The Estadio Santiago Bernabeu will host yet another great UEFA Champions League encounter when German side, RB Leipzig, pays UEFA Champions League giants, Real Madrid, a visit for the 2nd leg of the round 16 game between the two.

 

With the home team having a 1-0 advantage from the 1st leg, it is expected that Carlo Ancelotti’s side will get the job done and secure a routine qualification to the quarter-finals of the competition but the uncertainty and unpredictability of Leipzig means till the game ends, anything is possible as is the case in the sport of football.

 

Marco Rose and his RB Leipzig team will need to sort out their consistency issues quickly before the game kicks off because if they have any dreams of qualifying ahead of the record winners, they can’t send the form of 2 wins and 2 losses in their last four games to the Bernabeu.

 

Neither can they go to the Bernabeu, where Girona and Sevilla have suffered recently, and play as they did in 2 of their 4 most recent away games against Bayern and Stuttgart when they lost 2-1 and 5-2 respectively.

 

Real Madrid Will Always Want to Win the Champions League

 

There is probably only one club in the world that sees not winning the UEFA Champions League for one season as a failure and that is Real Madrid.

 

Lifting the UEFA Champions is always a target for Real Madrid every season and that is why they have won it more than any other side and have all the records in the competition to their name and this season will not be any different.

 

The bad news for RB Leipzig is that, a round-16 elimination in the UEFA Champions League is just not something that anybody at Real Madrid finds remotely acceptable and that they did not win it the season before means that they are going to have to make it to the fans by going a lot more beyond round 16.

 

There is a reason why the current defending champions of the UEFA Champions League, Man. City and Real Madrid are the only two teams to have a 100% record of wins in the competition this season.

 

Leipzig Can Play Without the Pressure of Favourites

 

The thing RB Leipzig does not have in common with Real Madrid is probably the thing that is going to help them the most when they face them at the Bernabeu and that is the tag of favourites and everything like the pressure that comes with it.

 

RB Leipzig have not been a constant historical presence and winners of the UEFA Champions League. As a matter of fact, it was not until recent years that RB Leipzig became a European-recognized team.

 

The German club find themselves 1 place and 1 point from the UEFA Champions League places in 5th in the German Bundesliga and while that might not be the expectations of their fans, it is not the end of the world for them and it would have been if that were Real Madrid.

 

Real Madrid is just a lot more levels ahead of the German club and that is just a fact, however, fortunately for them, that is the thing that might mean they can play the best of their football at the Bernabeu without that weight on their shoulders.

 

Match Stats

 

• Real Madrid and RB Leipzig have not drawn any of their last 3 matches against each other with the Spanish giants winning 2 and losing 1.

 

• RB Leipzig participated in some high-scoring meetings, with over 2.5 goals scored in their last 5 away matches in the Champions League.

 

• Real Madrid haven't lost any of their last 9 home matches in the Champions League, managing to score at least one goal in all of them.

You can check out the Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig UEFA Champions League game on MSport here:

https://www.msport.com/ng/web/sports/Soccer/International_Clubs_UEFA_Champions_League/Real_Madrid_vs_RB_Leipzig/sr:match:46295673?k=Real%20Madrid?EMA

 

When the two biggest clubs in Manchester, City and United, meet at the Etihad this Sunday, it will be for nothing more than just some 3 potentially title-defining points, glory and bragging rights over a long derby rival.

 

The home team, Manchester City, just a single point behind EPL leaders, Liverpool, will be going into this one with the singular goal of not extending that point difference to anything more than the one it is now.

 

The visitors, Manchester United, still seem to have it all to do for a top-four finish this season in the league 8 points behind 4th-placed Aston Villa, but they will choose to be optimistic and fight for as long as they can to try to make UEFA elite competition next season.

 

Manchester City & Pep are on a “Let’s Destroy United” Pill

 

For some reason unknown to many, Manchester City seem to have put Manchester United on their “no mercy” list, making sure they not only get the best of their city rivals but destroy them while at it.

 

This “anti-United” crusade of Pep Guardiola’s side for the Red Devils becomes very apparent when one looks at the recent results between the two clubs where there have been no draws in the previous 6 clashes, with City winning 5 of them with 4 being by more than 2 goals.

 

While one can argue that the recent head-to-head results alone might not be enough evidence to make such a claim, the fact that of all the other top 6 clubs in the EPL, City have drawn Liverpool, Spurs, and Chelsea (twice), and lost to Arsenal, but for some reason, beat United 3-0.

 

That 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United in the first meeting between the sides this season stands out when one analyses all of Manchester City’s EPL games this season against top six oppositions and that coupled with their H2H, screams “Let’s not spare Man. United”.

 

United’s Strangely Great Away Form, the Only Good News

 

The only good news anyhow one looks at it for Erik Ten Hag’s men heading into this gargantuan game is their newly found form away from home, which has seen them win six consecutive away games in all competitions at the moment.

 

For the same period that 6-game winning streak is even better than City’s home form as the Citizen Blues have won 5 and drawn 1 of their last 6 home games.

 

However if one considers the entire season under review, the ruse starts to be seen through for United, as it then becomes clear that City have a flawless home record with an unbeaten record in all 17 of their home games this season in all games.

 

United will want to stick only to their last 6 games and that should be enough for them to gather some inspiration and courage heading into this one, but if their manager is to be believed then they don’t need courage against an opponent they are not afraid of.

 

Match Stats

 

• City are ranked 3rd in goals scored per match (2.3 goals) while United are ranked 12th in goals scored per match (1.4 goals).

 

• Manchester City's most recent record of 40 consecutive home games in all competitions consists of no losses while Manchester United haven't lost in 8 of their last 9 games in all competitions.

 

• Manchester City has had a period of 52 straight home all competitions clashes in all of which they have scored 1 or more goals while Manchester United have scored 1+ goals in all of their last 11 all competitions games.

 

• A streak of unfortunate defence displays where Manchester City have conceded at least 1 goal makes up their last 8 matches against Manchester United in all competitions.

 

• In Manchester United's 8 most recent Premier League matches, there have been over 2.5 goals scored just as there have been in all their last 5 games versus City.

 

• No fixture in Premier League history has seen more away wins than Man City vs Man Utd (22, level with Aston Villa v Liverpool).

You can check out the Man. City vs Man. United EPL game on MSport here:

https://www.msport.com/ng/web/sports/Soccer/England_Premier_League/Man_City_vs_Man_Utd/sr:match:41763375?k=Man%20City?EMA

With an 11-point gap between them and 2nd-placed Stade Brestois, and a 13-point gap between them and their upcoming opponents, Monaco at 3rd, PSG are already League 1 winners in the minds of many.

 

However, till that happens, they have to travel to the Stade Louis II stadium, a place they have not managed to win at in the league since 2021 for their round 24 Ligue 1 fixture.

 

With that said, the trip to such troublesome ground for Luis Enrique's side could not have come at a better time with PSG currently enjoying an 18-game unbeaten run in the French league.

 

Their last defeat in the Ligue 1 came in the 5th game of the league against Nice in September 2023.

 

Contrastingly, Monaco would be wishing they were not playing PSG now with the form they have at the moment with only 2 victories to boast of in their last 6 league games suffering 2 defeats and 2 draws in that time.

 

Can Monaco Keep a Perfect Home Record Against PSG?

 

Monaco’s reputation and record against Les Parisiens at home in the league is an admirable one, to say the least, with Les Monegasques not only beating PSG in all their last 3 league games at the Stade Louis II but beating them by 3 goals in each of them.

 

Going into this match day 24 fixture, the burning question on the minds of neutrals and Monaco fans in particular, is whether or not their club can maintain their perfect home record versus the de facto league Champions.

 

Adolf Hütter’s men can take inspiration from not only their excellent home record versus the Parisiens in recent times but also their overall performance versus PSG having won 4 of the previous 7 league games against PSG drawing 1 and losing the other.

 

This game against PSG is just the game Monaco needs to use as a catalyst to turn their inconsistent form into consistent with another home win regardless of their form.

 

 

 

How Will the No-Mbappe Trial Fare Against Monaco?

 

PSG manager Luis Enrique has said his team has to get used to playing without their top scorer Kylian Mbappe with the French winger set to depart the club from the French capital at the end of the current season.

 

To that end, the Spanish manager has started testing his team without Kylian Mbappe in games with the Real Madrid-linked player coming from the bench in the 62nd minute against Nantes and being withdrawn in the 65th minute against Rennes.

 

It is expected that again for the third straight league game, Kylian Mbappe will not be allowed to play all 90 minutes against Monaco and given that it took a last-minute penalty to salvage a draw against Rennes last time out, many wonder how PSG fares without Mbappe against Monaco.

 

 

Match Stats

 

• Monaco is ranked 2nd in goals scored per match (1.9 goals) while PSG are ranked 1st in goals scored per match (2.3 goals) in the league this season.

 

• AS Monaco haven't kept a clean sheet in their last 12 matches in the league while PSG have been awarded the most penalties this season (9).

 

• AS Monaco's last 7 games (Ligue 1) have seen both teams score while Paris St. Germain have been prolific in their 16 most recent clashes in Ligue 1, scoring 1+ goals in all of them.

 

• Monaco are the team that has beaten Paris SG most often in Ligue 1, winning 45 times (D27 L23). That’s at least 10 more wins than other teams have managed against PSG in the top flight.

 

You can check out the AS Monaco vs PSG Ligue 1 game on MSport here:

https://www.msport.com/ng/web/sports/Soccer/France_Ligue_1/Monaco_vs_PSG/sr:match:42004941?k=AS%20Monaco?EMA