In recent years, Real Madrid and Liverpool have often faced off in the Champions League finals, showcasing two of the competition’s most successful teams. However, their upcoming clash finds them in starkly different positions in the current 36-team single-league standings format. Liverpool sits comfortably in first place, while Real Madrid languishes in a disappointing 18th.
Despite adding Kylian Mbappé to their roster, following their record-extending 15th European title in May, Madrid has struggled. They’ve lost two out of their first four games in the opening phase, including losses to teams like Lille and AC Milan, which are far from major domestic title contenders.
On the other hand, Liverpool, under new coach Arne Slot, has been in impressive form. They are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League and have won all four of their Champions League games so far. Yet, memories of past final losses to Madrid in 2018 and 2022 are still fresh, along with their 5-2 defeat at Anfield in February 2023, when Madrid made an incredible comeback after initially trailing 2-0.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich will host Paris Saint-Germain at the stadium where this season’s final will take place on May 31. Bayern’s clash with PSG is a surprising one, given that Bayern sits 17th and PSG is 25th in the standings, though only the top 24 teams will advance to the knockout rounds. This marks an intriguing encounter, especially considering Bayern’s home advantage with a capacity crowd of 75,000 expected at the Allianz Arena.
Manchester City, who entered the season as defending champions, were expected to breeze past Feyenoord. However, City is currently in the midst of a stunning five-game losing streak, an unthinkable run for a Pep Guardiola-led side. This poor form has drawn added attention ahead of their Tuesday match. Their last defeat came three weeks ago, a 4-1 loss to Sporting Lisbon, which also marked the final Champions League match for Sporting’s coach, Rúben Amorim, before his move to Manchester United.
Sporting, currently second in the standings, will be coached by João Pereira for just his second top-tier match as they prepare to face Arsenal on Tuesday. Sporting’s star player, Viktor Gyokeres, is reportedly being pursued by several top clubs, including Arsenal, after netting four hat tricks this season.
Elsewhere, Brest, in their first-ever UEFA competition, are impressively placed fourth in the standings, above even Barcelona. They’ve secured wins against teams from Austria and the Czech Republic and will travel to face five-time European champions Barcelona on Tuesday. Aston Villa, in eighth place, is also outperforming expectations, with Juventus in 11th. Villa will host Juventus at Villa Park on Wednesday, marking their first meeting since 1983, when Villa eliminated Juventus in the quarterfinals of the European Cup.
The competition is heating up, with five teams still without a point and in serious danger of failing to progress past January. Leipzig, still seeking their first win, faces a tough challenge against Italy’s Inter Milan. Inter, along with Atalanta, has yet to concede a goal in the competition, while Bologna remains the only team yet to score. Atalanta will play Young Boys, one of the teams without any points, on Tuesday, and Bologna will face Lille on Wednesday.
SOURCE: http://dew360.net
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