After the intense Tuesday duels, the Champions League tournament continues tonight, when the remaining two quarterfinal pairs step onto the field. Today at 21:45 in France, the teams of "Paris Saint-Germain" and "Manchester City" will compete, while at the same time in Germany, the match between "Wolfsburg" and Madrid's "Real" will take place.
"Paris Saint-Germain" - "Manchester City"
In the duel between the French champions "Paris Saint-Germain" and the English fourth-placed team "Manchester City," the toughest fight in the Champions League quarterfinals is promised. Although the teams show different results in their domestic leagues, in the Champions League quarterfinals, both teams defeated their opponents with a two-goal difference.
"Manchester City" advanced to the next stage thanks to a victory in the first match away against Kiev's "Dynamo," where they defeated their opponents 3-1. In the second meeting at home, "City" did not score goals but also did not allow the opponents to score - the match ended in a goalless draw.
"Paris Saint-Germain" met with another English team, London's "Chelsea," in the quarterfinals and although they won both matches with the same result - 2:1, securing these victories was not easy for them. Although PSG scored first in both matches, on both occasions, the teams were drawn at 1:1. However, after the break, the French team showed their advantage over the opponents and by scoring again, they ensured that they advanced to the next stage of the competition.
PSG last reached the Champions League semifinals in the 1994-1995 season, and "Manchester City" reached the quarterfinals stage for the first time in the club's history. However, "City" coach Manuel Pellegrini is not inclined to dwell on this and is convinced that his team can compete with the best teams in Europe.
"Perhaps in the last two seasons, we couldn't extend our journey in this tournament because we met such a great team like "Barcelona." However, we improved every season. We face tough matches, but I think we have the opportunity to go further, and this is very important for all of us. The goal of this club is to become the strongest team in Europe and play successfully in the Champions League," Pellegrini said before the match.
Meanwhile, in the opponents' camp before this duel, there are somewhat different moods, and the team's coach Laurent Blanc admitted he is not afraid of the "Premier League" teams and does not believe that the stronger domestic leagues will affect these matches.
"How would you explain the fact that England has the most competitive domestic league, but only one team made it to the quarterfinals? We are happy to have avoided two European football giants - Barcelona and Bayern clubs, and we can also add the third - Madrid's 'Real' team," PSG strategist openly spoke about the Champions League draw.
Despite different results in domestic leagues, both "Paris Saint-Germain" and "Manchester City" are not willing to say goodbye to their hopes of reaching the Champions League semifinals. If we believe the expert predictions expressed before these matches - these clubs have these hopes for a reason, and this duel can be expected to be a tough fight until the last seconds.
Team News:
Before Wednesday's match, it was revealed that there will be no Marco Verratti and Javier Pastore in the "Paris Saint-Germain" team. However, the team will already have the help of Angel Di Maria, who missed the last match in France, and Serge Aurier, who has completed his disqualification. Nevertheless, it is doubtful whether the controversial defender will be trusted in the most important matches of the season.
"Manchester City" will definitely be without Vincent Kompany, Fabian Delph, and Raheem Sterling. Meanwhile, there are doubts about Yaya Toure's appearance on the field, and the decision will be made on the match day. Another player who missed the last match - goalkeeper Joe Hart - should return to the field in this match.
"Wolfsburg" - "Real"
These teams arrive at Wednesday's match not only with different assessments of their chances to advance but also with different moods. Madrid's "Real" is in excellent form in Spain, which was perfectly illustrated by the victory against "Barcelona" in the away match last weekend. Recently, their opponents in Germany have not been able to achieve good results, and the "Wolfsburg" team, which has left three consecutive Bundesliga matches without a victory, is only in eighth place and has almost said goodbye to the hopes of participating in next year's Champions League competitions. The crushing defeat 0:3 against "Bayer" last weekend also does not promise anything good for the "Wolfsburg" club in the upcoming matches.
In the quarterfinal stage, both teams did not face significant problems and won both matches. "Real" twice defeated "Roma" with the same results of 2-0, while "Wolfsburg" overcame the resistance of "Gent" with scores of 3-2 and 1-0.
Before today's match, the German team is considered the underdog in this pair, and the home team's coach Dieter Hecking was not inclined to argue with that. However, the coach is not inclined to accept failure and hopes to present a sensation in the upcoming duel.
"No one expected us to reach this stage. However, I still have to say: 'This must not be the end of our road.' Even by pulling such an opponent, we will try to use our opportunities and try to defeat "Real" and thus present one of the biggest sensations. This is what we want to start these matches with," said "Wolfsburg" coach before the match.
Meanwhile, the opponents of the German team radiated self-confidence before this match, and their coach Zinedine Zidane did not hide that the victory against "Barca" will help his team in the remaining matches of the season.
"The victory last weekend was very important for our self-confidence and the remaining part of the season, especially when it was achieved in the match against Barcelona. We know how important the Champions League is, and we want to advance to the next stage, so the victory in Barcelona was very important to us," Zidane said confidently.
It is clear that in order to present a sensation and defeat Madrid's "Real" team, "Wolfsburg" will have to improve the game they demonstrated in the previous Bundesliga matches. If the Germans fail to improve their game, the winner of this pair can be clear after the first match.
Team News:
"Wolfsburg" still will be without two defenders - Naldo and Sebastian Jung. However, there is also good news for the German team before today's match - the forward Bas Dost, who has been ready for this match for the first time this year, will not help the team for more than three months.
In Madrid's "Real" camp, there is no news - Zidane will still have to deal without Raphael Varane, and the other 21 players in the squad are healthy and ready for the match.
Tautvydas Sakalauskas
