Premier League defending champions will be without their regular right-back Kyle Walker in the Champions League round of 16 games (both legs) following his red card in their previous match against RB Leipzig. Not only him but Inter Milan’s star midfielder Nicolo Barella who is also a prime target of the Premier League side Liverpool FC also faced a two-match ban, which means he will also be not available for their Champions League round of 16 clash against the Reds (Liverpool). UEFA confirmed the ban on these two players on Friday where they also issued an official statement regarding this situation.
Manchester City will be facing Sporting Lisbon FC in the Round of 16 of this season’s Champions League as not only Kyle Walker will miss these two legs against Sporting but he will also miss the next game of the champions league if City progresses through to the next round i.e. the quarter-finals of the competition.
Nicolo Barella had the chance to play against Liverpool who wants the Italian midfielder as a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum after he went to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window last year. His foul on Real Madrid’s centre-back Eder Militao was again a harsh one as he punched him on his leg while he was on the ground and the referee didn’t take much time to take a red card out from his pocket and showed it to him (Nicolo Barella). Champions League round of 16 is not so far away, it will be interesting to see who lifts this year’s trophy as there are many favorites.
