Champions League today: where to watch broadcasts, forecasts, team lineups
9 April 15:30
Two matches of the Champions League quarterfinals will take place today, April 9. PSG will take on Aston Villa in Paris, while Barcelona will play Borussia Dortmund at the Luis Companis Olympic Stadium, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
PSG vs. Aston Villa: 2020 finalist vs. 1982 champion
The match between PSG Paris and Aston Villa Birmingham will start at 22:00 Kyiv time at the Parc des Princes stadium.
The Parisians are playing in the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the ninth time and have won the last three matches at this stage of the tournament. Although the team has previously been eliminated in the quarterfinals by English clubs (Chelsea in 2013/14 and Manchester City in 2015/16), this season PSG has already defeated Manchester City (4:2) in the group stage and knocked out Liverpool in a penalty shootout in the last 16.
The statistics of confrontations between coaches are not in favor of the guests: Unai Emery lost seven out of ten matches to Luis Enrique. In addition, Villa has no victories in their last five away matches against French teams in European competitions (2 draws, 3 defeats). However, Birmingham are in great form, having won seven in a row. Two players who are familiar with Paris are particularly dangerous – Marcus Rashford, who scored the match-winning goal when Manchester United knocked out PSG in the 2018/19 last 16, and Marco Asensio, on loan from Paris, who has scored eight goals in his last eight matches.
Probable lineups:
PSG: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Beralno, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; João Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Barca
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Camara, Tielemans; Rodgers, McGinn, Ramsey; Rashford
Coaches’ comments:
“Against Liverpool, the bookies said we had no chance. There are no favorites in football. There are eight teams in the quarterfinals that have earned this right. Aston Villa is a great team that has progressed significantly over the past two years thanks to Unai Emery. It will be an open and challenging match for both teams.”
Luis Enrique (PSG)
“I spent two years in Paris and it feels good to be back here. This is my first visit since then. This moment is special for me and for Villa, and I am very proud to be back here, playing with my team in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. It will be a great challenge for my players and for me, but we are confident. We will try to take advantage of all our chances.”
Unai Emery (Aston Villa)
Bookmakers’ odds
Bookmakers consider PSG to be the undisputed favorite, with odds of 1.49 for its victory, 4.75 for a draw, and 6.30 for Villa’s victory. The passage based on the results of two matches is 1.26 for PSG against 3.95 for Aston Villa.
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Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund: Catalans seek revenge for last season
In parallel with the Paris match, at 22:00 Kyiv time, the five-time winners of the tournament will host the 1997 European champion Borussia Dortmund at the Luis Companis Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.
Barcelona has significant advantages going into the first match. Hansi Flick’s team defeated Dortmund 3-2 away in the group stage and remains unbeaten in five previous meetings with Borussia in European competitions (3 wins, 2 draws). The Catalans have not lost 23 matches in a row and can count on the productive duo of Rafinha and Robert Lewandowski, who have already scored 20 goals together in this tournament. However, there is also cause for concern – Barcelona has lost five of its last six matches at this stage of the competition.
Hanzi Flick was Niko Kovac’s assistant at Bayern in 2018/19, and now Kovac is in charge of Borussia, having stabilized the team’s play since his appointment in January. The Dortmund team played their best game in the Champions League, knocking out Sporting Lisbon and Lille of France in the playoffs, winning both away matches. Borussia have also won four of their last five two-legged encounters against Spanish teams in European competition, including a 5-4 victory over Atletico in last season’s quarterfinals on their way to the final.
Probable lineups:
Barcelona: Szczesny; Kunde, Kubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Rafinha; Lewandowski
Borussia: Kobel; Rierson, Jan, Anton, Bensebaini; Nmecha, Chukwuemeka; Adeyemi, Brandt, Bayer; Girassi
Coaches’ comments:
“Dortmund is a very stable team that plays attacking football. But we perform well both at home and away in the Champions League. Niko Kovac will be able to field a good team regardless of the injuries in the team. They are strong in defense and I wish all the best to their injured players. They have very good players, and it’s a shame that they have injuries, but they have enough players to compensate for the absence of the main ones.”
Hansi Flick (Barcelona)
“Flick and I know each other well and appreciate each other as individuals. We also understand each other’s football views. We are aware of the quality of Barcelona’s strikers and we have to defend well. We want to take advantage of their weaknesses and we came here to try to win the match. I think Barca is the favorite, but Dortmund played in the final last season. Anything is possible here. We’re a bit of an underdog, but that’s not necessarily in Barcelona’s favor.”
Niko Kovac (Borussia)
Bookmakers’ odds
Bookmakers consider Barcelona to be an even bigger favorite than PSG in their pair. Thus, the odds on Barca’s victory are 1.31, on a draw – 6.10, and on Borussia’s victory – 9.00. According to bookmakers, Barcelona will also qualify based on the result of two matches – 1.19 vs. 4.95.
Where to watch the broadcasts
All European Cup matches of the current season in Ukraine are broadcast exclusively by the MEGOGO media service. The matches can be viewed with the Maximum or Sport subscriptions.
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