Welcome to Part 1 of The Game Haus’ Champions League Preview.
The Champions League Round of 16 Knockouts begin on Tuesday, February 13.
Two matches will kick off at 3:00 pm EST, featuring two favorites to win the competition. English giants Manchester City will play F.C. Copenhagen in Denmark, while 14-time competition winners Real Madrid will play RB Leipzig in Leipzig.
Manchester City enters their match in fantastic form, with a nine-game winning streak in all competitions at the time of writing. Furthermore, they won all six games in the Champions League group stage.
Real Madrid also won all their group-stage matches and enter their meeting with Leipzig in good form, winning eight of their last 10 games.
Both sides begin their hopeful road to the final away from home, and they have good away records this season. City has recorded 13 wins, two ties, and two losses away from home this season. Madrid, on the other hand, has accumulated 13 wins, one tie, and four losses.
City will be counting on their stars to produce for them to advance to the quarter-finals. Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne recently returned to first-team action in stellar form after a five-month injury absence. In a recent press conference, City coach Pep Guardiola spoke about his importance: “When you have a player with a thousand million assists and goals, it helps you win games.”
In his first match back from injury against Huddersfield in the FA Cup on January 7, he recorded an assist off the bench in a 5-0 win. He followed that with a goal and an assist once again off the bench in City’s 2-3 win against Newcastle in the Premier League.
Madrid, too, has stars who look to direct them to the quarter-finals. Their brightest star is English midfielder Jude Bellingham, who leads the team in goal contributions in La Liga with 14 goals and four assists in 20 appearances.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti sang Bellingham’s praises in a press conference last November: “The truth is that Bellingham surprises every day, every match. Not just us, but everyone. Bellingham is a gift to football.”
Keep up with The Game Haus for Part 2 of our Champions League Preview, discussing the matches on Wednesday, February 14.
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