UCL MD-9 Team News, Injury Reports, and Live Chat

MD-9 Build-Up

In the days leading up to the Champions League quarterfinals, Benfica suffered a 1-2 loss at the hands of Primeira Liga rivals Porto. The loss narrowed the gap between the two teams in the domestic table; Porto is now only seven points behind the league-leading Benfica with seven matches to go. Benfica’s opponents in the UCL, Inter Milan, are not doing much better as they added a sixth match to their winless streak across all competitions. Inter Milan are currently locked in a five-way battle for UCL qualification from Serie A.

Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

Manchester City enjoyed the return of Erling Haaland from a minor injury this weekend, defeating Southampton 4-1 with the big Norwegian scoring a brace. The weekend was extra special for Man City because Liverpool forced Arsenal to share the spoils, with Ramsdale’s astonishing performance the main reason Arsenal left with any points at all. The results of the weekend put Man City only 6 points behind top-of-table Arsenal with a match in hand. City’s UCL guests this week, Bayern Munich, defeated Freiburg 2-1 over the weekend to maintain its 2 point-lead in the Bundesliga ahead of Dortmund.

On Wednesday, La Liga title-holders Real Madrid will host Frank Lampard’s Chelsea. The Spanish capital club lost a thrilling match 2-3 to Villarreal over the weekend to allow Barcelona to go 13 points clear at the top of the table with 10 gameweeks left. Lampard’s first match back in charge of Chelsea resulted in a 0-1 loss away to Wolves. The London club stands at 11th, seven points away from the European qualifying slots.

Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images

The other match on Wednesday is an all-Italian clash between Serie A title-holders AC Milan and this season’s most likely champions, Napoli. AC Milan’s recent form is almost as poor as Inter’s. They have recorded only one victory since the R16, however; that victory was last week 4-0 against their UCL opponents Napoli. Consequently, Spalletti’s team will be looking to take revenge on the biggest stage in Europe this Wednesday after going 16 points clear at the top of Serie A.

In case you missed them, here are links to my UCL MD-9 Preview article, Rae’s Fantasy UCL MD-9 Player Picks article and a MD-9 RMT piece by Chris!

Cheers and good luck!

---

Team News (Injury/Suspension)

Benfica

The Portuguese club will host Inter Milan without the injured Goncalo Guedes (knee) and Alexander Bah who was replaced 26 into the match against Porto this weekend. Both players join PSG loanee Draxler in the infirmary. The major hit to Benfica is actually the suspension of Nicolas Otamendi, who received a yellow card in the round of 16 match return leg against Club Brugge.

~

Inter Milan

Inter Milan will be travelling to Portugal without Milan Skriniar and Hakan Calganoglu due to injury. Simone Inzaghi’s starting lineup may be somewhat unpredictable as the coach is under severe pressure to deliver.

~

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has fully fit squad with the exception of Phil Foden who continues to recover from a recent operation. That means plenty of slots on Pep’s roulette wheel this week!

Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

~

Bayern Munich

Thomas Tuchel also has one new name on the injury list: Eric Choupo Moting joins Lucas Hernandez and Neuer on the sidelines. His role as a center forward was covered by Serge Gnabry in recent weeks. The only doubt for Bayern comes down to whether Sadio Mane or Kingsley Coman will play on the left. Fortunately, the lineups will be released before the fantasy transfer deadline.

~

AC Milan

Stefano Pioli rested several key players against Lecce over the weekend, highlighting the depth of his squad. He may opt for the same XI that defeated Napoli 10 days ago, hoping for a repeat. Pierre Kalulu is the only injury worry for Milan, but he may be ready and fit to start in time for the match.

~

Napoli

Losing to AC Milan 0-4 only 10 days ago at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium must certainly have had a psychological impact on the team. Napoli responded over the weekend by defeating Lecce 2-1. The major impact is expected to come from Victor Osimhen’s likely absence due to injury. The forward’s replacement, Giovanni Simeone, is a doubt due to a knock picked up against Lecce.

Photo by SSC NAPOLI/SSC NAPOLI via Getty Images

~

Real Madrid

Ferland Mendy is the only injured player for Real Madrid. Federico Valverde may be too busy with the Spanish police due to an altercation with Alex Baena after the 2-3 loss to Villarreal, in which Valverde struck Baena in the face. There is no news about his availability so it is something to keep an eye on.

~

Chelsea

Chelsea will be without Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, and Cesar Azpilicueta. N’Golo Kante was absent from the squad playing against Wolves despite his return from injury which raises a question mark on his match fitness (or perhaps he is not favored by his new gaffer). Mason Mount completed his UCL suspension but he may be sidelines anyway due to abdominal issues.

---

Confirmed Lineups (TUESDAY; will be published as soon as available)

Benfica: Vlachodimos, Gilberto, Silva, Morato, Grimlado, Chiquinho, Florentino, Rafa Silva, Joao Mario, Aursnes, Ramos

Inter Milan: Onana, Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dimarco, Dumfries, Mikhtaryan, Brozovic, Barella, Martinez, Dzeko

Manchester City: Ederson, Ruben Dias, Stones, Ake, Akanji, Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Haaland, Grealish

Bayern Munich: Sommer, Upamecano, Pavard, Davies, De Ligt, Goretzka, Kimmich, Musiala, Sane, Gnabry, Coman

~

Confirmed Lineups (WEDNESDAY; will be published as soon as available)

AC Milan: Maignan, Calabria, Bennacer, Tonali, Giroud, Brahim, Leao, Hernandez, Tomori, Kjaer, Krunic

Napoli: Meret, Kim, Rui, Elmas, Lozano, Rrahmani, Zielinski, Di Lorenzo, Lobotka, Kvaratshelia, Anguissa

Real Madrid: Courtois, Camavinga, Alaba, Militao, Carvajal, Modric, Kroos, Valverde, Vinicius, Benzema, Rodrygo

Chelsea: Kepa, Koulibaly, Thiago, Fofana, James, Kante, Enzo, Kovacic, Chilwell, Sterling, Felix

---

Keep an eye on the comments section for any late updates and be aware that lineups for the Benfica vs Inter Milan and Manchester City vs Bayern Munich 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!

---

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!

~