On Wednesday, two more participants of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals will be determined, who will join the two teams that secured their ticket to the next stage yesterday.
Both pairs played evenly in their first match, so the intrigue remains until the start of the match. London's Chelsea will seek to defeat Paris Saint-Germain at home, while Bayern Munich will face Shakhtar Donetsk.
Chelsea - Paris Saint-Germain
An exceptional duel awaits at Stamford Bridge. Paris Saint-Germain has bad memories of this stadium, while Chelsea will aim to fight for victory and reach the quarterfinals in front of their fans.
The first match between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw. In Paris, PSG players conceded a goal first, when Branislav Ivanovic scored after a great attack. Edinson Cavani equalized in the second half, and the hosts had several great opportunities to secure victory in those matches.
Chelsea, led by Laurent Blanc, played three more matches after the draw. The Blues played draws with Burnley in the Premier League but later achieved success. They defeated Tottenham 2-0 and narrowly defeated West Ham in their last match.
Meanwhile, PSG played four more matches after the draw with Chelsea. They secured victories against Toulouse, Monaco, and Lens. However, they had a goalless draw with Monaco in the French Ligue 1.
Before the match against PSG, Chelsea will be without John Obi Mikel due to injury, but Nemanja Matic is ready. On the other hand, PSG may not have Lucas Moura, Serge Aurier, and Yohan Cabaye available due to injuries.
Predicted lineups:
Chelsea: Thibaut Courtois, Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, Nemanja Matic, Ramires, Willian, Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa.
PSG: Salvatore Sirigu, Gregory van der Wiel, Marquinhos, David Luiz, Maxwell, Thiago Motta, Marco Verratti, Blaise Matuidi, Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Video summary of the first match:
Bayern Munich - Shakhtar Donetsk
A fierce battle awaits at the Allianz Arena. Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk managed to hold Bayern Munich to a goalless draw in front of their own fans, but withstanding the pressure in Germany will be even tougher.
The first match between the two teams ended unexpectedly in a goalless draw. Shakhtar's players had plenty of opportunities to score and did not allow Bayern to play their game, as they did in the Bundesliga and the group stage of the Champions League.
After the Champions League quarterfinals, Bayern played four matches in their country. They were merciless and secured all possible victories, including a 6-0 win over Paderborn.
Shakhtar finally returned after the break in Ukrainian football tournaments and played three matches. They defeated Vorskla 3-0, drew with Metalist, and won the first leg of the domestic cup quarterfinal against the same Metalist team 2-0.
Bayern will be without Xabi Alonso due to a red card in Ukraine. Shakhtar's Taras Stepanenko will return to the squad after suspension.
Predicted lineups:
Bayern: Manuel Neuer, Rafinha, Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber, Juan Bernat, David Alaba, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Gotze, Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery.
Shakhtar: Andriy Pyatov, Darijo Srna, Aleksandr Kucher, Taras Stepanenko, Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Douglas Costa, Fred, Fernando, Taison, Alex Teixeira, Luiz Adriano.
Video summary of the first match:
Aivaras Katutis
