Can Atalanta take advantage of injury ravaged Real Madrid

Atalanta host Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side will have mixed memories of facing Spanish opposition at this stage of the competition.

Last season, they made history by beating Valencia in the round of 16 to reach their first-ever Champions League quarterfinal.

This year, the Italian side once again got past the group stages, finishing second in Group D behind Liverpool. On the final day of group stage action, they managed to beat Ajax to pip the Dutch side and move into the knockout rounds.

Atalanta are in good form coming into this game, having won each of their last three games. On Sunday, they beat Napoli 4-2 as they build up a head of steam going into the business end of the season.

Halfway through those group stages, it didn’t seem like Real Madrid would qualify from Group B. They had lost to Shakhtar Donetsk at home, and drawn against Borussia Monchengladbach.

However, they eventually made it through as group winners after beating Gladbach in the final group game.

Real are going through a bit of an injury crisis at the moment, but have still kept themselves afloat in the La Liga title race.

Real Madrid could face a tough time in this game against Atalanta. This is largely thanks to the ridiculous number of injuries that they are grappling with at the moment.

Credit: sportskeeda.com

City to maintain perfect record against Monchengladbach

The UEFA Champions League is back with another set of round-of-16 fixtures this week as Manchester City take on Borussia Monchengladbach at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. Manchester City have been excellent in recent weeks and are the favourites to win this fixture.

Borussia Monchengladbach have endured a disconcerting slump after a strong start to the season and find themselves in eighth place in the Bundesliga table. The German side did shock Real Madrid in the group stages earlier this season and will look to pull off another upset this week.

Manchester City, on the other hand, have become a formidable juggernaut under Pep Guardiola and are on an incredible winning streak at the moment. The Cityzens have defeated Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool this month and will be confident ahead of this fixture.

Manchester City have an excellent record against Borussia Monchengladbach and have won three games out of four against the German side. Borussia Monchengladbach have never defeated Manchester City in an official European fixture and will need to take it up a notch in this fixture.

Borussia Monchengladbach are perfectly capable of pulling off an upset but will need to play out of their skins. Manchester City have been irrepressible this year and should be able to win this fixture.

Credit: sportskeeda.com

I’ll be remembered at Tottenham ‘for good reasons’ -Mourinho

Jose Mourinho believes he will be remembered at Tottenham “for the good reasons and not for the bad reasons” once his time at the club is over.

The Spurs manager’s job is reported to be under threat after a run of five defeats in six Premier League games.

A 2-1 defeat by West Ham on Sunday left Tottenham ninth in the table, nine points adrift of the top four places.

“I want to know which coach has always had blue sky and never cloudy or a bit dark,” Mourinho said on Tuesday.

“I work for the club, the players and the supporters. I always feel I have to give them so much. It hurts me and it’s a great challenge for me and I believe I can give it. I give it everywhere I’ve been and I’m more motivated than ever.”

The 81 points Spurs have picked up in Mourinho’s 50 games in charge is 14 fewer than the Portuguese has managed with any of his previous sides.

Following the defeat by West Ham, he said “we have problems in the team that I cannot resolve by myself as a coach.”

Spurs were knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton in the fifth round but they will face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final in April.

They are also 4-1 up against Austrian side Wolfsberger after the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie, with the second leg taking place on Wednesday.

Mourinho added that he maintains “open communication” with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who appointed the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss until the end of the 2022-23 season after sacking Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019.

“My relationship is the same since day one which is one of respect and open communication,” Mourinho said.

“I want to give happiness to everyone, the chairman, the players, the fans, everybody connected to the club.

“I believe that we will win through and that I will be in Tottenham’s history for the good reasons and not for the bad reasons.”

Credit: bbc.com

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