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On Wednesday, the Champions League quarter-final matches will begin, with four teams, including defending champions Barcelona, in action.
"Milan" - "Barcelona" Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden) Location: "Giuseppe Meazza" Stadium, Milan (Italy) Kickoff: Wednesday, 21.45 (Lithuanian time) TV: "Viasat Sport Baltic" (live)
Italian champions "Milan" will seek a victory in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals against the powerful "Barcelona" club.
These teams know each other well, as they faced each other in the group stage. Back then, success was on the side of Barcelona: after a 2-2 draw in the first match, they celebrated a 3-2 victory at the opponent's stadium. Repeating such a result on Wednesday would create a difficult situation for the Italians before heading to "Camp Nou."
Leading Milan forward will be the excellent form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic - the Swede's double decided the victory in the weekend match against "Roma," and overall, the striker has already beaten opponents' goalkeepers 29 times this season.
However, Massimo Allegri faces headaches, with the main one being injuries: one of the best defenders in Europe, Thiago Silva, will be out for a month, joining Alexandre Pato, Ignazio Abate, Robinho, and Alexander Merkel on the sidelines. Additionally, Mark van Bommel will not take to the field due to suspension.
Barcelona's squad is the strongest in the world - you don't have to be a magician to understand that," said Milan defender Massimo Ambrosini. "We have a very important and difficult match ahead, but it only motivates us more. We'll have to show our best game if we want to hope for success."
The Italian champions will look for ways to stop Lionel Messi's scoring spree, as the Argentine has scored twelve goals in five matches. This series was inspired by Messi, who has already scored 55 accurate shots.
Coach Pep Guardiola will be without David Villa, but his absence will be successfully filled by Alexis Sanchez and young Cristian Tello. Meanwhile, playmaker Xavi could afford to miss the victorious weekend match against "Mallorca," but will definitely take to the field in Milan.
In the match against Mallorca, "Barcelona" successfully used the tactical formation 3-4-3, with defender Javier Mascherano saying: "I feel great in this position, although I'm not used to playing on the right. We defended very successfully. From the next day, we immediately start thinking about the challenge awaiting us in Milan."
"Marseille" - Munich "Bayern" Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain) Location: "Stade Velodrome," Marseille (France) Kickoff: Wednesday, 21.45 (Lithuanian time) TV: TV6 (live)
"Marseille" will start one of the most important matches of the season after a series of eight consecutive winless games, so Munich's "Bayern" rightly expects a favorable result.
In the French championship, Marseille's squad dropped to a modest ninth place, as they last tasted victory in the Champions League round of 16 against Milan's "Inter." Furthermore, it's worth noting that the 1-1 draw with "Nice" broke a streak of seven consecutive losses.
Coach Didier Deschamps will hope that the creative Andre Ayew will shine once again - the 22-year-old Ghana national team player has scored not only against "Nice" but also four times in the Champions League tournament.
Nevertheless, there is no reason to expect any concessions from the motivated "Bayern": this season's Champions League final will be held in Munich, so the fans hope to see their team at the stadium in May. Moreover, the German club has scored six or more goals three times in the last five matches, including an impressive 7-0 victory in the quarter-finals against "Basel."
In the German championship, Jupp Heynckes' team is five points behind league leaders Borussia Dortmund, although they defeated 2-1 Hannover over the weekend. Goals were scored by defenders Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez.
It is Gomez who is the real leader of the Bavarian team: the 26-year-old forward has already scored ten goals in the Champions League, and 23 times in the German league.
