sane.
Manchester City
Place in domestic league: 2nd
Last three league results: W W W
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are in a very good form. They are unbeaten in 14 games (all competitions). Their last defeat was against Tottenham in the Premier League back in the beginning of February. City are only four points behind league leaders Arsenal but they have a game in hand. They brilliantly overcame Bayern Munich in the first leg of these quarter finals. Goals from Bernardo Silva Rodri and Erling Haaland secured them a 3-0 victory. They just have to remain concentrated and they will easily qualify for the Champions League semis'
The very 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 of our #UCL quarter-final 𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐋𝐒! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/bP9dvf2ufm
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 18, 2023
Despite having a big advantage heading into this game, Pep Guardiola says the target is to win tonight and nothing else:
This is an opportunity to prove ourselves versus one of the best in Europe and we’ll try to impose our game. We’ll try to do as much as possible... the mindset is to try and win the game.
Phil Foden is the only player that will not feature in this game for Manchester City.
Inter v Benfica (San Siro, Milan, 8pm)
Inter
Place in domestic league: 5th
Last three league results: L D L
Simone Inzaghi's Inter have had a terrible league run of games recently. A draw against Salernitana is their best results in their last six games. They've lost against Monza, Lecce, Fiorentina and Spezia which are all teams that are ways below Inter's level. However they are more than likely to go through in the Champions League and are still in the Coppa Italia. A 2-0 win in Portugal put them in a very good spot. Any other resul than a defeat by 2 goals or more at home will guarantee them a place in the semi finals.
Coach Inzaghi has recognised his team is in a bad form but however the league and domestic cup is behind them for now and they are fully concentrated on tonight's match:
The defeats are already in the past, we need to focus on tomorrow night. We know what kind of team we are facing. Tomorrow is a very important and difficult match.
Defender Milan Skriniar remains unavailable just like Hakan Calhanoglu and Dalbert. Stefan De Vrij is highly unlikely to start this evening.
Benfica
Place in domestic league: 1st
Last three league results: L L W
Benfica are top of the Portuguese league with 71 points. They had a big advantage however two defeats in a row to Porto and Chaves closed the gap in between Porto and them. They now only have a four point lead at the top of the table. Their European campaign is coming close to an end. Only a miracle can qualify them to the semis. They lost the first game in front of their fans 2-0 and will have to play in front of a lowd and crazy atmosphere in San Siro. It will be hard but everything is possible in football.
Roger Schmidt believes both teams will play at their very best and has hope that his players make it to the semis:
You have to expect always that the opponent will be on their top, top level. We [Benfica and Inter] are part of the last eight playing Champions League, you have to expect a top team, a very concentrated team. But I have always believed in my team.
Key players remain injured for Benfica. Alexander Bah, Julian Draxler and Mihailo Ristic are still unfit to play.
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