TUESDAY:
MAN CITY V BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH
After a difficult first half against Fulham on Saturday, Man City eventually turned on the style in the second half as they ran out 3-0 winners with Sergio Aguero getting his first Premier League goal of the season. It was great to see him finally score in the league because he's had some bad luck with injuries and fitness which have had a huge impact on his form this season. With his contract due to expire in the summer, Aguero will want to bag more between now and the end of the season so he can go out on a high unless he does sign an extension to his contract. City will probably play a strong team in this one having rested the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling against Fulham on Saturday ahead this game. They did play a strong team against Fulham due to the squad they have but it wasn't their strongest team. With De Bruyne and Sterling likely to return to the starting line up, City will surely have their strongest team out and win this tie comfortably.
Monchengladbach will need to be at their very best if they're to progress to the Quarter finals because they're 2-0 down from the first leg and have lost all their games since then. They're 10th in the Bundesliga and have lost their last three games in the league since the first leg defeat. They were completely dominated by City in the first leg which was probably expected due to the team City are. The German side will be underdogs once again in this leg because they're behind on aggregate and they're up against one of the favourites for the competition in Man City. They've had a good journey in this competition by beating Real Madrid and Inter Milan in the group stages and finishing above Inter to qualify for the last 16. They'll be proud of their efforts overall in this competition because not many people would've had them at this stage of the Champions League at the start of the season.
I'm going for City to win this game and tie because they have more quality and have a stronger squad than Monchengladbach. With De Bruyne and Sterling likely to return after being rested at the weekend, City should win this game quite comfortably.
PREDICTION: 3-0
REAL MADRID V ATALANTA
Real Madrid kept their faint La Liga title hopes alive at the weekend by beating Elche 2-1 with Karim Benzema scoring twice to win them the game. They're now six points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and they could still play a part in the title race if they can stay consistent between now and the end of the season. They had to work hard for the win in the first leg of this tie with Ferland Mendy's long range strike winning them the game. They had an extra man for most of the game with Atalanta having a player sent off early on and yet they struggled to break them down until Mendy's brilliant winning goal towards the end. Zinedine Zidane will want his side to put in a good performance in the 2nd leg because some of Real's performances this season haven't been convincing and he'll want his side to go far in this competition. If they're to reach at least the semi finals, they need to put in more convincing performances starting with this one.
Atalanta have been in some decent form since their 1st leg defeat with 3 wins from their last four games in the league. They're currently 4th in Serie A and just three points behind 3rd placed Juventus as they continue to defy the odds in Serie A. A third consecutive season in the Champions League would be incredible for a club of Atalanta's size because not many clubs of that stature can manage that. They reached the Quarter finals last season and could do again as they're just 1-0 behind on aggregate which still gives a chance of reaching the next round. They managed to keep Madrid at bay with 10 men for most of the first leg which not many teams in Europe can do. If they can use their underdog mentality in this game, they might have a chance of winning the tie. They'll need to score first for that to happen so they can have the belief to score again and win the tie itself.
I'm going for a Real Madrid win in this game and tie because they have enough experience and quality to see their way through. Atalanta will give it go like they always do, but I think Real will still have enough to reach the Quarters.
PREDICTION: 2-0
WEDNESDAY:
CHELSEA V ATLETICO MADRID
I was surprised that Chelsea won the first leg because I thought they would struggle to break down Atletico's rigid defence. They were defensively throughout by keeping Luis Suarez quiet and they won the game with a moment of brilliance from Olivier Giroud who scored an excellent bicycle kick. It was surprising to see them play a back four instead of back three against Leeds on Saturday because they looked settled with the three and it looked like their best system going forward under Thomas Tuchel. They still kept another clean sheet, but I was still surprised that they used a back four instead of a back three. It will be interesting to see what system they use in this one whether they stick with the four or revert to the three which was working well prior to the game against Leeds. They may revert to the three as they're up against a side who are more defensive and not as free flowing.
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone will want his side to produce a better performance than they did in the first leg because they had no shots on target and didn't pose any serious threat throughout the game. They had at least two good chances with Thomas Lemar hitting the side netting and Joao Felix's overhead kick going over the bar. Simeone will want more of those kind of chances in this one and he'll want them on target. They've had some inconsistent form since the first leg with a win followed by a draw in each of their last four games in La Liga. They're still top of the table but only by four points. They should still have enough to win the league as they're defensively solid and clinical in attack. But they need to return to the consistency levels they had earlier in the season if they're to win it. Especially with Barcelona not that far behind.
I'm going for Chelsea to win this game and tie because I think they'll have enough to see this game through. They may be without Mason Mount due to suspension, but they still have players who can help them win the game.
PREDICTION: 1-0
BAYERN MUNICH V LAZIO
Bayern Munich continue to lead the way in the Bundesliga once again and they've won all their games since their first leg victory. Robert Lewandowski is still banging in the goals and he moved up to second in the all time Bundesliga goal scorers list at the weekend where he scored in their 3-1 win at Werder Bremen to put Bayern four points clear at the top of the league. They're on course to win their 9th Bundesliga title in a row and they're definitely going to do it because they always win the league and no one else is close to them in terms of challenging for the title. They brushed aside Lazio in the first leg 4-1 and they could well add more to the lead they have because of the talent they have in their attack including 18 year old Jamal Musiala. The youngster has had an incredible season for the holders and recently chose Germany over England in terms of who to represent at International level. He netted in the first leg victory and will be hoping to get another chance in this one.
Lazio were completely outplayed by Bayern in the first leg with poor defending letting them down. They gave the holders too much room to take their shots and were guilty of some bad decision making in the lead to two of the goals with one of the defenders gifting Robert Lewandowski the opening goal of the game and a mix up between two players allowing Kingsley Coman to run with the ball before Leroy Sane tapped in the rebound for the third. You cannot defend like that against a team like Bayern Munich because they have the players who can punish you whenever you make a mistake and they did exactly that in the first leg. Lazio will have hopefully learned their lesson from that game and their manager will be expecting a better performance in the return leg. If they haven't learned their lesson, Bayern will once again punish them.
I'm going for a Bayern Munich win in this game and tie because they have more quality than Lazio and are a far better team. With the players they have going forward, I think they'll brush Lazio aside once again like they did in the first leg.
PREDICTION: 4-0
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