Want drama? The Champions League has it in spades for the next couple of days.
Can Real Madrid overturn a 2-0 deficit at home against Wolfsburg? Which club will emerge from a 2-2 deadlock between Paris Saint-German and Manchester City? Can Barcelona and Bayern Munich cash in on slender one-goal advantages against Atletico Madrid and Benfica to reach the semis?
The race for Europe’s biggest prize is air-tight, and the next 48 hours will go a long way towards sorting it out.
Manchester City vs. PSG (Today, FOX Sports 1, 2:30 p.m. ET) — City brought two road goals back from Paris from last week’s 2-2 draw, but French international Samir Nasri is warning his teammates to expect a better effort from the French champions this time around.
“It’s going to be a dangerous game,” Nasri, who is not in City’s Champions League squad, told the Manchester Evening News. “We have the advantage, but I know Paris, and the way they played against us, I think they were on an off day. They made a lot of mistakes technically, that’s not the way they play.”
City’s talisman, Vincent Kompany, will miss the match with a calf injury. That will put even more pressure on a back four that will be facing Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a PSG side that needs to score goals.
PSG’s defense will be a bit makeshift as well, with David Luiz and Blaise Matuidi suspended for this match. Marco Verrati is expected to be available, however.
Real Madrid vs. Wolfsburg (Today, FOX Sports 2, 2:30 p.m. ET) — It’s been an up-and-down time for new Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane in recent weeks. Six straight wins in La Liga, including one at Barcelona, have pulled the side back in the title race.
But last week’s dreadful 2-0 loss at Wolfsburg leaves them with plenty to do today if they want to make the semifinals.
“Anything is possible in football,” Zidane told reporters. “We were thirteen points behind Barcelona and now it’s four. This club has produced extraordinary comebacks before, here at the Bernabeu.
“We know we’ve got a better chance if we keep a clean sheet but more than anything we’ve just got to play our game. It’s going to be an intense game, we’re going to fight, we’re going to run but most important is playing football.”
Wolfsburg will be under pressure early, but if it can keep Madrid off the scoreboard early, that pressure will shift to the home side as the match progresses.
Julian Draxler was preaching level-headedness after the result last week, and the Germans will need it today.
“We are enjoying the moment,” Draxler said after the match last week. “We put in a superb performance, despite our recent performances. We were prolific in front of goal. But we cannot afford to get complacent and (think we) are already through to the semifinals.”
Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona (Wednesday, FOX Sports 1, 2:30 p.m. ET) — Barcelona will try to shake off its poor domestic form and book a place in the semifinal tomorrow against a familiar foe.
The reigning European champions have taken only one point in their last three La Liga matches, including a 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad on Saturday.
“These type of games can weigh on you like a stone,” Barca manager Luis Enrique said. “But all is still to play for. I want to see how we can improve; not to leave here crying but to come out of thinking about what each one can do for the team. The objective is to win (at the Calderon), but it will be difficult.”
Atletico are just three points behind Barcelona in La Liga, but are a goal behind them heading into the second leg of this tie.
Diego Simeone’s squad rallied to beat Espanyol, 3-1, over the weekend — a result that has Koke excited for his team’s chances to overturn its deficit tomorrow.
“It was a very important victory for Wednesday, the Calderon will be buzzing,” he told Canal Plus. “I’m really happy with the result and for the work the team did. We began with a big setback but we knew how to respond, we went forward and managed to put pressure on Barcelona.
“We are up for it. The other day in Barcelona we couldn’t win due to circumstances but we believe we can turn it around.”
Benfica vs. Bayern Munich (Wednesday, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports affiliates, 2:30 p.m. ET) — Finally, Bayern Munich visits Portugal in its quest to punctuate manager Pep Guardiola’s tenure with the club with a Champions League trophy.
A road goal from the German champions would require Benfica to score three times to advance, so keeping a clean sheet is job No. 1 for the home side.
“The game against Benfica will be like a war,” Bayern defender Juan Bernat told TZ. “Benfica will be hugely motivated and try to take advantage of the home advantage. It will be a great game, I have no doubt about that.
“I hope that we can score an important away goal. That would make things very difficult for them.
