Three of the top teams in the UEFA Champions League are coming into full action in the first matches of the last 16. The headline round includes Real Madrid versus Paris Saint-Germain, which allows audiences the privilege to watch Lionel Messi go against the exact team he utterly humiliated when he was at Barcelona in La Liga.
Yet, if the match proves anything beyond his already obvious capabilities, as stated by English Language Asian betting news, it’s his weakness when scoring penalty spots. The Argentine captain saw his latest attempted saved in a 1-0 win during the first leg of round 16.
This marked the 30th time he failed to score from a close 12 yards during the course of his career. Furthermore, he has failed to convert the most amount of penalties in the history of the Champions League on regulation time.
Now, Messi is leading the French team to their first title in the Champions League for an outstanding front three that will also see the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Each of these players is expected to go in unison, while Madrid is projected, to begin with, Karim Benzema, a powerful attacker that is currently in recovery from an injury to the hamstring.
The other match pits Manchester City, the finalist who was defeated last season although a key contender this year, facing Sporting, the team from Portugal, in what could become a mismatch.
City is currently without Kyle Walker, their right-back starter, due to his suspension, along with injured Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish. However, they are in great shape to play against a team that hasn’t managed to reach this level of competition since the late 2000’s, as reported by English Language Asian betting news.
Manchester United will seek to end its winless streak by defeating Brighton at Old Trafford to land in the top 4 of the Premier League. Unfortunately, United won’t be able to hold the lead due to being held back by Southampton and Burnley in draw matches last week.
However, the team did manage to defeat Middlesbrough during the FA Cup and lost in a penalty shootout. This places United in 5th place, just a single point behind West Ham along with a 5 goal difference. Brighton is currently in 9th, trailing United by 7 points.
Chelsea has lost pace in their top position of the Premier League after 2 defeats, and 5 draws in the past 2 months. But the side of Thomas Tuchel has continued to win consistently. The Blues claimed the FIFA Club World Cup for the very first time in their history. Goals have proven a major challenge for the holders of the Champions League.
Commentators have projected that if Tuchel can successfully figure out the best out of Romelu Lukaku, the team will prove a threat once more.
Fans of LOSC will be thankful to know that their team has managed to find some stability after a rough start to title defending. They need Jonathon David at his best to increase their chances.
