It’s back!
The UEFA Champions League knockout rounds with some mouth-watering ties kicking off the Round of 16 first legs.
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Reigning French champions Paris Saint-Germain host Spanish giants FC Barcelona at the Parc des Princes, with PSG boss Unai Emery under extreme pressure and a defeat for Barca’s Luis Enrique may well see the pressure crank up on him in Catalonia.
PSG are without Thiago Motta and Thiago Silva through suspension and injury respectively, while Barca have Arda Turan, Javier Mascherano and Aleix Vidal all out.
In the other UCL Round of 16 first leg on Tuesday (the eight ties are spread across four days in the next two weeks) Borussia Dortmund head to Portuguese outfit Benfica with all eyes on U.S. national team playmaker Christian Pulisic, especially with Mario Gotze out injured.
Dortmund are struggling to impact the Bundesliga title race, slipping to another defeat at the weekend (this time against minnows Darmstadt) to leave them 15 points off leaders Bayern Munich and in fourth place. Still, they didn’t lose a game in group play and won their UCL group ahead of reigning European champs Real Madrid so they’ve been doing pretty well in Europe.
Benfica managed to keep coveted defenders Nelson Semedo and Victor Lindelof over the winter transfer window and this is a big moment for Mexican international Raul Jimenez to show what he can do.
Click on the link above to follow live commentary on both games, while we will have reaction and analysis on all of the UCL knockout games
