The UEFA Champions League continues this week with the second leg of four more 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 Barcelona vs Manchester City on the four main Sportsnet channels and Borussia Dortmund vs Juventus on Sportsnet World. Coverage starts at 3:30 pm ET. || Sportsnet World NOW || Broadcast schedule
FC Barcelona vs Manchester City
Gerry Dobson, Sportsnet: All of a sudden things have become very complicated for Manchester City. Their surprising loss to lowly Burnley on the weekend, combined with wins by both Arsenal and Manchester United, has dragged Blues into an unexpected battle for a top four spot. City can forget about the title, but now they have other worries. This Jekyll and Hyde team is confounding to watch from week to week. Manager Manuel Pellegrini is on the hot seat, and now an even odds bet to be replaced in the summer.
Additionally, they’re likely to get bounced from the Champions League on Wednesday afternoon. Three times they’ve faced Barcelona in the past 12 months. Three times they’ve lost. Three times they’ve had a man sent off. Like most teams they’ve had trouble dealing with the speed of the Barcelona attack and as a result they’ve conceded way too many fouls, and been issued too many cards—both yellow and red.
Meanwhile Barcelona has some distractions, too. All this week they’ll have one eye on the looming El Clasico at the Camp Nou with rivals Real Madrid this coming weekend. It’s a battle for first place in La Liga with Real Madrid just a single point behind. Barca is playing awfully well, however. Lionel Messi scored twice on the weekend to bring his season total to a whopping 43.
It’s hard to see Manchester City turning this thing around, and yet it wouldn’t be a total surprise given that the English champions tend to come with the odd shocker, both good and bad.
Prediction: Barcelona wins 2-1 to advance.
Borussia Dortmund vs Juventus
Jamie Doyle, Sportsnet magazine: Time was Borussia Dortmund couldn’t buy a win in the Bundesliga, the 2012 German champions reduced to bottom spot in the table and facing a full-on crisis. The Champions League, however, was a happy hunting ground for Jurgen Klopp’s men. As they staggered through seven winless games in Germany, Dortmund shot to top spot of their group, opening with four successive victories.
Times have changed. Their domestic vastly improved (they’re back in the top half of the Bundesliga table), Dortmund’s Champions League efforts have fallen short (they’re winless in their past three European fixtures).
But there’s still time for BVB to balance their efforts, as the narrow away loss in the first leg against Juventus suggests. The 2013-14 (and likely 2014-15) Italian champions only just snuck by Dortmund, conceding a crucial away goal in the 2-1 win, opening the door for the Germans to overturn the deficit, with the howling atmosphere of the Westfalionstadion at their backs.
For Juventus, it’s a question of taking their chances. They squandered several in the opener, keeping Dortmund in a game that could have been killed off. That’s made tougher with an injury list that strikes playmaking magician Andrea Pirlo off the teamsheet.
In the first leg, each team showed the propensity to make ugly defensive mistakes and the potency to launch devastating counter attacks. Expect more of the same this time around. Expect an evenly matched affair. Expect chances to arise, and chances to go wasted. Expect the opportunities Juventus didn’t take in the first leg to haunt them. Most importantly, in a painfully unpredictable season, Dortmund needs this win more than Italian-champions-to-be; expect them to play like it.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund wins 2-1 (Dortmund wins on penalties to advance).
Tuesday programming alert: Watch AS Monaco vs Arsenal on the four main Sportsnet channels and Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen on Sportsnet World. Coverage starts at 3:30 pm ET. || Sportsnet World NOW || Broadcast schedule
AS Monaco vs Arsenal
James Sharman, Sportsnet: Let’s quickly recap the first leg—Arsenal was dreadful. Olivier Giroud could have scored a relatively straightforward hat trick, but he didn’t. Mesut Ozil was on the field; I know this because I checked the official line-up after the match. So he was on the field, but I didn’t see him. Per Mertesacker resembled Titus Bramble on a really bad day. Oh, and Dimitar Berbatov scored on what was essentially a breakaway. Not a good night for the Gunners in a 3-1 loss.
As is usually the case after a calamitous Arsenal performance, we were offered obituary after obituary on how Arsene Wenger’s term as head honcho needs to end. Burn it to the ground they cried, the fans deserve more. Then we remember that Arsenal has a knack for responding to adversity. The Gunners have won four straight since that nightmare, including an FA Cup win over Manchester United, and aside from the Monaco loss have won 11 of 12.
Now, Monaco were brilliant at the Emirates, but they are still an inconsistent unit which has struggled in Ligue 1 this season, although in fairness they are making a good late run. Still, I’ve seen Arsenal win these games before, and as unscientific, not to mention unprofessional as it sounds, my gut tells me that the Gooner faithful have another round to agonize over before their world collapses again.
Prediction: Arsenal wins 3-0 to advance
Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen
Dan Riccio, Sportsnet 590 The FAN: Bayer Leverkusen had never won a round-of 16-match in the Champions League prior to their first leg victory over Atletico. That 1-0 win seems to have inspired this German side. Since then, they are a perfect 4-0-0, outscoring their opponents 10-0.
Diego Simeone’s side is going in the opposite direction. Since beating Real Madrid in La Liga, they are 1-3-2. They’ve scored four, allowed four, and gone scoreless four times. Not a recipe for success. A spot in the final eight may get Los Colchoneros back on the right track, but I just feel their opponents’ fine form of late may be too much to overcome.
As the old saying goes, there is a first time for everything. A spot in the final eight for Leverkusen awaits.
Prediction: Atletico Madrid wins 2-1 (Bayer Leverkusen advances on away goals)
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