The Champions League is back on tonight with two very interesting matchups.
The first game of the night will see Manchester City facing German side RB Leipzig. Both teams still have a big chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals as the first leg in Germany ended in a 1-1 draw. Everything is to play for at the Etihad Stadium.
The other match of the night is Porto receiving Inter Milan. The first game between these two teams ended in a 1-0 victory for the Italian side. Porto will hope to bounce back at home and get a victory in order to progress to the next round.
Manchester City v RB Leipzig (Etihad Stadium; 1-1)
City will head into this game as favourites. Their recent form in the League has been very good as they are undefeated in six Premier League games. They sit second of the table only five points behind league leaders Arsenal.
How did your team get on this weekend? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/aSCHoCGZhL
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 12, 2023
Manager Pep Guardiola told the media that this will be a tight game tie:
Every team in this stage are really good. We have to win the game, impose ourselves and win the game... that’s what we have to do.
Club captain, Kevin De Bruyne has praised Leipzig's style of play insisting that this match will be "tough":
It’s going to be a tough game. RB Leipzig are a good team... They’re doing well. A high-energy game which will be tough.
Manchester City will enter this game with all of his players fit to play. No injuries to be noted on Manchester City's side.
RB Leipzig are doing excellent in the Bundesliga. Currently sitting in third place, they can still push for the title with ten games left to play. They are only seven points away from top of the table Bayern Munich. . They've only lost their two first group stage games in this year's Champions League. The men of Marco Rose have shown a very strong image throughout the whole 2022/2023 season in all competitions. The German team will come to England in the hope of creating a huge upset by beating Manchester City and qualifying for the quarter finals.
RB Leipzig will travel without two important players. Their top scorer Christopher Nkunku suffered a muscle injury whilst Austrian teammate Xaver Schlager sustained an ankle injury. b
Players with most goals for RB Leipzig in Bundesliga 2022/23 👊
1⃣2⃣⚽️ Christopher Nkunku
6⃣⚽️ Timo Werner
4⃣⚽️ Dominik Szoboszlai
4⃣⚽️ Andre Silva
4⃣⚽️ Emil Forsberg
Nkunku show! pic.twitter.com/Ff9tyzuTMF— Stats24 (@_Stats24) March 3, 2023
Porto v Inter Milan (Estadio do Dragao; 0-1)
Sergio Conceicao's team are in savage form in the Portuguese league. Only a defeat at home to Gil Vicente ruins there undefeated run of eleven games without a loss. They are currently second of the table, eight points behind Benfica.
Porto surprisingly made it out of the Champions League group stages by topping there group ahead of Club Brugge and knocking out Bayer Leverkusen and Athletico Madrid. They lost the first leg 1-0 against Inter in Milan. Conceicao's players hope to turn the situation around at home in front of their fans to create a shocking win that would allow them to continue their European journey.
Team president Jorge Nuno Pinto Da Costa worries more about Inter Milan as a team rather than the individual talent of their players:
Inter have quality players but we’re more worried about their quality as a collective. That’s how they can win.”
Inter Milan went downhill since their win against Porto. They've lost two out of their three last games. Defeat against Bologna and 17th ranked team Spezia allows other teams to catch up on Inter for the second ace race. Inter Milan are currently second with 50 points, Roma is fifth ln 47 points.
Manager Simone Inzaghi insists that his players must play a very good game in order to qualify for the next round and he is confident they'll get something out of this match:
We’ve played some great away matches, such as the one away to Barcelona. We know that in Porto we have to play a great match if we’re to reach the quarterfinals.
Inter Milan will head over to Portugal without some players. Dalbert has a knee injury and won't be in the squad list. Their winger Joaquin Correa is doubtful for the game. He suffers from a thigh injury. Robin Gosens also sustained a calf injury, one day before the match.
Robin Gosens Suffers Calf Injury, Inter Milan Confirm #InterMilan #FCIM https://t.co/LZbhWQAPOx
— SempreInter.com (@SempreIntercom) March 13, 2023
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