Struggling Liverpool vs in-form Leipzig; Barca after another Houdini escape
London/Berlin, Mar 9 (efe-epa).- Liverpool will seek a way out of their home slump when they take on Leipzig, while Barcelona will try to pull off yet another Houdini escape against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last-16 second leg.
Liverpool play Wednesday’s game a few days after falling to Fulham in the Premier League. The relegation-threatened team handed the defending champion their sixth consecutive home defeat.
Having being knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and trailing Manchester City, the Premier League leader, by 22 points, the Champions League seems to be their only way to salvage some silverware this season.
A change of ‘home’ scenery could prove handy for Liverpool, who won the first leg 2-0, as the clash will be held in Budapest instead of Anfield due to a coronavirus-related flight ban between UK and Germany.
Their mission, however, will not be easy, as their German rival play the game in great form, having won the four games they played since falling in the first leg, keeping the distance with the Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich at two points.
Leipzig, who booked a place in the German Cup semifinals, will have to do without Spanish defender Jose Angel Esmorís Tasende, while the English team has yet to figure out the perfect defensive combination amid their injury woes.
Away from the Camp Nou, Barcelona will have to stage a huge comeback when they play PSG in Paris, having lost at home 4-1.
The Catalan club will draw inspiration from their 2017 comeback against the French club — when they won 6-1 turning around a 4-1 away deficit — and more recently their 2020-2021 Spanish Cup semifinal against Sevilla, who squandered a 2-0 first leg advantage to fall 3-2 on aggregate. EFE-EPA
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