UEFA Champions League Live Chat: Match Day 7 Team News

Matchday 7 Midway

The spotlight was directed at only Kilyan Mbappe last week as he scored a hattrick against Barcelona at Camp Nou. Erling Haaland was just one goal short, but he added an assist to his name. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were nowhere to be seen except reflected in the tears of their fantasy managers.

All that aside, UEFA Men’s Player of the Year 2019-20, Best FIFA Men’s Player 2020 and probably the only deserving candidate for the cancelled “2020 Ballon d’Or”; Robert Lewandowski takes the stage tonight in the third quartet of matches in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against Lazio in Rome. Thomas Tuchel’s shuffling Chelsea travels to neutral Bucharest to face somewhat struggling Atletico Madrid. The match counts as the home match for the Spaniards.

The first leg of the Round of 16 wraps on Wednesday when 25-game unbeaten Manchester City travels to neutral Budapest to face Borussia Monchengladbach in their coach’s last days at the club after it was strangely announced that Marco Rose will take the helm at Dortmund this Summer. This match will count as an away fixture for the Premier League leaders. Playing at the same time are injured Real Madrid and free scoring Atalanta in Bergamo, Italy.

If you missed NMA’s build up, it is worth going back to check on NMA’s UCL Matchday 7 Preview. My fellow author and UCL expert Prakhar has also given us his insights on MD7 players picks, and David shared his plan for tackling the tricky upcoming Matchday 7!. NMA staff predictions for the upcoming matches. It was also my pleasure to take part in NMA’s podcast hosted by none other that our FPL monster Paul. Follow the link and discover my opinion on the following subjects:

• Reminder on how to play ahead of Matchday 7
• Matchday 7 (Last 16) Preview and Predictions
• Matchday 7 (Last 16) Player Picks (& Captain Pick)

Crazy Monday - Injury/suspension/participation Updates

Photo by John Walton - Pool/Getty Images

Another round of updates! Keep an eye on @NMA_Blog on Twitter for any updates during the day!

Matchday 7 Suspension List: 24 players are on the verge of suspension in the second leg if booked during the first: The official UEFA Champions League Booking list. Kieran Trippier is the only suspended player in the first leg.

• Atletico Madrid: Lemar, Dembele, and Joao Felix returned to the side from COVID-19 infection while Hector Herrera remains sidelined. Jose Gimenez and Yannick Carrasco picked up injuries in the weekend. Sime Vrsaljko remains injured.
• Chelsea: Thiago Silva is the only missing player, Tammy Abraham is doubtful with an ankle problem.
• Lazio: Luiz Felipe is joined by Stefan Radu for the Italians.
• Bayern Munich: Flick is without Thomas Muller and Benjamin Pavard due to positive COVID-19 tests. Tolisso joined the long list of injuries with Serge Gnabry ,Douglas Costa, Alexander Nubel and Tanguy Nianzou. Goretzka and Javi Martinez returned from injury in the weekend.
• Real Madrid: Karim Benzema was left out of the traveling squad to face Atalanta. Many players are missing for Zidane, including Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Edin Hazard, Federico Valverde, Daniel Carvajal and Rodrigo.
• Atalanta: Right-back Hateboer is the only major concern for Atalanta.
• Manchester City: Pep Guardiola is without center back Nathan Ake but welcomes back Kevin De Bruyne.

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Keep an eye on the comments section for press conference reports and any other status updates before today’s deadline. Good luck to everyone!

How’s your team faring? What subs have you made from your bench? Have you moved the captain’s armband? Do you have any tactical questions? And which matches do you plan / wish to watch as a fan? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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