Champions League quarter-final preview: Liverpool face an uphill battle against Real Madrid, while Chelsea are in the driving seat

The second legs of the Champions League quarter-final ties are played this week, with Chelsea and Manchester City holding the advantage in their fixtures while Liverpool and Bayern Munich are behind in theirs.

Liverpool need a memorable Anfield night vs Real Madrid

Liverpool lost 3-1 to Real Madrid last time out, with the Madrid midfield running the show as Vinicius Junior scored his first Champions League brace.

Mohamed Salah did net a valuable away goal for the Reds and will need to be at his best again on Wednesday to help them complete another famous European comeback.

Formidable defender Sergio Ramos will be missing from the Madrid squad again following an injury setback, while it remains to be seen whether or not Raphael Varane will be available following his positive Covid-19 test last week.

Manchester City travel to Dortmund with a first-leg lead

Manchester City are just 90 minutes away from their first Champions League semi-final under Pep Guardiola.

They won 2-1 against Borussia Dortmund last time out thanks to a late strike from Phil Foden but were fortunate not to concede a second away goal following Jude Bellingham’s wrongly disallowed effort.

The tournament’s top scorer Erling Haaland failed to net last time out and will need to be back on form if Dortmund are to advance to the next round.

Chelsea in the driving seat against Porto

Fellow English side Chelsea are in a similar position following their 2-0 win against Porto last week.

Goals from Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell handed the Blues the advantage going into the second leg, with just 90 minutes separating them from a first Champions League semi-final since 2014.

Porto won’t just roll over, though, and will cause problems for the Chelsea defence through the likes of Moussa Marega and Sergio Oliveira.

Holders Bayern Munich are staring out at quarter-final exit

Finally, current holders Bayern Munich will need to come from behind to beat PSG after their 3-2 loss to the Parisians last week.

Kylian Mbappe ran the show last time out, netting twice for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, while Bayern star man Robert Lewandowski missed out through injury.

The Polish striker is back training now, but Tuesday’s tie will come too soon for the Bundesliga top scorer.