todays games
Atalanta vs Real Madrid (11pm)
The 13-time European champions have only 11 fit senior players for the first leg in Bergamo on Wednesday.
"We never take risks," said Zidane about French forward Benzema.
Eden Hazard, Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal and Marcelo are also among those who will miss the first knockout game.
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini says his side, who reached the quarter-finals last season, remain wary of the threat posed by the Spanish giants.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- This is the first competitive encounter between Atalanta and Real Madrid. In fact, Atalanta's only previous meeting with a Spanish side in European competition was in last season's round of 16 when they faced Valencia - they won 8-4 on aggregate.
Atalanta
- Atalanta are the first team since Sevilla (2007-08 & 2009-10) to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League in each of their first two appearances.
- Atalanta are the only remaining side in this last 16 yet to win a single home game in the Champions League this season (D2 L1).
- None of Atalanta's 15 Champions League games has ended goalless. Since last season, their matches have produced 53 goals (27 for, 26 against), an average of 3.5 per game.
- 70% of their goals in this season's group stages were scored in the second half (7 out of 10), the highest percentage among the 16 teams left in the competition.
- Defender Cristian Romero made more interceptions than any other player in this season's group stage (24). He also won the most aerial duels (33) among players left in the competition.
- Despite not taking a single penalty, striker Duván Zapata set the highest Expected Goals tally in the group stage (4.28 xG). He notably had nine 'big chances' (scoring from three of them), also the best tally in the group phase.
Real Madrid
- Real Madrid have won each of their last five Champions League away games against Italian opposition (12 goals for, 1 against) - they'd only won three of their previous 16 trips to Italy.
- They have also found the net in each of their last 19 matches against Italian teams, with the last side to stop them from scoring being Juventus in November 2008 (0-2).
- Real have reached the knockout stages for the 24th consecutive season, the longest such run in the history of the competition. The last time they failed to make the latter phase of the tournament was in 199-/97 - it was also the last season in which they didn't feature in any European competition.
- Since making his debut in the competition, striker Karim Benzema is one of two players to have scored 10+ goals with his head, 10+ with his right foot and 10+ with his left foot - the other is Cristiano Ronaldo. He's scored five goals in his last six knockout games, after netting only one in his previous 18.
- Zinedine Zidane has prevailed as Real Madrid manager in 12 of his 13 Champions League knockout ties (nine home/away ties and three finals), with the only exception coming against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in last season's round of 16.
line ups
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Manchester City (11pm)
Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said last season's Champions League exit will not provide an extra source of motivation this year.
City beat Real Madrid at the same stage last year, but then lost 3-1 to Lyon in a one-legged quarter-final in Lisbon.
Manchester City have won 18 matches in a row in all competitions and manager Pep Guardiola wants them to continue what they have been doing.
This match will take place in Hungary because of coronavirus restrictions with Monchengladbach, eighth in the German Bundesliga and with only one win in five matches in all competitions, the designated 'home' team.
Team news
Manchester City have close to a fully-fit squad available with centre-back Nathan Ake their only notable absentee as the Dutchman continues to train alone after a muscular problem.
Record goalscorer Sergio Aguero is edging closer to a return after three matches as an unused substitute.
Guardiola has stressed the importance of rotating his squad so may return defender Kyle Walker, midfielder Phil Foden and forward Gabriel Jesus to the starting line-up after they were substitutes for Sunday's 1-0 win at Arsenal in the Premier League.
City aim for the quarter-finals for a fourth year in a row - the stats
- Borussia Monchengladbach and Manchester City are facing each other for the seventh time - this is the most games for both teams against a single opponent in European competition.
- Manchester City are unbeaten against Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League (won three, drew one). However, their only previous encounter in the knockout stages of a European competition saw Gladbach beat City 4-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the 1978-79 Uefa Cup.
- Manchester City have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League for the eighth consecutive season, the longest current run for an English club - they will be aiming to make it to the quarter-finals for the fourth straight campaign.
- It has been 43 years since Borussia Monchengladbach were in the knockout stages of the European Cup/Champions League. They lost 4-2 in the semi-finals of the 1977-78 European Cup against Liverpool.
- Manchester City have won each of their past three away games in the Champions League last 16 - 4-0 v Basel in February 2018, 3-2 v Schalke in February 2019 and 2-1 v Real Madrid in February 2020.
- Manchester City accrued 16 points in this season's Champions League group stage; the joint-most of any English side in a single group stage, along with Arsenal in 2005-06 (finalists), Manchester United in 2007-08 (winners) and Tottenham Hotspur in 2017-18 (last 16).
line ups