There is no bigger matchup of heavyweights than the Manchester City vs. Paris Saint-Germain tilt in the quarterfinals of this year's Champions League. The match on Wednesday at 2:45 p.m. EST at the Parc des Princes in Paris is undeniably going to tell us whether the game lives up to the hype.
The Champions League returns on Tuesday afternoon with the first two round of 16 matches. The competition is arguably one of the most hotly anticipated of the annual soccer season and this is the phase where things get most interesting.
But it has been a long time since we have seen teams play. In fact, the group round ended in December and teams have undoubtedly altered their styles and are in different form. So which teams are now the favorites to lift the European trophy based on current form?
Manchester City, playing without Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany and English Premier League (EPL) leading scorer Sergio Aguero, managed to defy the odds, defeating Series A club AS Roma to advance to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. Luis Suarez helped Barcelona beat PSG with an assist to Lionel Messi -- scoring his 75th career Champions League, three ahead of Cristiano Ronald on the all-time scorers list -- and scoring his first goal with the Catalan club since his transfer from Liverpool.
After scoring a hat-trick to break Spain's La Liga all-time scoring record against Sevilla over the weekend, Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick on Wednesday against Cyrus champion APOEL FC on Tuesday to surpass Raul's all-time scorers record in UEFA Champions League history.
Wayne Rooney celebrated his 100th cap with the national team scoring in England's 3-1 victory over Slovenia. Also, Spain rolls on in the Euro 2016 qualifiers while Russia is upset by Austria and Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns to action, coming back from a heel injury.
If ego and personality were the main qualities needed to win the Ballon d'Or, Zlatan Ibrahmovic would arguably be the winner every year. There is arguably no other player in the world as entertaining as the Swede. But Ibrahimovic has yet to claim a Ballon d'Or. Now at age 33, his career is winding down. Could this be the year he wins the coveted trophy?
Also, after losing to Poland on Saturday, current World Cup winners Germany struggled yet again ending their game against the Republic of Ireland in 1-1 draw while the Serbia-Albania game is delayed due to a drone interrupting match.
