Europe’s premium club competition returns for the knockout stages on Tuesday night, with the first leg of two round of 16 ties taking centre stage at 8pm.
Reigning champions Manchester City, who finished top of Group G with maximum points, are the first English side to return to Champions League action as they travel to Denmark to face Copenhagen.
RB Leipzig, who finished runners up in City’s group, are also in action as they host La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who were the only other side to end the group stages with six wins from six.
- Manchester City to win at Copenhagen
- Real Madrid to win at RB Leipzig
Copenhagen vs Manchester City
Danish champions Copenhagen qualified for only their second ever Champions League round of 16 after finishing as runners-up in Group A behind Bayern Munich, overcoming Galatasaray and Manchester United in the process.
Jacob Neestrup’s side pulled off a famous 4-3 victory over City’s Manchester rivals in the group stages, but an even bigger shock victory will be difficult to come by on Tuesday evening, especially given that the Lions have never beaten the Citizens and have failed to score in their last two meetings.
Pep Guardiola’s men have looked at their unbeatable best in recent weeks, winning each of their last 10 games in all competitions, with six of these coming to nil.
However, City failed to keep clean sheets in each of their three away games in Group G - against Red Star Belgrade, RB Leipzig and Young Boys - so there may be a route to goal for Neestrup’s men.
The Danes found the back of the net in each of their home group games at the Parken Stadium, but have lost three of their last six home fixtures and another defeat looks to be on the cards on Tuesday
RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid
Leipzig have only progressed past the Champions League round of 16 once in their history - in 2020 where they were eventually defeated by PSG in the semi-finals - and they have another massive test at this stage with the visit of Real Madrid, the record 14-time winners of the tournament.
After finishing comfortably second in Group G, Marco Rose’s men have faltered since the culmination of the group stages, winning two of the following seven league games, losing three of their last five.
Madrid, meanwhile, look in fine fettle, having lost just two games in all competitions this season - both to fierce rivals Atletico Madrid - and emphatically saw off surprise title challengers Girona 4-0 in their last outing on Saturday.
Los Blancos have also looked solid defensively in recent weeks, conceding just five times across their last eight league games. Carlo Ancelotti’s men also saw just seven goals registered against them in the group stage.
Another victory for the Spanish side is expected on Tuesday, putting them in the driving seat to finish the job at the Bernabeu in March.
