Barcelona v Paris Saint-Germain
16 February 2021
Barcelona have knocked out Paris SG in each of their last three Uefa Champions League knock-out ties: 2012/13 quarterfinals (3-3 agg. away goals), 2014/15 quarterfinals (5-1 agg.), 2016/17 round of 16 (6-5 agg.). The only previous time Paris SG overcame the Catalans in a UCL knockout tie was in the 1994/95 quarterfinals (3-2 agg.).
The last time Barcelona and Paris SG met was in the 2016/17 Uefa Champions League round of 16. The Catalan side became the first – and so far only – side to qualify for the next round following a 4+ goals first-leg margin of defeat (0-4 first leg at Parc des Princes; 6-1 second leg at Camp Nou).
Since 2012/13, only Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid have faced each other more often (10 times) than Barcelona and Paris SG (8) in the Uefa Champions League. Those eight games have produced 32 goals, an average of four per match.
Only one French club has beaten Barcelona at Camp Nou – it was FC Metz in the first round of the Cup Winners Cup in October 1984 (4-1). No French side though has ever beaten FCB on their own patch in the Uefa Champions League (D2 L8).
Barcelona will attempt to reach the quarterfinals of the Uefa Champions League for the 14th consecutive season, a record. The last time they were knocked out in the round of 16 was in 2006/07 against Liverpool (2-2 agg. away goals).
Paris SG have reached the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League for the ninth consecutive season, matching the record for a French club set by Lyon between 2003/04 and 2011/12. They’ve made it past the round of 16 once in the last four seasons (2019/20).
Barcelona have only lost one of their last 33 home games in the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League (W25 D7), a 0-3 defeat against Bayern Munich in the semifinals of the 2012/13 edition. This includes winning 13 of their last 15 k/o games at Camp Nou (D2), setting a goal difference of +33 over those 15 matches (41 goals for, 8 against).
Paris SG’s only away win against a Spanish side in the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League came eight years ago against Valencia (2-1, February 2013). They have lost the last three-such visits to Spain in the competition by an aggregate scoreline of 11-2.
44 per cent of Barcelona’s goals in this season’s Uefa Champions League group stages came from set-piece (7 out of 16), the highest ratio among the 16 teams left in the competition.
Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann has more yellow cards (2) than goals or assists (1 goal) in his seven Uefa Champions League appearances at Camp Nou.
Paris SG’s Neymar has scored as many goals at Camp Nou (16 goals in 20 games) as he has at the Parc des Princes (16 in 14) in the Uefa Champions League. He’s failed to score in his last three knockout games in the competition – he’s never gone four in a row without a goal.
Kylian Mbappé has scored only one goal in his nine Uefa Champions League knockout games with Paris SG. He’d found the net six times in six knockout games with Monaco.
RB Leipzig v Liverpool
16 February 2021
This is the first competitive encounter between RB Leipzig and Liverpool. However, this is Leipzig’s third English opponent in the Uefa Champions League since the start of 2020, eliminating Tottenham in last season’s round of 16 (4-0 on aggregate) and finishing ahead of Manchester United in this season’s group stages (5-0 defeat away and 3-2 win at home).
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last five away games against German sides, in all competitions (W3 D2). Their last defeat was in April 2002 against Bayer Leverkusen, in the quarterfinals of the Uefa Champions League (4-2).
RB Leipzig’s only previous Uefa Champions League knockout appearance was last season when they reached the semifinals, while Liverpool will be attempting to reach the final of the tournament for the third time in the last four campaigns.
RB Leipzig are unbeaten in their last six home matches in the Uefa Champions League (W5 D1), scoring at least two goals in each of those six games, their best ever run on home turf in the competition.
RB Leipzig have only kept two clean sheets in their 10 home games in the Uefa Champions League, one of them coming in their only knockout game played on home turf to this date (3-0 v Tottenham, March 2020).
None of RB Leipzig’s 22 Uefa Champions League games has ended goalless – that’s more than any other side in the history of the competition.
Penalties excluded (1 goal each), the 19 combined goals scored by RB Leipzig and Liverpool in this season’s Uefa Champions League have all come from open play.
Liverpool were the only team not to concede a single goal before half-time in this season’s Uefa Champions League group stages.
RB Leipzig conceded 12 goals in their six group games this season, more than any other team among the 16 qualified for the knockout phase.
In the Uefa Champions League this season, RB Leipzig have allowed their opponents only 8.9 passes on average before intervening defensively (PPDA), the lowest average of any side in the competition this season, highlighting their intense pressing regimen.
RB Leipzig wing-back Angeliño has had a hand in six Uefa Champions League goals this season (3 goals & 3 assists) – the only Spaniard with more goal involvements in the competition this season is Juventus’s Álvaro Morata (7, 6 goals & 1 assist).
Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino has scored only one goal in his last 16 Uefa Champions League games, it came in last season’s round of 16 return leg against Atlético Madrid.
Porto v Juventus
17 February 2021
Porto have never beaten Juventus in five previous encounters in European competition (D1 L4). In fact, Liverpool are the only other club they have faced on more occasions without ever winning (8 matches).
Porto and Juventus’ only previous encounter in the Uefa Champions League knockout stages was in the round of 16 back in 2016/17. The Turin side won 3-0 on aggregate but in both matches, it was goalless before Porto had a player sent off, each time in the first-half.
Juventus are the only team, alongside Zenit St Petersburg, to have faced Porto at least twice away from home in European competition without ever conceding a goal.
Juventus have reached the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League for the seventh consecutive season, their longest streak in the competition. Meanwhile, this will be Porto’s fourth appearance in the k/o stages in the last five seasons.
Porto are the only team yet to concede a goal at home in this season’s Uefa Champions League. They have also kept a clean sheet in each of their last five Champions League games, their longest ever run of matches without conceding a goal in the competition. Man City’s Ferran Torres was the last player to score past Agustín Marchesín, on 21 October.
Porto have won only one of their last nine games in the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League, a 3-1 home victory against Roma in March 2019 (D1 L7).
Juventus have won 11 of their last 13 games in the Uefa Champions League (L2). They are also one of only four teams to win all three of their away games in this season’s group stages, alongside Atalanta, Barcelona and Chelsea.
Porto goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín has saved the last 12 shots on target he’s faced in the Uefa Champions League, with those 12 shots totalling an Expected Goals of 3.6.
Porto were Cristiano Ronaldo’s first ever opponents in the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League, 17 years ago – it was in the round of 16 of the 2003/04 campaign. He last faced Porto when he was wearing Manchester United colours, in April 2009, scoring the only goal of the game at the Dragão and taking United through to the semis (3-2 agg).
Since – and including – his first Uefa Champions League final with Manchester United in 2008, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 62 goals in 66 matches in the knockout stages of the competition.
Juventus’ Juan Cuadrado delivered more assists (5) than any other player in this season’s Uefa Champions League group stages – in fact, he’s provided as many assists over his last five games as he did over his previous 38 games in the competition.
Sevilla v Borussia Dortmund
17 February 2021
Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund’s only previous meeting in European competition came in the 2010/11 Uefa Europa League group stages. The side from Andalucía won 1-0 in Dortmund before a 2-2 draw at the Sanchez-Pizjuan.
Borussia Dortmund have won none of their last 10 away games against Spanish opposition in the Uefa Champions League (D3 L7), conceding at least two goals in nine of those 10 trips. Dortmund’s only away win on Spanish soil in the competition came in October 1996 against Atlético Madrid (1-0) – they would go on to lift the UCL trophy later that season.
Sevilla have hosted German opposition 12 times previously in European competition – they’ve only lost one of those 12 matches (W7 D4), against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the 2017/18 Uefa Champions League (1-2).
In what is their sixth Uefa Champions League appearance, Sevilla have reached the knockout stages for the fifth time. They’ve only made it past the round of 16 on one occasion though, in 2017/18 – they were eventually eliminated by Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.
Borussia Dortmund are in the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League for the seventh time in their last eight appearances. They haven’t progressed past the round of 16 since 2016/17 – they were eventually knocked out by Monaco in the quarterfinals.
Borussia Dortmund have lost their last six away games in the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League, conceding 14 goals and scoring only two. In fact, their only victory in their last 12 k/o away games dates back to February 2014 against Zenit (4-2).
Four of Sevilla’s last seven Uefa Champions League goals have been scored by Youssef En-Nesyri. In fact, only Marouane Chamakh (8 goals in 30 matches) and Hakim Ziyech (6 in 22) have scored more UCL goals than En-Nesyri (4 in 6) among Moroccan players.
Among players with 3+ goals in this season’s Uefa Champions League group stages, only Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud boasted a better minutes-per-goal ratio (one every 28 minutes) than Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland (58 minutes) and Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri (59 minutes).
Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland has scored 16 goals in 12 Uefa Champions League games, the fastest player ever to reach that tally of goals in the competition ahead of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roberto Soldado (both 16 goals in his first 20 appearances).
Borussia Dortmund’s Manuel Akanji carried the ball forward on average 183 meters per game during the group stages of this season’s Uefa Champions League (731 meters in 4 games), more than any other defender to have made more than one appearance.
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