Real Madrid to play UCL return game in Manchester
The return legs of the Round of 16 games will be played at the home grounds of City, Barça, Bayern and Juventus with UEFA to confirm the decision on Friday.
Next Friday, UEFA will stage the draw for the quarter-final of the 2019/20 Champions League in Nyon. The governing body are also expected to confirm that the final four outstanding Round of 16 return legs will be staged at the home grounds of Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Juventus and FC Barcelona after initial speculation suggested these games would be staged in Portugal.
Real Madrid trail City following a 1-2 scoreline at the Bernabéu and Barça face Serie A side Naploli with the tie in the balance after a 1-1 draw at the San Paolo. In the other ties, Juve face a 1-0 deficit after losing in Lyon and Bayern should have no problem in progressing after a comfortable 0-3 win over Chelsea in London.
Porto and Guimarães earmarked
UEFA were anxious that these games were initially staged in Portugal ahead of the quarter-finals and subsequent games in the competition with Porto and Guimarães the designated cities to host the Round of 16 return leg matches. However, pressure from City and Barça to play at their respective grounds has ultimately been instrumental in the decision that UEFA will confirm on Friday.
The outstanding games to be played in the Round of 16 will be staged on both 7 and 8 of August with the quarter finals commencing on 12 August with one game a day in Lisbon at the homes of Sporting CP and Benfica. The Estadio da Luz will host both semi-finals (18/19 August) with the final being held on 23 August.