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On Wednesday, the UEFA Champions League quarter-final battles continue. Today, two more matches will be played in European stadiums.
In Madrid, "Real" will seek revenge against last season's torturer, Dortmund's "Borussia", while at the "Parc des Princes" stadium, Paris Saint-Germain will try to clarify their mutual relationship with London's Chelsea.
Madrid "Real" - Dortmund "Borussia" At the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, Madrid's "Real" fans will want revenge for last season, when Dortmund's "Borussia" eliminated the "whites" from the semi-finals. The "yellow-blacks" team, who suffered painful losses, were lucky that the second leg will take place in their fortress.
In the Champions League Round of 16, Real's players also fought against a German team - Schalke from Gelsenkirchen. The "Royal" club crushed their opponents 6-1 in the first leg, and advanced to the next stage with an aggregate score of 9-2. This time it was not easy for "Borussia" team in this stage of the tournament, and after a tough battle with Zenit from St. Petersburg, Jurgen Klopp's players advanced with a 5-4 aggregate score.
Carlo Ancelotti's unbeaten team played 31 consecutive matches, but their successful performances ended in the Spanish "Primera" championship. Despite the huge 5-0 victory against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, the "whites" suffered a loss in "El Clasico" and narrowly lost away to Sevilla. However, a major part of the players are filled with revenge against Dortmund's eleven.
In their recent matches, "Borussia" showed character and after a tough battle, they defeated Stuttgart 3-2 in the Bundesliga. The standout was Marco Reus, scoring a "hat-trick". Interestingly, the Champions League finalists with Schalke, whom Real club dominated in the Champions League, recently drew, which will give the Spanish capital team more confidence.
At home, we definitely won't see Alvaro Arbeloa, Sami Khedira, Jese Rodriguez, and Marcelo, but C.Ancelotti has replacements for the injured players. Meanwhile, J. Klopp has even bigger problems and in Madrid, Neven Subotic, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Marcel Schmelzer, Sven Bender, Ilkay Gundogan, and suspended Robert Lewandowski, who scored four goals against Diego Lopez last season, won't play.
Paris Saint-Germain - London Chelsea Between these teams awaits perhaps the most interesting and unpredictable match, where not even the most famous football experts dare to predict the outcome. The first clash will be held in Paris, where Saint-Germain will receive support from the fans, but Chelsea traveled to France to fight for victory.
In the 2011 Champions League, the champions fought against Istanbul's Galatasaray in the Round of 16 this season. The first meeting ended in a 1-1 draw, but in the second match, the "blues" showed dominance by beating the Turks 2-0 and advanced to the quarter-finals. In the Round of 16, PSG resolved formalities in the first match and continued their journey in the top European tournament with a 6-1 aggregate score.
In the French Ligue 1 championship, Laurent Blanco's army has no equals and confidently leads in the first place. In their recent matches, PSG had a tough time against Nice, but only on February 9th they last lost points when they drew with Monaco.
Chelsea's players didn't travel to Paris in very good spirits. Over the weekend, the "aristocrats" unexpectedly lost by a narrow margin to London's "Crystal Palace", although in the previous round they humiliated Arsenal with a 6-0 victory.
Jose Mourinho is worried about Ashley Cole and Samuel Eto'o, who are still unsure if they can help the team, but we will definitely not see young defender Marco van Ginkel in the "blues" ranks. PSG in this match will have to face without right-back Gregory van der Wiel and forward Jeremy Menez.
