The wait is over - UEFA Champions League battles return to the screens of football fans. Today marks the start of the 2017-18 season quarter-final matches, which promise huge intrigue and top-level football.
Four teams will kick off the action - Turin's "Juventus" will host London's "Tottenham", while "Basel" will try to stand their ground against last season's tough opponents, "Manchester City". Both matches will start at 21:45 Lithuanian time.
"Juventus" - "Tottenham"
These matches are sure to attract the most fans. Last season's runners-up have the same mission - to help Gianluigi Buffon finally win the Champions League title, but their opponent is very threatening - "Tottenham" left the reigning champions behind in the group stage.
The "Old Lady" started their journey this season in Group D, where they faced strong competition from "Barcelona", Lisbon's "Sporting" and Piraeus' "Olympiacos". "Juventus" faced no easy task here - they finished second, behind Barcelona, and the third-placed Portuguese team was just four points behind them.
In contrast, things went much better for "Tottenham" in Group H, where they had to compete with famous European clubs - Madrid's "Real", Dortmund's "Borussia" and the much weaker APOEL of Nicosia. "Spurs" won five matches in this group, drew once and confidently remained in the first position.
Both clubs are in phenomenal form - "Juventus" has not lost in 16 consecutive matches, while "Tottenham" has avoided defeat in their last 12 encounters.
"Juventus", with 11 consecutive wins, will seek to extend this streak against "Tottenham". The Italian team's attack is currently unstoppable - in the last two matches, they have scored nine goals, but their defense is even more impressive - in the mentioned 16 unbeaten matches, they have conceded just one goal.
On the other hand, "Tottenham" is also in great form - in recent matches, they have defeated "Arsenal" and "Man United", and drawn against "Liverpool". Their most recent victory was against "Arsenal" where Harry Kane, aiming to trouble the Juventus defense, led them to victory.
Neither team was able to avoid player losses before this match, but "Tottenham" seems less concerned, as they will have their optimal lineup. They will only miss Toby Alderweireld, who has been out due to injury for a long time, so Mauricio Pochettino decided to leave the Belgian in England.
On the other hand, "Juventus" has more serious problems - Benedikt Howedes, Blaise Matuidi, Juan Cuadrado, Andrea Barzagli, and one of the team's brightest stars, Paulo Dybala, will definitely be absent.
Predicted starting lineups:
"Juventus": Gianluigi Buffon; Mattia De Sciglio, Mehdi Benatia, Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Sami Khedira, Miralem Pjanic, Rodrigo Bentancur; Douglas Costa, Gonzalo Higuain, Mario Mandzukic.
"Tottenham": Hugo Lloris; Kevin Trippier, Davinson Sanchez, Jan Vertonghen, Ben Davies; Moussa Dembele, Eric Dier; Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Heung-Min Son; Harry Kane.
"Basel" - "Manchester City"
These matches are expected to be overshadowed by the showdown in Turin, but there should be plenty of beautiful moments in Switzerland. Pep Guardiola's team is currently not only in great form but also playing attractive football, so "Basel" fans do not consider their team underdogs in this pair.
The hosts of the match, "Basel," performed excellently in the group stage - in Group A, the Swiss team finished second, only behind the illustrious "Manchester United". Basel notched four wins and two losses in their account - this result left behind CSKA Moscow and winless Benfica from Lisbon.
"Manchester City" had no difficulties in Group F, although they were threatened by Donetsk's "Shakhtar" unexpectedly, leaving behind "Napoli" and "Feyenoord". The "Citizens" won the first five group stage matches, but in the last game, where they had nothing to play for, they had to admit the Ukrainians' superiority.
In the Swiss football championship, "Basel" took a long winter break, but it was certainly not boring - they played five friendly matches, winning and losing twice, and drawing once. The Basel team's footballers returned to league action at the beginning of February, with a first match loss to "Lugano" and a 2-0 victory against "Thun" in the last match.
Manchester City's form this season is simply incredible - in 27 matches in the English Premier League, they have suffered only one defeat and clinched 23 victories. The previous matches of the Swiss team did not set their spirits high either - they defeated "Leicester City" 5-1.
The Manchester club is serious about winning the championship title, as in the last ten matches, they have failed to score more than one goal only once, so Basel will need to demonstrate a quality defensive line, as the "Citizens" will not forgive any mistakes.
In this clash, "Basel" will undoubtedly be without backup goalkeeper Germano Vailati, and doubts remain about the performances of Eder Balanta and Luca Zuffi in the midfield. On the other hand, "Man City" will be without defender Benjamin Mendy and forward Gabriel Jesus.
Predicted starting lineups:
"Basel": Tomas Vaclik; Maurice Lacroix, Marek Suchy, Eder Balanta (?); Michael Lang, Luca Zuffi (?), Taulant Xhaka, Raoul Petretta; Mohamed Elyounoussi, Ricky Van Wolfswinkel, Dimitri Oberlin.
"Manchester City": Ederson; Kyle Walker, Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi, Danilo; Fernandinho, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne; Bernardo Silva, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling.
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