Manchester City will try to climb out of a deep hole on Tuesday when they host Liverpool in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
Man City will be coming into the game trailing 3-0 on aggregate after Liverpool once again proved to be their most difficult English opponent this season, dominating the first encounter between the two sides. Now, City will need to play a near perfect match in order to have any chance of recovering from last week’s disaster.
“The result is tough, but we have 90 minutes and in football, everything can happen,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola told reporters. “What we are going to do is try.”
City Favored to Win, But Liverpool Likely to Advance
Liverpool is clearly the favorite to advance at this point, but City is seen as likely to at least score a win in the second leg. Manchester City is 4/9 to come out on top Tuesday according to William Hill, with Liverpool an 11/2 underdog in the match.
Tuesday also sees Italian side Roma play host to an overpowering Barcelona squad. In the first leg, Barcelona built up a 4-0 lead at home before Roma’s Edin Dzeko scored a late consolation goal that might just give them the slimmest of hopes of going through.
But that would still take a heroic effort from Roma, as they would need to win by at least three goals to stand a chance against the current La Liga leaders, who have yet to lose a game this season in either their domestic league or the Champions League.
“We have the chance to do something unthinkable, considering that they practically haven’t lost,” Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco said on Monday. “A miracle, if you will.”
Oddsmakers find it hard to believe the hosts will find a way through to the semifinals. Roma (4/1) will have a tough enough time beating Barcelona (4/6) at home, let alone doing so by a margin that will allow them to be one of the final four teams standing in Europe.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich Favored in Wednesday Matches
Wednesday’s action will see Real Madrid returning home with a 3-0 lead against Italian side Juventus. While the two time defending Champions League winners will need to be careful about avoiding complacency, few think Real Madrid (8/13) will cough up their entire three-goal lead to Juventus (9/2) in their own stadium.
The one match that remains highly competitive going into the second leg sees Bayern Munich take their 2-1 advantage back home against Sevilla. While Bayern (1/4) is expected to hold on to their lead, Sevilla (12/1) is only a couple of goals away from pulling off a memorable upset, something their opponents know is still possible.
“There is already a lot of talk about the semifinal but let us first play a great game tomorrow and advance,” said Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben. “Sevilla have shown what they can do away from home.”
With big leads out of the first leg, Barcelona (9/4) and Real Madrid (9/4) have emerged as the favorites to come away with the Champions League title this year. Bayern Munich (3/1) is also in the mix, while Liverpool (11/2) has surpassed Manchester City (14/1) following their convincing victory over their English rivals last week.