After a week-long break, UEFA Champions League knockout stage matches return to the bright TV screens on Tuesday.
Joining the four clubs already holding quarterfinal tickets will be two more pairs. Turin's Juventus will seek to maintain the advantage acquired in Portugal against Porto at home, while Leicester in England will try to save their season and overturn the goal deficit against Sevilla.
Juventus - Porto
Both teams have been in excellent form. Porto has had no trouble recently in Portugal, but facing the Italian football giant is not easy, so Porto's chances are cautiously assessed.
In the first leg, the game changed in the 27th minute with a red card for Alex Telles, after which Juventus completely dominated. The key moments in the match were two substitutions - both Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves scored a goal each and the visitors from Turin celebrated a 2-0 victory.
However, the defeat of Porto did not affect Juventus, as they secured a strong victory in Portugal and did not concede any goals. Immediately after the setback against Juve, the Portuguese team won against Boavista by a minimal score and later humiliated Nacional with a score of 7-0, sending four goals past Arouca.
Porto are unbeaten in 5 away games in all competitions (W4 D1). #UCL
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 13, 2017
Both Juventus and Porto are in good form, but Massimiliano Allegri is worried as it is still uncertain whether one of the best defenders, Giorgio Chiellini, will be fit to play. Porto will definitely be without A. Telles, who received a red card in the first leg.
Predicted starting lineups:
Juventus: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Marchisio, Khedira; Cuadrado, Dybala, Mandžukić; Higuaín.
Porto: Casillas; Maxi Pereira, Marcano, Felipe, Layún; Danilo, André André, Óliver Torres; Brahimi, André Silva, Soares.
Leicester City - Sevilla
After the defeat in Seville, Leicester City has been in good form lately, so there will likely be plenty of intrigue in the second leg which will take place in Leicester.
In Seville, the match ended in a 2-1 victory for Sevilla, but the Foxes scored a crucial goal that would be enough to secure a home win with a 1-0 result. In the first leg, Sevilla took the lead with goals from Pablo Sarabia and Joaquín Correa (2-0), but Jamie Vardy reduced the deficit with a goal in the 73rd minute.
Leicester City has won two consecutive home games after the defeat in Seville, against Liverpool and Hull City, which has seen them rise to 15th position in the table.
Sevilla, who have been struggling recently in the Spanish league, managed to secure victories against Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao after the success against Leicester, but their results have worsened.
Predicted starting lineups:
Leicester: Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Drinkwater, Ndidi, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy.
Sevilla: Sergio Rico; Pareja, Rami, Mercado; Mariano, N'Zonzi, Nasri, Escudero; Iborra; Jovetić, Vitolo.
