There is a Premier League game this midweek but Newcastle United v Crystal Palace is massively overshadowed by the Champions League and Europa League.
Strap in for another Big Midweek as Arsenal aim to avoid an almighty collapse at the Bernabeu and Ange Postecoglou fights to keep his job.
Game to watch: Real Madrid v Arsenal
We were reluctant to focus on the same two teams in consecutive Big Midweeks but come on – it obviously is the game to watch.
Arsenal dismantled Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg last Tuesday, with Declan Rice scoring two corking free-kicks to send the Emirates Stadium into raptures. As everyone has been quick to point out, you can never rule out Real Madrid, least of all at the Bernabeu, and certainly not in the Champions League.
Three-goal deficits have been overturned before in Champions League second legs – most notably by Liverpool against Barcelona in 2019 – and if you were to back a team to do it in this season’s competition, it would be Real Madrid. But if you were to back any of the remaining teams to successfully park the bus to see themselves through after a first-leg victory, it would be Arsenal.
Their defensive stubbornness and ability to nick a goal from a set-piece, on top of the crucial three-goal advantage, make Arsenal strong favourites to progress.
Eduardo Camavinga is suspended after his stupid injury-time red card at the Emirates but Aurelien Tchouameni is back from his suspension, which is a nice bonus for Carlo Ancelotti. Other than that, Kylian Mbappe will be nicely rested after a first-half red card in Sunday’s La Liga match at Alaves. He knew exactly what he was doing with that stamp, didn’t he?
Both teams rotated heavily at the weekend and Jurrien Timber, Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly should return to the starting XI after the draw against Brentford, while Thomas Partey is a doubt with a, erm… knock. Yes, a knock.
The general consensus is that This Is Real Madrid We Are Talking About and if they score in the first 15-20 minutes, it could get sticky for the Gunners. We shall see, my friends.
If Aston Villa v PSG is more your thing, our prediction is here.
Team to watch: Manchester United
We lost count of how many times Ruben Amorim repeated ‘the focus is on Thursday’ after Man United were hammered by Newcastle United on Sunday. We could certainly tell they were focusing on the second leg with their shocking performance at St James’ Park and going out and losing to Lyon in their Europa League quarter-final would be disastrous and condemn Amorim to the worst season of any Red Devils manager this century. He only took over in November but he already has 10 Premier League defeats; Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has eight since the start of last season.
United’s season hinges on Thursday’s match against Lyon. Winning this competition will get them into next season’s Champions League and from the money involved to the players you can attract, that is priceless and would accelerate the club’s rebuild under Amorim.
A reaction to Sunday’s humbling is imperative but this is not a team you can rely on for a big reaction to a defeat. Bruno Fernandes had an off-day, but he’s still capable of winning a Europa League game on his own, so him being on his A-game could well be enough. If the French club shut him down, then United are relying on players like Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Manuel Ugarte, which is far from ideal.
MAILBOX: Ruben Amorim blamed for picking player fit for ‘Rumbelows against League Two opposition’
Manager to watch: Ange Postecoglou
On numerous occasions this season we have said Ange Postecoglou is one defeat away from the sack and every single time he has survived. This time, surely, a loss would be fatal. The Australian is lucky to still be in a job, with Daniel Levy giving him the chance to win the Europa League and get Tottenham Hotspur back in the Champions League.
A draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt was not an ideal result in the club’s quest for European glory and their first trophy since 2008. They were unfortunate not to win at home and a trip to Germany is a daunting task, with those missed chances and woodwork hits potentially coming back to haunt them.
Sunday’s trip to Wolves was a chance to pick up some momentum for the return leg but nope, that was obviously not to be. Postecoglou was always given some slack due to an unprecedented number of injuries – even if his training methods and playing style were culpable – but now with almost everyone back fit, Spurs don’t look much better. Granted, the back four against Wolves was far from Postecoglou’s ideal defence but shipping in four to a Wolves side now only two points behind them in the Premier League table is unacceptable.
It truly is make or break for Big Ange this week.
Player to watch: Christopher Nkunku
Chelsea beat several big clubs to the signing of Nkunku from RB Leipzig in the 2023 summer transfer window but he has been awfully disappointing since moving to the Premier League. His record in Germany was ridiculous, bagging 36 goals and making 21 assists in 59 Bundesliga matches in his final two seasons at the club. We have no idea where that guy has gone.
The £51million fee Chelsea paid to sign Nkunku looked like a coup at the time but the Frenchman is now regarded as a big-money flop, needing to thrive in the Europa Conference League and Carabao Cup midweek just to stake a claim for minutes off the bench in the Premier League.
He has blown almost every chance he has had as a starter in the Premier League and was given a fair run in the side last month with Nicolas Jackson out injured. Nkunku struggled in last week’s win at Legia Warsaw in Chelsea’s Europa Conference League quarter-final first leg, missing a penalty, which thankfully didn’t matter too much.
With the tie all but dead and buried, Nkunku is likely to lead the line again when Legia come to London. He will hope to bounce back to help the healing process and convince Blues fans and head coach Enzo Maresca that he is good enough.
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