Champions League 2015: Fixtures, Live Stream Info and Round-of-16 Team News
Barcelona's trip to face Manchester City headlines the second week of this year's Champions League's round-of-16 first-leg matches.
The Blaugrana topped Manuel Pellegrini's men 4-1 on aggregate at this stage last season and were buoyed by a comfortable 2-0 Etihad Stadium win in the opening encounter. A repeat result will end City's hopes of progressing into the latter stages, and indeed set Barca up for a healthy run to the Berlin final.
European football aficionados have a selection of mouthwatering ties to look forward to, as highlighted below:
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| Tuesday, Feb. 24 | 7:45 p.m. (GMT) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund | Sky Go / Fox Soccer 2Go |
| Tuesday, Feb. 24 | 7:45 p.m. (GMT) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Manchester City vs. Barcelona | ITV Player / Fox Soccer 2Go |
| Wednesday, Feb. 25 | 7:45 p.m. / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Arsenal vs. Monaco | Sky Go / Fox Soccer 2Go |
| Wednesday, Feb. 25 | 7:45 p.m. / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid | Sky Go / Fox Soccer 2Go |
You can follow all matches via live stream offerings from Sky Go, ITV Player and Fox Soccer 2Go.
Round-of-16 Team News
Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund
The headline news for Juventus is that midfield dynamo Arturo Vidal is likely to recover from his recent groin injury to feature in Turin, per BBC Sport. Football Italia confirmed the Chilean's presence in the Bianconeri squad after he sat out Friday's 2-1 win against Atalanta.
Juventus made sure everyone knows Vidal is heading back to full fitness:
Football Italia also noted that January signings Alessandro Matri, Paolo De Ceglie and Stefano Sturaro are available for Massimiliano Allegri's side if needed.
Dortmund's squad have been struck down by flu symptoms in recent times, with the likes of Mats Hummels, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Erik Durm struggling, per Sky Sports. All should feature, while out-of-form striker Ciro Immobile may be overlooked even if he proves his fitness, as reported by Mark Doyle of Goal.com.
Manchester City vs. Barcelona
Pellegrini will be ruing the suspension of Yaya Toure during Barca's visit, per Sky Sports, a player whose absence sparked a run of poor form for City in January. A combination of Fernandinho and Fernando are likely to plug the centre in Yaya's absence.
Even so, Barca boss Luis Enrique doesn't believe the two sides can be separated, per the Champions League's official Twitter account:
January signing Wilfried Bony could make his first start for the English champions but may be kept out of the side by Edin Dzeko, who scored during City's 5-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
Barcelona are without long-term absentee Thomas Vermaelen, but otherwise confirmed a full complement travelled to Manchester:
B/R UK's Ryan Bailey and Andy Brassell recently discussed how City can stop Barca's lethal front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez:
Arsenal vs. Monaco
The usual suspects will be missing for Arsenal when Monaco arrive, including Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mathieu Debuchy and Mikel Arteta. This is nothing new for Wenger, who confirmed Jack Wilshere could be rested as a precaution, per the club's official Twitter account:
Wenger will be glad to have both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez working their way to sharpness after recent spells on the sideline, two players who could seriously impact the game, per B/R UK's Bailey and James McNicholas:
Mike Collett of The Independent suggests winger Yannick Carrasco and defender Layvin Kurzawa both need to overcome fitness problems to make an appearance.
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid
Roger Schmidt's side will be without suspended centre-back Omer Toprak when Atletico Madrid arrive, as reported by FourFourTwo. His absence may be pivotal in the German side's quest to halt powerful centre-forward Mario Mandzukic, and indeed, the increasingly lethal output of Antoine Griezmann.
Diego Simeone has a full squad to choose from, including Fernando Torres, who could make his first Champions League appearance of the season.
This week's set of games promises to follow on from the drama of the initial batch, with the likes of City, Barcelona and Atletico looking to underline their credentials as contenders for the prize.
