Team News

Watford

• Ismaila Sarr has been working
  his way back to full fitness in recent weeks but should return to the
  starting XI here after giving Liverpool’s defence a tough time in the
  reverse meeting.
• Full-back pairing Daryl
  Janmaat and Kiko Femenia are both doubts for Watford, while Craig Dawson
  is ruled out.

Liverpool

• Liverpool will continue to be
  without their captain, Jordan Henderson.
• Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will
  hope to come into the starting XI at the expense of Naby Keita on
  Saturday.
• Liverpool are away to Chelsea
  in the FA Cup on Tuesday and it remains to be seen how Jurgen Klopp will
  juggle his squad with that game in mind.

Team News

Brighton

• Dale
  Stephens remains a doubt for Brighton after missing the draw against
  Sheffield United with a hamstring injury.
• Glenn
  Murray has started Brighton’s last two matches but may drop back to the
  bench here.
• The
  Seagulls may revert back to a four-man defence for the reception of
  Crystal Palace.

Manchester United cannot bank on winning the Europa League to ensure their place in next season’s Champions League, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said.

The Old Trafford side are fifth in the Premier League, three points behind
Chelsea, who occupy the fourth and final berth for Europe’s elite club
competition.

United host Club Brugge later on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa
League last 32 tie, which is locked at 1-1.

“In a cup competition you never know … you cannot predict, you can’t
rely on, ‘we’ll win this.’ There are good teams in it,” Solskjaer told a
news conference.

Arsenal are in control of this tie after picking up a 1-0 win in Greece last week. The Gunners are unbeaten in 2020 (W6, D4).

Defeat to Arsenal was Olympiacos’ first defeat since
November. They lost all three of their Champions League group games on the
road, each by two goal margins.

It’s advantage Manchester United after their 1-1 draw in Belgium last week. United are unbeaten in their last six matches and warmed up for Thursday’s return leg with a 3-0 victory over Watford.

Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool’s ability to stay calm under pressure is the key to their astonishing Premier League title charge after they came from behind to beat West Ham 3-2.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are 22 points ahead of second-placed Manchester
City and need just four more wins to guarantee winning their first
top-flight title for 30 years.

Despite the huge points gap, Liverpool have had to overcome some threats to their season-long unbeaten record in recent weeks.

They were 2-1 down to the Hammers on Monday with 22 minutes to go
while they beat Norwich with a solitary 78th-minute goal earlier this
month.

Defender Van Dijk praised the mental strength of his teammates, who
have won 26 and drawn just one of their 27 Premier League matches.

“Not being nervous, that is the main thing,” he said. “Keep going and
keep playing and keep pressing. There will be moments when the opponent
is going to have problems if we keep doing the same thing. Bet Now on NaijaBet

“They (West Ham) were a little bit better in the second half than the
beginning, they played quite well but I think not being nervous is the
main thing.”

Real Madrid
are not in great shape heading into Wednesday’s last-16 first leg
against Manchester City. Zinedine Zidane’s side have only won one of
their last four matches and have now lost Eden Hazard to another injury. They also face Barcelona in the league this weekend.

Manchester City have won two in a row without conceding since their
two-match losing streak. This is Pep Guardiola’s first competitive
encounter with old rivals Real Madrid as City head coach. Pressure will
be on the Spaniard to deliver this season, particularly with the threat
of a Champions League ban next season.

Despite Madrid’s poor
recent form, do not write them off. They are big game performers in
this competition as the last decade has shown. City, meanwhile, have
underperformed in Europe. Guardiola will certainly take a score draw back to the Etihad.

Team News

Real Madrid– Having only just returned from a
three-month injury lay-off, Eden Hazard could now miss the remainder of
the season after sustaining a hairline fracture in his ankle at the
weekend.

Federico Valverde is expected back in midfield and could take Luka
Modric’s place in midfield. Ferland Mendy could take Marcelo’s place at
left-back. Place bet on Virtual & Live games 24/7

Gareth Bale is expected in Real Madrid’s front three, while Vinicius
Junior, Isco and Rodrygo compete to take Hazard’s place on the left
wing.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp hailed his team’s “incredible” achievement after Monday’s 3-2 win over West Ham United saw them equal the record of 18 straight Premier League victories set by defending champions Manchester City in 2017.

Striker Sadio Mane scored in the 81st minute goal to secure the comeback
victory after Liverpool trailed 2-1 at Anfield and they can set a new
mark of 19 consecutive wins by beating Watford on Saturday.

“I said at the beginning we want to write our own stories, create our own history. Obviously, the boys took that seriously and that’s all cool but just not too important at the moment,” Klopp said.

“It’s so special. The numbers are incredible, so difficult. We are just in the situation and want to recover and prepare for the next game. Bet Now on NaijaBet

“The next opponent is really waiting and wants to fight us, the whole
stadium at Watford will go for us, that’s completely normal. There will
be a special atmosphere and we have to be 100% ready.”

Chelsea secured
a morale-boosting 2-1 win over London rivals Tottenham on Saturday, but
they need to improve if they are to better Bayern here. While they are
unbeaten in five in the Champions League, the Blues have won only four
of their last 12 league outings, which doesn’t bode well here.

Conversely, Bayern have failed to win just one of their last 11
competitive matches, with the only game they failed to win a 0-0 draw
with title rivals RB Leipzig. They’ll hope to earn a similar result to
the one they enjoyed on their last visit to London, where they beat
Tottenham 7-2.

Bayern should secure a first leg advantage in what promises to be an entertaining encounter in west London.

Team News

Chelsea– Andreas Christiensen played the full 90
minutes of Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday with a face mask
and should be fine to start here.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek was fit enough to make the bench on Saturday but Frank Lampard will ease the midfielder back having not featured all season. Place bet on Live games 24/7 on NaijaBet

Tammy Abraham returned as a second half substitute against Chelsea
but his stand-in, Olivier Giroud, scored and will hope to continue in
the side on Tuesday.

Bayern Munich tried and failed to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi last
January but a hamstring injury may keep the winger out here. Willian
will hope to return to the side here.

Team News

Liverpool

• Jordan Henderson picked up a hamstring injury against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night and is out for three weeks.
• Sadio Mane was pulled off at half-time against Atletico over fears the Spanish side were trying to get him sent off. He will start against West Ham on Monday.
• The likes of Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joel Matip will push for starting berths here.