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Tune in to the first day of the UEFA Champions League Quarter Finals second leg matches this week. Borussia Dortmund will make their last stand against FC Barcelona, while Aston Villa attempts to bounce back from their previous lackluster performance against PSG in the first leg.
As always, anything can happen, so be sure to check out our picks for Tuesday’s games and decide whether our choices are something you want to fade or follow!
Since their spanking in the 4-0 loss to Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League, the Die Schwarzgelben German squad finessed an impressive 2-2 result to rivals Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last weekend.
Dortmund currently sits at 8th place in the Bundesliga and 6 points behind 4th place RB Leipzig, meaning if they do not get a 5-0 win today, they will be knocked out of the Champions League today and next season. While it’s highly unlikely the beloved Yellow and Blacks will be able to scrap out 4+ goals against the mighty Barcelona, they have a home-field advantage, leading to an exciting do-or-die scenario at Signal Iduna Park.
Barcelona are the team to beat, and with a crushing 4-0 lead over Dortmund last week in the first leg, it seems set in stone that they will head to the Champions League Semi-Finals. While the Catalan side struggled to find the back of the net last weekend in La Liga against Leganes, they still scraped out a 1-0 win off a lucky own goal.
If Barcelona rests Eric Balde (injury knock on the weekend), Dortmund could expose their left side more than usual. However, Barca has plenty of solid replacements off the bench, with their main squad still taking the starting lineup.
Both Barca’s Raphinha (12 goals) and Robert Lewandowski (11 goals) lead the Champions League in scoring (Raphinha leads in assists as well), and while Dortmund’s Serhou Guirrasy holds the 3rd highest goal-scoring spot with 10 goals, we fully expect the Brazilian winger Raphinha to net at least 1+ goals in this one, allowing FC Barcelona to progress to the UCL Semi-Finals.
Aston Villa heads to their home stadium, Villa Park, to see out their second-leg match against a dominant Paris Saint-Germain side with a 3-1 goal deficit. While it won’t be easy for them to net two unanswered against an offensively strong PSG squad, doing so could push this game to extra time against the Ligue 1 leaders.
Villa sits in 7th place with 54 points on the table (tied with Chelsea), dishing out a complete spanking to Southampton in the EPL last weekend with a 3-0 result with 25 shots, 10 on target, showcasing they are capable of outshining their opponents offensively. However, Villa’s UCL goal-scoring leader is only Morgan Rogers with 4 goals (2 assists), while other players such as Ollie Watkins and Youri Teilemans recorded 4 and 3 assists thus far.
PSG is an extremely scary side, with quick pace on both attacking flanks and hungry young talent. While PSG holds a comfortable lead in Ligue 1 (74 points) in front of 2nd place AS Monaco (53 points), they did not play any league games over the weekend, and their last game was the victory in the first leg over Aston Villa in the Champions League.
Ousmane Dembele has 7 goals in the competition, with teammates Bradley Barcola, Nuno Mendes, and Desire Doue all with 3 goals a piece. Achraf Hakimi (5 assists), Fabian Ruiz (4 assists) and Bradley Barcola (3 assists) are all capable of setting up their teammates for goals.
Aston Villa may take home-field advantage in this one, but asking for 2+ goals while keeping a clean sheet is a tall order against the dominant Paresians. Even if Villa were to score, PSG will likely answer with a goal at the very least, and we fully expect Ousmane Dembele to continue his scoring run and bounce back from a scoreless game in the first leg with at least 1+ goals in this matchup.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.