Already this evening at 21:45 the first Champions League quarter-final match of the season will begin. Football fans are eagerly awaiting an intriguing clash between "Barcelona" and Madrid's "Atletico", as well as a duel between Munich's "Bayern" and Lisbon's "Benfica" teams.
"Barcelona" - "Atletico"
In the Champions League quarter-finals, two leading teams of the Spanish championship will compete - "Barcelona" and "Atletico". If in previous encounters both teams did not show joy by eliminating each other, football experts doubted whether the current "Barca" is simply too strong for their Madrid rivals. This was also supported by the results of the teams in the Champions League round of 16, where "Barcelona" beat London's "Arsenal" 5:1, while "Atletico" could not break through the PSV defense in two matches and only made it to the quarter-final stage through penalties.
However, three weeks have passed since the end of the round of 16, and the teams' performances in their local leagues have sparked new debates about the balance of this match. Especially contributing to this were the results from the past weekend - "Barcelona" suffered their first home defeat in 14 months, losing 1:2 to "Real" in the "El Clasico" match, while "Atletico" slipped in their match against "Real Betis" and scored more than three goals in a single match for the first time this season ("Atletico" won 5:1). However, even after the defeat, "Barcelona" coach remained calm.
"We had almost forgotten the feeling of defeat. But our team is really capable of maintaining the style of play we demonstrated before," said Luis Enrique after the loss to "Real".
This will be the thirteenth encounter between these teams in the last three years, and it seems that "Barcelona" has learned how to deal with Diego Simeone's team. After six consecutive winless matches, including a loss two years ago in the Champions League quarter-finals, now the Catalans celebrated victory over their Tuesday opponents in seven consecutive matches. However, only one of these matches ended with a two-goal difference, while the rest were won by "Barca" with a minimal margin. Despite this series of failures against their rivals, Atletico's coach remained unfazed.
"I think the more we play against them, the better. I don't think there will be many innovations in the strategies of both teams. They always want to play the same way and have been playing like that for many years, and under Luis Enrique, the team has been showing great results. We also have our strategy, and I don't think either team wants to change what has brought them success. Playing at home, "Barcelona" will seek only victory, but we remain optimistic and I believe in my team," Simeone said before the match.
Recent history shows that despite "Barcelona" being the favorite in this match, Atletico's defensive capabilities promise a tough and intriguing battle for football fans.
Team news:
Recently, the list of injured players in the "Barcelona" team was joined by Aleix Vidal, who is unable to play, along with Jeremy Mathieu, Adriano, and Sandro Ramirez.
Meanwhile, ahead of the match, "Atletico" received some good news - the defensive duo Diego Godin and Stefan Savic recovered from injuries and will be available for Tuesday's encounter. This means that Simeone will have a more experienced defensive line in his ranks than in the weekend's La Liga match, where two young "Atletico" defenders formed the defensive duo.
However, "Atletico" still has injured players in their ranks, and Yannick Carrasco and Oliver Torres will definitely not be able to help their team in Tuesday's match. There are also doubts about the availability of Jose Gimenez, Thiago, and Jesus Gamez to appear in the match.
"Bayern" - "Benfica"
In the other Tuesday match, the favorite for the match seems clearer. Before the start of the quarter-finals, betting companies are convinced that "Bayern" out of all remaining eight teams has the best chance of progressing to the next round.
However, it was a close call for the German champions to not make it to this stage and be eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16. Playing at home against Turin's "Juventus", they were trailing by two goals until the 73rd minute of the match, but in extra time Thomas Muller scored to extend the game. During the added 30 minutes, the Bavarians scored two more goals, sealing their victory and passage to the quarter-finals.
"Benfica" also advanced to the next stage thanks to late goals in the second leg matches, but their match against "Zenit" was somewhat less dramatic. After winning 1:0 at home, they allowed an away goal in the 69th minute, which could have forced extra time, but two goals in the 85th minute and in extra time secured the Portuguese team's passage to the next stage without additional problems.
With eight consecutive victories, "Benfica" also leads in their country's championship, just like "Bayern" in the Bundesliga, and the excellent form of the Lisbon team has not gone unnoticed by the home team's coach Pep Guardiola. Praising the opponents' form, he revealed that what concerns him the most is not the 30 goals scored by Jonas in Portugal or the emerging talent of Renato Sanches, but the "Benfica" defensive line.
"I am impressed by the form shown by 'Benfica'. They may have the best defensive line in Europe, so this match will be truly interesting. However, they are not a defensive team, and they start to defend by pressing opponents very high," Guardiola respectfully spoke about the opponents.
On the other hand, the mood in the other camp is slightly different. Although "Benfica" coach Rui Vitoria acknowledges that their opponents are the favorites in this tie, he presented arguments before the match for his team's victory.
"Sometimes the only way to neutralize a stronger opponent is to focus on your strengths, know that tough matches await you, and understand that to achieve something you have to be ready to overcome difficulties and defeat them. We are going into this match knowing that our opponents are one of the favorites to win the Champions League, but we do not promise to give in," said the "Benfica" strategist.
To throw down a serious challenge in the first leg match in Munich, "Benfica" will have to show their best football - the "Bayern" team that did not falter in the previous stage of the Champions League is not inclined to joke and will do everything to avoid falling into a similar ungrateful situation.
Team news:
"Bayern" will still be without injured defenders Jerome Boateng and Holger Badstuber. The Bavarians are also cautious about Arjen Robben's fitness and will not rush his return to the squad - the Dutchman is expected to return in about two weeks.
"Benfica" will have to continue without two experienced players - goalkeeper Julio Cesar and defender Luisao. However, both players should be ready for the second leg match in Portugal.
Tautvydas Sakalauskas
