Champions League Quarterfinals Race: The second leg of the UEFA Champions League is approaching and all four English clubs are hoping for something extraordinary to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals. The four teams, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool are among the bests in the Premier League. However, all four teams have either lost or drawn in the first leg of the Champions League against their opponents. Follow Champions League Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Champions League Quarterfinals Race: D-day for Premier League clubs, Liverpool, Man City chase UCL QF spot – Follow LIVE
English Premier League is considered to be the best league in the world by many. Hence, high expectations from the top teams in the league are natural. However, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Liverpool have to overcome goal deficits and Manchester City needs to start back to square one with their 1st leg results being a draw. The Champions League no more has the away goal rule, so goals scored on away matches will have no extra value. This means that having more goals against their opponents on aggregate will be the main target.
Round of 16 deciders. Showtime 🔜#UCL pic.twitter.com/oeNOB34A7s
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 6, 2023
Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Manchester City:
Liverpool is in the worst situation among the four teams as they ended their 1st leg against Real Madrid with a 2-5 loss at home. They will need to win the 2nd leg with at least a difference of 4 goals as they travel to Santiago Bernabeu. Liverpool is not having the best season in the Premier League, but they can still give a fair fight to the Spanish giants. Especially after their huge 7-0 win against Manchester United who have been performing quite well in the English League. On the other hand, Real Madrid has always been a force to reckon with in the Champions League, but they have been having an extremely poor season in the Spanish league.
Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 against AC Milan in the 1st leg at San Siro Stadium. As they welcome the Italian side home, they will need to win with at least a difference of 2 goals. The Spurs have been in a good form as they currently occupy the 4th position in the Premier League table. However, they lost two of their last matches. This includes one FA Cup match, which saw them knocked out of the competition. AC Milan is similarly, placed at the 5th position in the Serie A table, but lost their last league match against the 12th place Fiorentina.
Champions League Quarterfinals Race: D-day for Premier League clubs, Liverpool, Man City chase UCL QF spot – Follow LIVE
Chelsea similar to Spurs lost 1-0 against Borussia Dortmund in the 1st leg at Signal Iduna Park. Similarly, as Chelsea welcomes the German side at home, Stamford Bridge in the 2nd leg, they will need to win with a difference of 2 goals at minimum. Chelsea are having a nightmare season under their new coach Graham potter and this match could be a decider on the coach’s fate at the club.
On the other hand, Dortmund are sitting in the 2nd position in Bundesliga only because they have less goal difference. They have earned 49 points same as Bayern Munich after playing 23 matches. Additionally, they haven’t lost any matches since club football resumed after the World Cup with 11 straight wins throughout all competitions.
Among the four, Manchester City is the only team who managed to get away with a 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig at Red Bull Arena. In the 2nd leg, City welcomes the german side to their home, Etihad Stadium. City will now have to start fresh and win with at least 1 goal difference.
Additionally, Manchester City is the only team that has the upper edge in the coming game where RB Leipzig will be the underdogs. RB Leipzig are sitting at the 4th position in the Bundesliga table with extremely inconsistent results throughout all competitions. Whereas, City are placed at the 2nd position in the Premier League table with only a 5-point difference from the 1st placed Arsenal.