Who gets the upper hand on Wednesday?

With the slate of Tuesday’s matches completed, it’s time to look ahead and analyze what can happen this Wednesday. Although the ties are not so groundbreaking on paper, they’ve still got potential to be exciting matches, as all these four teams play with an offensive mindset.

Atalanta v Valencia

Probably the least interesting tie from a casual fan perspective, Atalanta and Valencia will clash at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza for the 1st leg of the 1/8-Finals of the Champions League. Even though the majority will decide to tune in for Tottenham against Leipzig, these two teams could give us two high-quality matches, full of attacking football and chances created. Gasperini’s team is in this stage of the competition for the 1st time, however, their level displayed throughout the season is much higher than the one showed from Valencia, a reason why I believe they lead this tie as favourites. Their current form is impressive as well, as they’ve come from wins against AS Roma and Fiorentina, something that will increase their motivation to make history against the Spanish team. It will be interesting to see if their attacking nature will remain, seen as the Champions League is a whole different beast than the Serie A and conceding a goal away from home could be crucial. Atalanta’s trio upfront is capable of dealing some serious damage to any team, while Malinovsky usually starts from the bench to add some firepower throughout the match. If Gian Piero Gasperini and his squad find themselves on a good day, the Italian team has a very good chance of going to Mestalla in the 2nd leg with a comfortable lead.



On the other hand, Valencia is going through a rough patch at the moment. Without a win in three straight matches, Los Ches look to get back on track on the major European competition as they travel to Milan to take on Atalanta. It’s expected a very tough match for them due to the Italian’s team playing style and current form. It would be important for Valencia to come unharmed from this match, or else the pressure to deliver a good result at home could pile up on the players. Rodrigo, one of their best players is questionable for this fixture due to ankle problems, while Gabriel Paulista, Ezequiel Garay and Piccini, part of their defensive line, will be out. One of the things to watch out is to see if Eliaquim Mangala, who’s been out for a long period of time and has participated in only three competitive matches this season, will be up to the challenge. Even if their defensive problems are not solved, they should be able to create enough chances to at least score a goal away from home, something that would be important for the 2nd leg.



Atalanta will have 50k+ fans at the San Siro tomorrow for their first ever Champions League knockout match in the clubs history. ????? pic.twitter.com/Msxgkjkfct — Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) February 18, 2020

Tottenham Hotspur v RB Leipzig

The other match of the day opposes Tottenham Hotspur and RB Leipzig. Although The Lilywhites are labelled as the favourites for this matchup, the several injuries they face could be decisive in their chances to advance. Harry Kane, their main striker, was scheduled to miss this tie, but recent news has informed us that Heung Min-Son won’t play as well due to an arm fracture and will miss the next few weeks. How’s Mourinho going to rearrange his attack then? He’ll probably play Lucas upfront, with Dele Alli behind him, but the big question is if the Portuguese will field three midfielders or play his usual formation. There’s a lot of doubts hanging in the air for the 1st leg of this tie, especially for the North London club, as they look to obtain a good result before they travel to Germany. Mourinho’s teams are known for their ultra-competitive nature and for their defence, as they’re usually very hard to break. However, Tottenham’s been struggling in that department, conceding goals in almost every match for the last few months. Leipzig’s a very offensive team, so we should expect a different kind of approach during Wednesday match, as Tanganga and Vertonghen should return to the starting lineup. Nonetheless, this is one of the best matches of the 1/8-Finals.



RB Leipzig comes from a positive result against Werder Bremen at home, but before that, they went on a four-match winless streak. The addition of Dani Olmo during the winter transfer window has massively improved Leipzig’s already powerful attack, giving them more viable options to field the team in different setups. They arrive at this stage, after finishing their group on the 1st spot, ahead of Lyon, having the advantage of playing the last leg in front of their fans. With all Tottenham’s injuries, Leipzig has a very good chance of making history and reach the next stage of the Champions League. However, they need to be careful of the English club counter-attack, something that they’re very prone at due to their possession-based style. Like Tottenham, the key for this tie will be on how each team takes care of their goal since both clubs concede an insane amount of goals per game. Dayot Upamecano, Willi Orban and Ibrahima Konate won’t feature on Wednesday’s fixture, all crucial defenders for Julian Nagelsmann, as Tottenham will look to take advantage of that situation as well.