UCL MD-8 Week 1 Team News, Injury Reports, and Live Chat

MD-8 Build-Up

In the days leading up to the Champions League Round of 16 second leg, favorites Benfica won domestically 2-0 over Famalicao while their opponents Club Brugge suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat away against Oostende. Liverpool embarrassed Manchester United by a score of 7-0, and Chelsea put a stop to a 6 matches winless streak in all competitions when they defeated Leeds 1-0 this weekend. Dortmund on the other hand hit the magical number 10 of consecutive wins in all competitions as they beat RB Leipzig 2-1 in Bundesliga.

Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images

Wednesday will feature one club from each of the top European leagues. Tottenham and Milan will play the second leg in England coming off domestic defeats against Wolves 0-1 and Fiorentina 1-2. The majority of Europe will be focused on the return leg of Bayern vs PSG in Munich. Will PSG’s three victories since the defeat to Bayern be enough to knock the Germans out, or will Bayern capitalize on their home advantage and the return of key players from injuries to once again put an end to the Parisian dream of winning UCL?

In case you missed them, here are links to my UCL MD-8 Preview article and Rae’s Fantasy UCL MD-8 Player Picks article.

For your convenience, all of our MD-7 content can be found in the Round of 16, Leg 2 article stream.

Cheers and good luck!

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Team News (Injury/Suspension)

AC Milan

The Italian club will welcome first-choice goalkeeper Mike Maignan back to the starting lineup. AC Milan have no suspended players from the first leg of the round of 16. Ismael Bennacer is reportedly out by UEFA.com, however; the player featured for Milan’s loss in Florence this weekend as a starter. Brahim Diaz is the only major concern for Milan and will not be risked even if he returns to training ahead of the match.

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Tottenham

As Pierre-Emile Hojberg returns from suspension, Eric Dier’s yellow card in Milan means he will not be able to welcome the Italians. Spurs’ physio clinic is still occupied by the following players: Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon, Rodrigo Bentacur and Yves Bissouma.

Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

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Paris Saint-Germain

Nordi Mukiele is back in the fold but other key players, namely Neymar, Presnel Kimpembe and Achraf Hakimi, join long-term injury absentee Renato Sancho on the sidelines. Some online reports categorize Hakmi, Marquinhos and Mukiele as doubtful, but the fear of crashing out of the tournament may push PSG to risk such players.

Photo by Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

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Bayern Munich

The Bavarians have a long injury list which includes Manuel Neuer, Lucas Hernandez, and Noussair Mazraoui. They will be joined by Benjamen Pavard, who was sent off in the first leg and is now suspended. The returns of Ryan Gravenberch and Sadio Mane to the first team will be a big boost for the Bavarians.

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Club Brugge

The struggling Belgian club travel to Portugal without Andreas Skov Olsen and Jack Hendry. The clean bill of health Brugge enjoyed before the first leg was not enough for them to take advantage of home grounds.

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Benfica

The dark-horse Portuguese club has no injury concerns ahead of their second-leg match with Club Brugge. After winning 2-0 in Leg 1, coach Roger Schmidt will have to try to finish off his opponents without the services of Mihailo Ristic, Chiquinho, Julian Draxler and Goncalo Guedes.

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Borussia Dortmund

It did not take long for Dortmund to return to old ways. The injury list has suddenly expanded to include Youssoufa Moukoko, Abdoulaye Kamara, Mateu Morey, Karim Adeyemi, Donyell Malen and Julien Duranville. Julian Ryerson is out due to suspension.

Photo by Fantasista/Getty Images

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Chelsea

The London club is as plagued by injury as Dortmund, if not worse. Key players such as N’Golo Kante, Eduardo Mendy, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta are joined by Armando Broja as confirmed injuries. Mason Mount is sidelined due to suspension and Reece James and Christian Pulisic will push for early returns to ready-to-play status.

Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images

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Confirmed Lineups Day-1

Dortmund: Meyer, Guerreiro, Schlotterbeck, Sule, Wolf, Reus, Salih Ozcan, Bellingham, Brandt, Haller

Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Fofana, Koulibaly, Cucurella, James, Kovacic, Fernandez, Chilwell, Sterling, Havertz, Joao Felix

Club Brugge: Mignolet, Sylla, Mechele, Clinton Mata, Meijer, Sowah, Vanaken, Nielsen, Buchanan, Yaremchuk, Lang

Benfica: Vlachodinos, Bah, Antonio Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo, Florentino, Chiquinho, Aursnes, Joao Mario, Rafa Silva, Goncalo Ramos

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Confirmed Lineups Day-2

PSG: Donna, Ramos, Marquinhos, Danilo, Mendes, Vitinha, Verrati, Ruiz, Hakimi, Mbappe, Messi

Bayern Munich: Sommer, Davies, Upemecano, De Ligt, Stanisic, Goretzka, Kimmich, Musiala, Muller, Coman, Choupo-Moting

AC Milan: Maignan, Hernandez, Tomori, Kalulu, Thiaw, Tonali, Messias, Krunic, Leao, Diaz, Giroud

Tottenham: Forster, Davies, Linglet, Romero, Perisic, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Emerson, Kulusevski, Kane, Son

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For an early look at injury lists and predicted lineups for the second-week matches of Leg 2, see the UEFA UCL link here

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Keep an eye on the comments section for any late updates and be aware that lineups for the Benfica vs Club Brugge and Chelsea vs Dortmund will be released about an hour before today’s fantasy transfer deadline at 20:00 GMT.

We’ll post those team sheets here in time for you to make transfers and substitutions, just like we will on every game day. Make sure you’re here for that!

Good luck everyone and I’ll see you in the Comments!

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How is your team shaping up? Has your squad been hit by injuries to any players? Do you have any tactical questions? Which matches do you plan/wish to watch as a fan? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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