Tseyi Agharaye
Madrid, Spurs Set for Last Eight
The second leg of the last 16 Uefa Champions league begins today with Tottenham Hotspur taking on current Bundesliga leader, Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany.
Defending champions, Real Madrid of Spain will also lock horns with Dutch giant, Ajax Amerstadam at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid for a place in the quarter final.
In the same vein, Manchester United will be making effort to upset Paris Saint German when both teams clash at the Parc des princes on Wednesday night in Paris. Manchester United lost the first leg two nil with goals from Presnel Kimpempe and Kylian Mbappe.
Also on Wednesday night, FC Porto plays host to Italy’s AS Roma in Portugal for the second leg with the Italian side leading 2-1 from the first leg.
All the matches promise to be exciting as the 2019 Uefa Champions league enters the knockout stage.
Kaftan Post present a preview of this week matches beginning with the Tottenham vs Dortmund clash.
Dortmund vs Tottenham Hotspur
On Tuesday, Dortmund will make attempt to recover from a three-goal deficit it suffered against Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their encounter. Dortmund, who is going through a dip in form would want to start the match firing from all cylinders at Signal Iduma Park.
With just one win in four games, Tottenham’s form has not been encouraging. Despite the return of top scorer, Harry Kane, who was sidelined for the first leg. Also, still on the sideline for Tottenham are Dele Ali, Eric Dier and Harry Winks.
With Dortmund is still in the title race after dropping vital points in recent week, Tottenham on the other hand is struggling to keep its top four status after a poor run of form that has seen them lose ground to Man City and Liverpool for the English premier league title. A win for either side would surely lift the mood of the fans at both clubs.
Unfortunately, Dortmund will miss the presence of Polish defender, Lukasz Piszczek and Christian Pulisic who recently signed for Chelsea.
In European cup history, teams have lost 3-0 in the first-leg away and turned it around only in just seven out of 130 times (5.38%). The German side has, however, won half of the 16 UEFA ties where they lost the first-leg on the road.
At the mighty mighty Signal Iduna Park, it seems as though nothing is impossible. Dortmund has already won with a scoreline that would secure at least extra-time on four occasions this season with two of them coming in the Champions League (CL), against Monaco and Atletico Madrid.
Tottenham is firmly in the driving seat though, and stand an excellent chance of reaching the CL quarter-finals for only the second time ever. Mauricio Pochettino’s men make their way to Dortmund after winning the first-leg 3-0 – importantly conceding no ‘away’.
Encouragingly for the travelling contingent, the club’s 3-0 loss to the German club in 2016 is the sole blot across Tottenham’s last five visits to Germany (W2, D2, L1). Furthermore, they remain the best away side so far in the Premier League for this season (W11, L4).
They have conceded three goals or more in just one away match this season, and have not yet lost by more than a two-goal margin (in all competitions). Goals could be expected though, as they have conceded in five straight road trips.
Players to watch: Dortmund’s talisman, MVP Marco Reus, is back and has six goals in his last nine competitive matches.
Tottenham’s own ace in the pack, Harry Kane, has three goals in three matches against Dortmund.
Stat Attack
Dortmund have won just one of their last seven matches in the knockout stages of UEFA competitions.
All five Head to Head have featured three goals or more.
Including the reverse fixture, Dortmund are yet to be behind at half-time in this season’s CL – Tottenham have not yet been in the lead.
Tottenham may have just done the damage in the first leg with a three-nil victory, and it is surely a tough task for Dortmund who must score three unrepelled goals to draw level. Tottenham with Harry Kane’s return might just snick a goal or two and it would make it an impossible task for Dortmund to recover from the deficit they suffered during the first leg. Signal Iduna Park has its magic but we feel this time round, they might just come short.
Real Madrid vs Ajax Amsterdam
It has been a season full of challenges for the Defending champion. Since Zizu and Ronaldo left last June, Real Madrid has not really hit the expected heights that was set at the beginning of the season. A sacked coach, back to back El Classico defeat, an embarrassing defeat at Camp Nou and also a Super star in Gareth Bale misfiring, it has been a season of ups and down for the Galácticos.
Ajax, on the other hand, is having an excellent season. Qualifying from a group that had Bayern, Benfica and AEK Athens, Ajax is definitely upsetting the odds by being where it is at the moment. They played so well in the first leg that they got pundit applauding their performance only to come short with a 90 minutes goal scored by Marco Asensio.
After a 2-1 first leg success in Amsterdam, Real Madrid are closing in on a ninth straight Champions League (CL) quarter final. The omens are good for Madrid as they have won their last five home matches against Dutch opposition, although the last side to beat them at the Santiago Bernabéu was Ajax in 1995.
Despite this, the pressure is on manager Santiago Solari as his side have lost their previous three home games across all competitions for the first time under his stewardship. They conceded six goals in those three matches, with five of those goals coming in the second half.
Ajax put in a valiant display in the first leg and were unlucky to lose. Yet, they now remain without a win in their last seven CL knockout fixtures (D2, L5). However, since that defeat to Madrid, the visitors have won their previous three matches across all competitions, conceding just one goal and scoring an impressive 13.
Ajax have won just four of their previous 13 matches against Madrid (W4, D1, L8), losing all of the previous seven Head to Head matches, and scoring one goal or less.
Players to watch: Karim Benzema has four goals and two assists in this season’s CL, including a goal against Ajax in the first leg.
Hakim Ziyech’s first goal in this season’s CL came against Madrid in the first leg, although he has had 14 attempts on goal in the competition – the third highest of any player.
Stat attack:
Madrid have averaged nine corners per game in the CL so far.
Madrid have scored nine goals in their previous three matches at home to Ajax, conceding only one.
Ajax have averaged 2.57 yellow cards per game in CL so far.
Nine of Ajax’s last ten competitive games have seen over 2.5 goals, while the same is true in nine of Madrid’s last 11.
Despite Madrid poor form, they always find a way to turn up in the Champions league. Some might say those days are gone but I still believe Madrid just has what it takes to see this one over the line. Ajax are young and vibrant side and can hurt any team on their day but the role of experience cannot be underestimated and Madrid have that in abundant.
It has been a very good season for Ajax but with the caliber of players that Madrid will parade in this very encounter, Ajax is unlikely to spring any surprises.
Paris Saint Germaine Vs Manchester United
PSG stands a good chance to proceed having accomplished 2-0 win in the first leg. But with Manchester United on a run of eight successive away wins, this tie may not be over yet!
However, PSG has scored at least three times in four of its last five home games (and won by a margin of over 2.5 goals) across all competitions. In that same group of games, PSG has scored a total of 16 times, with over half (nine) of those goals arriving in the 60th minute or beyond.
This decade alone, PSG has lost a home CL match by a two-goal margin just once, doing so back in April 2015. Like Barcelona did on that occasion with a 3-1 win, United must score at least three and win by a margin of over 1.5 goals to proceed after 90 minutes.
This decade alone, PSG have lost a home CL match by a two-goal margin just once, doing so back in April 2015. Like Barcelona did on that occasion with a 3-1 win, United must score at least three and win by a margin of over 1.5 goals to proceed after 90 minutes
Since September 2017, United has recorded strong record from CL away fixtures (W4, D1, L2). Given the situation, drawing first blood will likely be crucial in keeping United’s chances alive, especially with the ‘Red Devils’ winning the last three CL away games in which they have done so.
Players to watch:
Each of PSG star Kylian Mbappé’s last three CL goals have arrived in a minute number ending in ‘zero’ – he scored in the 60th minute of the first leg.
Each of PSG star Kylian Mbappé’s last three CL goals have arrived in a minute number ending in ‘zero’ – he scored in the 60th minute of the first leg.
Romelu Lukaku scored a brace for United on his last away day, scoring in each half.
Stat attack:
The Parisians’ last ten CL matches at the Parc des Princes have each produced over 2.5 match goals.
Three of PSG’s last four CL home fixtures have seen them score the second goal of the match and then concede goal three.
Each of United’s last three CL away matches have produced exactly three total match goals, with six of the last seven goals across those games arriving in the second half.
FC Porto vs As Roma
With three Champions League (CL) wins in three at home, and victories in 13 of their last 20 CL home games (W13, D3, L4), Porto know this tie is far from over, and a 1-0 win will be enough to see Porto through to the next stage of the championship.
Porto’s first-leg loss ended a five-match winning streak in this year’s CL, and extended its winless run in CL knockout matches to six games (D1, L5).
History is against them too as Porto has won only four of its 20 European ties in which they have lost the first leg away.
Roma travels to Portugal after a heavy loss over the weekend, having gone down 3-0 to Lazio in the Rome derby. Nonetheless, it remains its lone loss in six competitive games (W4, D1, L1). Its away form, with five losses in their last ten competitive road trips (W3, D2, L5), remains a cause for concern though.
CL form is not that different from its league record, with Roma losing seven of its last 15 games (W8, L7), and winning just once in the last eight CL away days (W1, D1, L6). That said, Roma has won 26 of the 30 European ties in which it has won the home first leg.
Players to watch:
Tiquinho Soares (POR) has six goals and an assist (from the first leg) in his last ten competitive games.
Edin Džeko (ROM) will look to add to his three goals and two assists in his last five competitive games.
Stat attack:
Across all competitions, Porto have scored first in four of their last five games.
Seven of Roma’s last nine games have seen both teams score.
While there has not been a goalless CL home draw for Porto since December 2011, nine of Roma’s last ten CL games have produced over 2.5 match goals.
