Man City (0) Vs (3) Liverpool
Still buzzing from the thrilling encounter in the first leg at Anfield, this week seems to have flown by and tomorrow the action will move into Manchester where we will see who will progress into the semi finals. Liverpool blew City away with a spectacular first half performance scoring 3 goals. They then shut them out in a cagey second half to keep a clean sheet and give them the advantage.
Source Salah and co celebrating last week at Anfield
Manchester City have been absolutely immense this season and are certain to eventually be crowned champions however their preparations for this game have not been the best as they blew a 2-0 lead at the weekend to lose 2-3 against their local rivals Manchester United. Not only did that delay them officially being crowned champions but it also forced them to utilize D Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Jesus from the bench when they would have liked to have rested them for tomorrows game.
It might have been worse as Aguero was victim to a bad challenge from Ashley Young and with him only just returning from injury it will have majorly concerned City fans but fortunately the effects of the tackle were not too bad. The Argentine striker has a good scoring record against Liverpool and would have been a huge blow to their chances if he was unable to feature.
Source City striker missed the first leg
In the first leg Laporte played at left back and didn't have the most comfortable time trying to deal with Mo Salah, he was replaced with Fabien Delph at the weekend and it will be interesting to see who Pep goes with tomorrow with Mendy still out injured. Another interesting decision for him will be whether to play captain Vincent Kompany. The Belgian has been an incredible defender over the years and scored on Saturday with a header, however fitness has been a major problem for him and if he was to start tomorrow it would be his 3rd game in a week. Jon Stones has recently had an injury but should be fit to play if it is decided this is a game too much for Kompany.
Source City captain scoring on Saturday, will he start tomorrow?
Liverpool didn't have the best preparation either having played out one of the most dull Merseyside derby games in years with the game ending 0-0. That won' be much of a concern though as that was a much changed team that saw 5 changes to the one that beat City. They will be boosted by Mo Salah's progress, the Egyptian limped off in the first leg with an injury and wasn't named in the squad on Saturday. But he has been training with the physio and then trained with the first team today meaning the chances are he should be fit to start tomorrow.
Source Liverpool's star player back in training
That will surely give City nightmares, Salah has scored 7 goals in his previous 4 games including the opener last week in the first leg. An away goal could just about seal the deal for Liverpool and with Salah able to play alongside his partners Firmino and Saido Mane Liverpool have one of the most feared attacking force in Europe.
Jordan Henderson picked up a booking in the first leg meaning he will miss this game and Emre Can is not able to recover from a back injury in time to fill in for him. James Milner will take on Hendersons role as captain and the former City player has been in great form this season and is the Champions League's leading goal provider with 7 assists. He will likely play on the left side of the midfield 3 with Wijnaldum in the deeper central role as he did against Everton on Saturday.
Soucre More Champions League goals than anyone this season
Trent Alexander Arnold put in one of the best performances of his life during the first leg as he managed to contain the dangerous Leroy Sane, he will most likely be asked to repeat the performance again but Liverpool do have Nathaniel Clyne back from a long time injury. He started against Everton on Saturday and looked like he had never been away with a decent performance and may be in contention to play a role tomorrow. He may even be brought in at left back if Robertson cannot pass a late fitness test, Moreno was injured in the warm up on Saturday which left Klavan to fill in.
Source Clyne back in action on Saturday
I remember the 2nd leg earlier in the season against Porto where Liverpool came in with a 5 goal lead from the first leg. It was a strange dynamic and didn't produce the greatest of games. However I am expecting this to be a much livelier affair with City certain not to roll over and concede defeat. They did beat Liverpool 5-0 here earlier on in the season but Liverpool will take a lot of confidence from the 2nd half of the first leg where City threw all they had and still were unable to even get a single shot on goal.
The crowd played a huge part in the first leg with the home fans roaring on their players and jeering the opponents every time either had the ball, as passionate as City fans are I don't believe they can replicate anything like what their players faced at Anfield and Liverpool's away fans will no doubt do their best to bring some of it with them.
Prediction - Draw - 1-1 - Liverpool to progress
Roma (1) - (4) Barca
Roma had an away goal but I feel Barca will have no problem scoring in this 2nd leg either. Suarez broke his baron spell last time out after not scoring in this competition in a while and Messi scored a hat trick in their league game.
Prediction - Barca to win - 1-3 Barca to progress
Bayern (2 )- (1) Sevilla
Bayern edged the first leg and have not lost at home all season including back to back 6-0 victories. I believe they will be too much for Sevilla in this leg.
Prediction - Bayern to win - 4-0 Bayern to progress
Real Madrid (3) - (0) Juventus
Huge ask for Juventus to come back from the loss at their home. This will likely be the last time we see legendary keeper Buffon playing in this competition. Ronaldo won't have much sympathy though and will be looking to maintain his record of scoring every time he plays Juventus.
Prediction - Madrid to win - 2-1 Madrid to progress
My prediction City - Liverpool is 3-2, Liverpool to progress. YNWA!
Nice! As long as Liverpool got the 3 away goals early I'd take that. Thanks for reading and commenting. YNWA!
you're welcome.
Good post! I think Liverpool will advance, i'm going with a 2-1 Mancester City win but will not be enough. Looks like it will be Bayern, Barca, Madrid in the Semi. Going to be a tough game whoever they get next.
Thank you. Yes it will be tough, since the start of the season I've been wishing that Liverpool make it to the final and meet Barca. So I'd like either of the other 2 if we make it through.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
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I think that Manchester City will give Liverpool a scare and will come awfully close to overturning the deficit, so 2-0 or 3-1! After two disappointing games and with so much at stake, the Man City players will play for their pride.
Other than that, I think Juventus will not trouble Madrid, who will not care about a second win too much, 1-1 a likely result for me.
As for the other two games, I think Bayern and Barca will win comfortably, 2-1 or 3-1 in both.
Oh God I don't think I could handle the tension if City went 2-0 up!
Thanks for reading and commenting.
I don't think it would be just you! I think that once it gets to 2-0, Liverpool will hang on by their finger tips and Man City will have plenty of shots on target unlike the first game!