The UEFA Champions League continues this week with the second leg of four round-of-16 matches.
Sportsnet’s panel of soccer writers and broadcasters preview this week’s matches and offer their predictions.
Wednesday programming alert: Watch Chelsea vs Paris Saint-Germain on the four main Sportsnet channels at 3:30 pm ET and Bayern Munich vs Shakhtar Donetsk on Sportsnet World at 3:30 pm ET. || Sportsnet World NOW || Broadcast schedule
Chelsea vs Paris Saint-Germain
Gerry Dobson, Sportsnet: Chelsea is in a good place heading into this one for a number of reasons. They’re cruising in the league with a five-point lead on Manchester City and a game in hand. They had this past weekend off due to the FA Cup and are well rested. Finally, they have the crucial away goal from the first leg thanks to Branislav Ivanovic who seems to have a habit of scoring a big goal when his team needs one. Oh yes, and they’re playing at Stamford Bridge where they’re nearly, and I say nearly, unbeatable.
PSG are brimming with confidence, however. They were the better team in the first leg and if not for the acrobatics of Chelsea goalkeeper Thibault Courtois, they would have won the game outright. They’re finding their form in the league as well having dispatched Lens on the weekend and find themselves a single point out of the lead. Still, PSG will have to find a way to score, which might just play into Jose Mourinho’s hands. The longer this game goes without a PSG goal, the more likely they are to open it up and you know what that means. Chelsea will counter and Ivanovic will be licking his chops at another chance to bust forward and put the tie away.
Prediction: Chelsea wins 2-1
Bayern Munich vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Jamie Doyle, Sportsnet magazine: I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t see a nil-nil draw coming in the first leg. Given the terrible political distractions around Shakhtar and the fact that the team was coming out straight out of a winter, I figured they’d struggle. They didn’t. Shakhtar held Bayern to only a handful of chances—a feat on its own, given Bayern’s talent—none of which the Germans could take. The 2013 champions left Ukraine without a win or even an away goal. Both sides said after the match that they were satisfied with their performance, but we know only one will have meant it. The final analysis: Well done Shakhtar.
Except it won’t matter. Yes, there are reasons for Shakhtar to have hope. Primarily, they are unburdened by expectation, even after the first leg result. The pressure is all on Bayern—and the Bayern team tasked with handling that pressure has some crucial holes in it. They’ll have to do without defensive midfielders Javi Martinez (injury) and Xabi Alsonso (suspended), and the injured Thiago and Philip Lahm, leaving Die Roten with relatively few options for ball-winners to stop Shakhtar’s creative Brazilian attackers.
But it won’t be enough to tip the balance. The first leg was a story of Shakhtar stopping Bayern, with Bayern never really being worked to stop Shakhtar. The loss of Alonso shouldn’t be enough to open up enough attacking options for the Ukrainians to cripple Bayern. Meanwhile, Bayern will pour the pressure on even harder than in the first leg. Alonso’s passing skills are gone, sure, leaving Munich with (only?) the creative talents of (deep breath): Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Sebastian Rode (exhale). The upshot: Bayern have it covered. Actually, that’s probably a safe way to approach any problem Bayern face. With the squad they have, Bayern have got just about anything covered.
Prediction: Bayern Munich wins 2-0
Real Madrid vs Schalke
James Sharman, Sportsnet: With a comfortable 2-0 lead, Real Madrid shouldn’t be feeling too much pressure ahead of its second leg encounter with Schalke. But this is Real, and after a recent malaise there is plenty of pressure, with daggers being cast from near and far. A loss to Bilbao on the weekend saw Real relinquish its lead in La Liga. In fact, including that crushing 4-0 derby loss to Atletico earlier this year, los blancos have won only three of its last six matches.
Cue talk of crisis. Odd stats have been published by think tanks, such as the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo has not scored from his last 50 odd free kicks. There’s even been a (clearly scientific) poll that says 30 percent of Real fans would drop Ronaldo altogether from the team! Gareth Bale is goal-less in eight games and remains at odds with the fans. It’s all falling apart right? No. It’s just a funk.
Luka Modric will make his return against Schalke. He’s been out since November and might well be the glue this team needs. All will be good.
And it’s not as if Schalke will visit the Bernebeu full of confidence. The weekend’s huge win against Hoffenheim masks the club’s own little tail spin, with one victory in its last four games, and talk that Roberto Di Matteo might be under the gun.
Prediction: Real Madrid wins 2-0
Porto vs Basel
Dan Riccio, Sportsnet 590 The FAN: The Portuguese side is dealing with a bit of bad news, as striker Jackson Martinez will not platy in this crucial tie after getting injured on the weekend. That means Porto will have to call on Cristian Tello to do the damage. Tello has been on fire scoring four times in his last two games, both resulting in Porto wins.
Basel is just as hot, winning each of their last three, and getting stronger in defence with Fabian Schar returning from suspension. Advancing for Basel would be historic, as they haven’t reached the final eight since 1974. The teams are tightly matched, and with Porto nearly unbeatable at home this season, they have the upper hand.
Prediction: Porto wins 1-0