soccer

5️⃣ big questions ahead of Champions League play-off second legs 💫

5️⃣ big questions ahead of Champions League play-off second legs 💫

The second legs of the Champions League play-off round to reach the last 16 of the competition take place this week.

There are some big names in jeopardy already as we look at five big questions ahead of the action.

And users in Australia can bet on all of the exciting action ahead with Ladbrokes.


Can Real Madrid finish the job?

After the incredible drama of their meeting in the last game of the league phase which saw Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin score an injury-time winner to set up a rematch in the knockouts, last week's meeting in Lisbon didn't quite deliver in the same manner.

Unfortunately, the first leg was marred by Gianluca Prestianni's alleged racist abuse of Real ace Vinícius Júnior, who scored the only goal of the game, which has resulted in the Benfica man being handed a provisional ban while the incident is investigated.

That is sure to lead to a fiery showdown on Jose Mourinho's return to the Bernabéu, with or without the presence of Prestianni.


But Los Blancos come in off the back of a disappointing defeat to Osasuna which saw them surrender top spot in LaLiga once more.

Did they do enough in Portugal to stave off a big potential European embarrassment?


Will Bodø/Glimt's dream run continue?

Arguably the best-run club in world football when you consider Bodø/Glimt's accomplishments on the continental stage when compared to their standing.

The Norwegian minnows hail from a town in the Arctic circle with a population of 42,000 - meaning you could bring every inhabitant to San Siro on Tuesday twice over.

For those who are making the long trip, they will be hoping to see their side pull of perhaps the greatest result in their European history, which has been illustrious of late as they attempt to build on their 3-1 victory in Norway.


Wins over the likes of Manchester City and Atlético de Madrid were very impressive but if they can oust Serie A's runaway leaders over two legs then it will be the best bit of work achieved yet by Kjetil Knutsen in the dugout.

It is a true footballing fairytale for a side punching so far above their weight zone.


History beckons for Dortmund star

In the Champions League, only five players have ever hit 20 goals across their first 28 appearances.

Those men are Filippo Inzaghi, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Alessandro Del Piero, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, who incredibly hit the 20-goal mark in just his 14th game in the competition.


Aiming to join the club this week is Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy, who continues to be a big performer for them in this competition.

He is sitting on 19 goals from his first 27 games among Europe's elite and will aim to carve out an impressive place in history as BVB aim to see Atalanta off.


Could we see a comeback for the ages?

Even the most ardent and optimistic of Juventus supporters would find it hard to make a case for them being in the hat for the next round as they return from Istanbul chasing a 5-2 deficit against Galatasaray.

Previous outings do not suggest they'll manage it. They've lost all of their last five Champions League knockout ties and the only previous occasion they were beaten by three or more goals in the first leg, they crashed out - albeit in very controversial circumstances against Real Madrid despite giving the eventual winners a big scare.

In fact, in the entire history of the competition, a team who has lost the away leg by three or more goals have only progressed on four occasions.


On top of that, Galatasaray have never lost a European tie in which they held a three-goal lead from the first leg.

If Juventus are to progress, it will take something we rarely see.


Any issues for the holders?

PSG are sitting reasonably comfortably ahead of their all-French return game against Monaco, although it didn't look good after 18 minutes in the Principality.

But Luis Enrique's men hauled themselves off the canvas from 2-0 down early on to show why they're champions - and why they're not ready to relinquish their crown.

Of their last 40 ties in Europe, PSG have progressed 33 times after winning the first leg and 19 of their previous 20 when winning on the road.


Monaco have also won just once in their last eight Champions League away fixtures.

Even with some injury concerns (notably to Ousmane Dembélé and Fabián Ruiz), this should be smooth sailing for the Parisians.

Read full story at Yahoo Sport →