Paris - Saba:
The English team Liverpool will host Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow, Wednesday, in the first leg of the round of 16 of the European Champions League.
Liverpool ended the league stage at the top with seven wins in eight matches, including its victory over the title holder Real Madrid with two clean goals.
Liverpool also dominates the top of the English Premier League by 13 points over its direct pursuer Arsenal, thanks to the exceptional level of the Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, and is close to achieving the 20th title in its history to equal the record set by Manchester United.
Like Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain are making steady progress towards the French league title, as they have a 13-point lead over second-placed Marseille after maintaining an unbeaten record in 24 matches this season.
However, the team of Spanish coach Luis Enrique was not as strong in the continental competition, as they were forced to play the play-offs to qualify for the round of 16 after suffering three defeats against Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, to finish 15th in the standings.
In the play-offs to qualify for the round of 16, Paris Saint-Germain crushed their compatriot Brest 10/0 on aggregate before setting up a date with Liverpool.
In the same round, Bayern Munich, the leader of the German league, hosts its direct pursuer Bayer Leverkusen at its home stadium with the aim of breaking its jinx against the Bundesliga title holder.
Although Bayern Munich are usually the favorites when facing teams from their country, many analysts tend to nominate Leverkusen, who last season won their first league title without defeat in an unprecedented achievement and added the local cup, and also reached the final of the European League "Europa League" where they suffered their only loss against Italian Atalanta 0/3.
Since reaching the Champions League final twice in a row in 2012 and 2013, Bayern Munich have only failed to pass the round of 16 once in 13 seasons, when they lost to Liverpool under German coach Jurgen Klopp, who later won the title.
Bayern Munich are aware of the difficulty of the task of overcoming Leverkusen, as since the Spaniard Xabi Alonso took over as coach in October 2022, they have not lost a single match against Bayern in six matches, achieving three wins and three draws.
In another match, Barcelona of Spain will visit Portuguese Benfica, aiming to regain their position as one of the continent's giants.
Hansi Flick's Barcelona have been widely praised as the most entertaining team in the competition, scoring 28 goals in eight games, including five against Benfica.
League leaders Barcelona will be counting on midfielder Pedri Gonzalez, who has been a key player in their side's results this season.
In Rotterdam, Inter Milan will face Feyenoord, who knocked out AC Milan in the last 16 play-off.
Inter will be without full-back Federico Dimarco due to a thigh injury, but the Serie A leaders have the upper hand against Dutch teams, having not lost in their last 11 encounters, winning seven of them.