⛅️ UCL Forecast: Pressure on Man City and Liverpool's Mission Improbable | OneFootball

Four clubs have already booked their places in the Champions League quarter-finals and this week we’ll find out who will be joining them in the last eight.

This is what to look out for.

💪 Game of the week

Real Madrid v Liverpool

After Real Madrid’s 5-2 first leg victory at Anfield, this tie might look all over bar the shouting, but this is the Champions League, and strange things can happen.

Los Blancos were of course the perpetrators of not one but three incredible comebacks en route to winning the competition last season, and just ask AC Milan and Barcelona fans about Liverpool’s rich history of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in Europe.

But the big question heading into Wednesday’s second leg at the Bernabéu is which Liverpool are going to turn up?

If it’s the one which beat Manchester United 7-0 earlier this month then Jürgen Klopp’s side have a fighting chance of turning this tie around, but if it’s the lacklustre Liverpool which lost to Bournemouth at the weekend, they might as well forget it.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side got back to winning ways at the weekend and they will back themselves to finish what they started against Liverpool, but an early goal from the visitors could swing the tie dramatically.

📊 Fun fact: Real Madrid have progressed from 26 of their previous 27 European Cup/Champions League knockout ties when winning the first leg away from home, with the exception being the defeat to Ajax in 2018/19.

🔮 Our prediction: Real Madrid 1-2 Liverpool

🤔 Too close to call

Porto v Inter

A late Romelu Lukaku goal gives Inter a slender 1-0 advantage heading into Tuesday’s second leg but this tie is far from over.

The Nerazzurri have been an extremely difficult team to predict this season and since that win over Porto they have beaten Lecce at home in Serie A but been beaten away to both Bologna and Spezia.

Their extremely inconsistent away form should give Porto plenty of encouragement, and they have form for knocking Italian sides out of the Champions League, having eliminated both Roma and Juventus at this stage in recent years.

Inter were in fact beaten on their last visit to the Estádio do Dragão back in the 2005/06 season, and their former winger Sérgio Conceição will be hoping his Porto side can send them back to Milan disappointed again this time around.

📊 Fun fact: Inter have won just one of their last eight matches away to Portuguese sides in major European competitions.

🔮 Our prediction: Porto 2-0 Inter

😨 Potential upset

Manchester City v RB Leipzig

Manchester City’s performance in the first half of the first leg away at RB Leipzig was about as good at you’ll see at this level. Pep Guardiola’s side were 1-0 up, in total control of the game, and looked like they were going to sail through the tie.

But as has been the case on a number of occasions for City this season, they weren’t able to convert their dominance into goals, and Joško Gvardiol’s equaliser leaves the tie wide open.

City will be confident in their ability beat Leipzig at the Etihad on Tuesday, but the Bundesliga side have an abundance of quality with the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, André Silva, Timo Werner and Dani Olmo all capable of causing problems in a straight shoot-out. If Christopher Nkunku is passed fit to play then even more power to Marco Rose’s side.

Guardiola and Kevin De Bruyne were both asked pre-match whether winning the Champions League will somewhat define their tenures at the club, and neither of them completely denied the suggestion.

The pressure is all on City’s shoulders going into this one, and this season there is no guarantee that they will cope with it.

📊 Fun fact: The last German club to win away at Manchester City in the Champions League was Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in 2013/14.

🔮 Our prediction: Manchester City 1-2 RB Leipzig

🤩 Star man

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)

After opening up an 18-point lead at the top of the Serie A table, attention now turns to the Champions League for Napoli, where they should be considered an outside bet to win the competition.

That’s if they can finish what they started when they welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday.

The Neopolitans hold a 2-0 lead from the first leg and with Eintracht’s fans banned from attending the second leg following crowd trouble before the first leg in Frankfurt, the hosts should be considered heavy favourites.

Especially since their Georgian genius Kvaratskhelia is in such good form. The 22-year-old once again justified the hype around him with a super goal in Saturday’s win over Atalanta, and he will likely be a joy to watch as always this week.

Don’t forget that the draw for the Champions League quarter-finals will take place on Friday, 17 March.