On Tuesday evening, the first two participants of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals will be revealed - the second leg of the quarter-finals will take place in Rome and Manchester.
Again, the most attention should be focused on the match between "Manchester City" and "Liverpool". In the first leg, an unexpected result was recorded, leaving the "Cityzens" no choice but to fight tooth and nail and make history.
At the same time, in the Italian capital, a match will take place where "Barcelona" will seek to settle matters with "Roma". It is undeniable that the Catalans will advance to the semi-finals, but the "Romans" will still try to delight their fans.
"Man City" - "Liverpool"
This time the battle moves to Etihad Stadium, but "Man City" faces the toughest test of the season - trying to overturn a three-goal deficit. In the first leg, the "Reds" stunned the visitors - scoring three goals in the first half and celebrating a 3-0 victory.
"Liverpool" played an impeccable match - pressurizing the opponents in their own half, scoring three quick goals, and in the second half, not allowing the opponents to score a goal, which would have given them a chance to qualify for the semi-finals.
"Man City" will need a miracle in these matches, as at least one goal from the opponents will require them to score five goals. "Man City" could have secured the Premier League title with positive emotions this weekend, but they also suffered a painful defeat.
Pep Guardiola's squad recently has had unusual results in their statistics - in the last five matches, they had more losses than wins. Apart from the two mentioned losses, they also lost to "Basel". However, they also defeated "Everton" and "Stoke".
On the other hand, "Liverpool" also did not achieve a very satisfying result this weekend - they drew peacefully with "Everton" in the Merseyside Derby, although Jurgen Klopp allowed some team leaders to rest.
In the "Man City" team, the only problem is that Benjamin Mendy continues to be unavailable. Over the weekend, Fabian Delph and Sergio Aguero returned to the squad, so it is expected that these two players will be in the starting lineup today.
With players, "Liverpool" has many more problems - due to injuries, Joel Matip, Adam Lallana, Joe Gomez, and Emre Can will not play. The team captain Jordan Henderson will also miss the match due to yellow cards, and he should be replaced by Georginio Wijnaldum. Mohamed Salah has avoided serious injuries and should play.
Projected starting lineups:
"Man City": (4-3-3) Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Delph; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, David Silva; Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus.
"Liverpool": (4-3-3) Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Chamberlain, Wijnaldum, Milner; Mane, Salah, Firmino.
"Roma" - "Barcelona"
Although the goal advantage is the same - 3 - such a match is not expected. "Barcelona" won at home with a score of 4-1, so the chances for "Roma" to advance to the semi-finals are minimal.
In the first leg, luck was on the side of the Catalans - even two goals came from the opponents redirecting the ball into their own net. Unfortunate were Daniele De Rossi and Kostas Manolas. Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez added two more goals, while the only goal for the visitors was scored by Edin Dzeko.
The "Romans" also did not make their fans happy this weekend - they lost at home to "Fiorentina" in the Italian Serie A championship. Making defensive mistakes, the Roma club conceded two goals and had to accept their seventh failure in this season's Italian championship.
Things were much better for the "Barcelona" team, which is already five minutes away from being the Spanish champion. Led by Lionel Messi, who scored three goals, the Catalans defeated "Leganes" 3-1.
The last visit for the "Barcelona" team to the Italian capital was not as successful - they played a 1-1 draw with the hosts in the group stage of 2015. "Barca" today is determined to win, so it will not be easy for the "Roma" team.
"Roma" has lost their young star Cengiz Under, and Diego Perotti was also unavailable this weekend, so he was to be replaced by Stephan El Shaarawy in today's lineup. "Roma" should not have major changes in the starting lineup.
"Barcelona" also does not plan to make changes in Rome - they will play with their usual starting eleven. There is a possibility that Ousmane Dembele will replace Paulinho, but for now, the Brazilian candidacy seems more realistic.
Projected starting lineups:
"Roma": (4-3-3) Alisson Becker; Bruno Peres, Manolas, Fazio, Kolarov; Pellegrini, De Rossi, Nainggolan; Florenzi, Dzeko, El Shaarawy.
"Barcelona": (4-4-2) Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Paulinho, Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Suarez, Messi.
