Club Brugge aim to shoot down Atalanta
Having eked through to the knockout phase, Club Brugge will aim to take a first-leg lead in their Champions League playoff against Atalanta BC, when the clubs clash at Jan Breydelstadion on Wednesday.
While Brugge narrowly avoided elimination, La Dea almost claimed direct entry to the last 16, where the winners of this tie will play either Lille or Aston Villa.
Despite suffering a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on the final matchday, Club Brugge negotiated the inaugural 36-team league phase to extend their Champions League journey.
Finishing up in 24th position – the final qualifying spot – the Belgian side beat Villa and Sporting Lisbon along the way and have already surpassed most expectations.
Winless in 15 games against Serie A sides since a famous victory over Milan 22 years ago, they will aim to end that trend in midweek.
Better known for their attacking prowess – having scored a club-record 126 goals throughout 2024 – Atalanta conceded just six times in the league phase, which represents the fourth-best record overall. Furthermore, only Arsenal allowed fewer shots on target.
As a result, they have lost only once so far – at home to reigning champions Real Madrid – while beating Shakhtar Donetsk, Stuttgart and Young Boys on the road.
Although Club Brugge have proven tough to beat for several visitors, Atalanta are an impressive outfit away from home and can shut up shop when needed.
The Nerazzurri certainly have sufficient firepower to score at least once, and they should take a slim lead into next week’s second leg.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Celtic welcome German giants Bayern Munich
Celtic will play their first Champions League knockout match for 12 years when they welcome German giants Bayern Munich to Glasgow on Wednesday night.
The new league phase format in the competition worked wonders for Celtic, but not for Bayern, who face the prospect of not reaching the last 16 of the competition for the first time in over two decades.
With the Champions League only really just getting into the business end, Bayern are already on the brink of making unwanted history, following a disappointing start to their European campaign.
Vincent Kompany‘s men have lost three times on the road in the Champions League this season, and Bayern have never lost four away games in a single European campaign before.
A narrow defeat at Aston Villa followed by thrashings at Barcelona and Feyenoord saw Bayern miss out on the top eight and automatic progression to the last 16, despite a perfect home record.
Facing Scottish opposition has been favourable for Bayern over the past few decades, going 13 games unbeaten since a defeat in 1989 at Hearts in the UEFA Cup, and four of those games have been against Celtic.
A 0-0 draw would be an excellent result on paper for Celtic, but it may not do them much good in their chances of progression, considering they would then need to go and win at the Allianz Arena.
Despite losing three of their four away games in the league phase, Bayern will be confident of progressing even if they lose narrowly here, given their excellent home record.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Feyenoord, AC Milan engage in an intriguing first leg
Making a much-awaited debut in the Champions League knockout phase, Feyenoord will welcome AC Milan to De Kuip for the first leg of their playoff on Wednesday.
The Rotterdam club last met the seven-time continental champions in 1970, when they progressed from a European Cup tie and went on to lift the trophy; this time, the winner will play either Arsenal or Inter Milan in the last 16.
Making the most of UEFA’s new format, Feyenoord are into the knockout rounds of Europe’s top club competition for the first time since 1985, having finished 19th in the inaugural league phase.
Last term’s Eredivisie runners-up have struggled without former boss Arne Slot this season, and current coach Priske was on the verge of being sacked before that brilliant win over Bayern.
Only Saturday’s 3-0 derby victory against Sparta Rotterdam halted a frustrating four-match winless streak in the Eredivisie, and they have recorded just two clean sheets from their last 15 games.
Given such circumstances, at least history will be on their side when Milan come to town: Feyenoord have lost only one of 11 home meetings with teams from Italy – a 2-1 defeat to familiar foes Roma exactly a decade ago.
Feyenoord have been faltering, while Milan are rarely at their best away from San Siro, so a score draw could be the outcome of an intriguing first leg.
Leaving this tie in the balance, both teams will surely find the net against a suspect opposition defence.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Benfica travel to Monaco for the second time this season
Benfica travel to the Stade Louis II for the second time this season to face Monaco in the Champions League knockout round playoffs on Wednesday night.
The visitors will hope for a repeat of the 3-2 win they enjoyed here in the principality during the league phase, with hosts Monaco enduring a bit of a shaky run of form.
After being strong contenders for the top eight throughout the league phase, Monaco ended up all the way down in 17th, missing out on being seeded for these playoffs.
It is still an objective completed for Monaco though, who would have taken a top-24 finish prior to the start of the competition after successive group stage exits, in what is their first season back in the competition since 2018-19.
This is the first time Benfica have faced the same club at two separate stages of a Champions League campaign, but with just three defeats in 13 games against French opponents, they may not be too disappointed with the outcome of the draw.
Confidence is also much higher in the camp now than it was merely two weeks ago, when manager Bruno Lage was confronted by angry supporters about the results on the pitch.
Monaco’s poor form of late has come at an awful time, with clubs hunting them down in the battle for the top four in Ligue 1 and a playoff in Europe to navigate, but they still have the quality to be competitive in this tie.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Club Brugge 17:45 Atalanta
Celtic 20:00 Bayern Munich Feyenoord 20:00 AC Milan Monaco 20:00 Benfica
The post Today’s UEFA Champions League Knockout Round Play-offs appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.
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