Paris:The UEFA Champions League round of 16 matches will start today and arguably the most anticipated of them all is Real Madrid vs Paris Saint Germain. All eyes will be on Lionel Messi, as the favorite rival from his Barcelona days will be visiting him in Prac the Princes.
Sergio Ramos, the former Real captain, will not be clashing against his beloved club due to his calf injury. Meanwhile, the ‘Los Blancos’ coach Carlo Ancelotti is flying to Paris without any worrisome injuries.
Real Madrid’s possible starting lineup will probably consist of Thibaut Courtois between the sticks with a solid back four of Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, and Ferland Mendy who was recently declared fit to play.
For the midfield, Carlo’s favorite trio of Luka Modric, Carlos Casemiro, and Tony Kroos might feature.
The attack will have their dangerous duo of Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema with the goal scorer of their last match Marco Asensio.
Paris Saint Germain’s possible starting lineup will have Gianluigi Donnarumma as the goalkeeper with former Real Madrid player Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Personal Kimpembe, and Nuno Mendes.
The midfield will have Marco Verratti, Idrissa Gueye, and Gini Wijnaldum.
Their formidable attack will probably consist of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Angel Di Maria trio as Neymar might still not be a match fit.
In another encounter of the night, the Austrian Bundesliga champion RB Salzburg will be hosting Bayern Munich in the Red Bull Arena Salzburg.
Bayern is the favorite to emerge victorious from this match. However, Salzburg who is also the first Austrian team to come this far in the Champions League is capable of orchestrating an upset.
Salzburg has a long injury list that includes their in-form forward Benjamin Sesko. Meanwhile, Bayern will have to start without their Marquee goalie Manuel Neuer.
Salzburg’s possible lineup will have Philipp Kohn on the goal line with Rasmus Kristensen, Jerome Onguene, and Maximilian Wober in the defense.
The likes of Andreas Ulmer, Luka Sucic, Mohamed Camara, and Nicolas Seewald will be their midfield.
Brendon Aaronson, Adeyemi, Noah Okafor will be attacking the Bayern defense.
Bayern’s possible lineup will have Sven Ulreich securing the goal while Benjamin Pavard, Niklas Sule, Dayot Upamecano, and Lucas Hernandez defends.
Joshua Kimmich, Corentin Tolisso; Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller with Leroy Sane will crowd the midfield with Robert Lewandowski as their sole striker.
The same matchday will see, Portuguese team Sporting CP hosting Manchester City for the round of 16 fixtures. The City coach Pep Guardiola will be looking to win this fixture without many complications.
The new Manchester City forward Jack Grealish might not feature in this match due to injury along with Kyle Walker who is suspended.
Sporting CP’s probable starting line-up is set to be Antonio Adan as the goalkeeper with Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastian Coates, Zouhair Feddal to support the backline.
Pedro Porro, Matheus Nunes, João Palhinha with Matheus Reis in the midfield.
Pablo Sarabia, Paulinho, Pedro Goncalves are in the attacking front.
Manchester City will possibly start with Ederson in goal as John Stones, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, and Joao Cancelo secure the backline.
Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne will be in the midfield. Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, and Raheem Sterling might be Pep’s choice.
