Liverpool have been written off at least twice in this season’s Champions League yet they have made it to the Semifinals and face another team that was considered not good enough for this stage. The Reds drew their first two Champions League group games to Sevilla and Spartak Moscow yet they finished the group stage as the second highest scorers in the competition with 23 goals, they have scored many more goals now. In the quarterfinals against arguably the best team in England at the moment, Liverpool were yet again considered the underdogs, but they roared to a 5-1 aggregate victory over Pep Guardiola’s men and their fans would now be dreaming of another final in Kiev, Ukraine. Jurgen Klopp rested most of his star men at the weekend as they threw away a two goals lead to draw 2-2 against West Brom, Mohamed Salah was started and the Egyptian scored his 31st Premier League goal of the campaign, he has also netted 8 times in 10 Champions League games and he would be one of the stars of this game. AS Roma are not to be underrated also. The Romans defeated Barcelona 3-0 in the last round to progress 4-4 on aggregate having trailed 4-1 from the first leg, they drew their next game against Lazio before earning wins against SPAL and Genoa ahead of this match. They have impressively scored in all but one of their Champions League away games this season and they would be looking to get another important away goal here also.

Wigan’s promotion back to the Championship was inevitably confirmed the last time out after they brushed aside Fleetwood Town 4-0. The Latics looked certain to return to England’s second tier from their start of the season and they would now look to end the season on a high note starting with another win at struggling Bristol Rovers. Bristol Rovers have had a tough end to the season. They lost their last league game 2-0 at Rotherham and that means they have now failed to win any of their last four games. They have an enviable record at home though, but they would find it hard to shut out a Wigan side that is gunning for the title. Wigan were beaten 2-1 at Portsmouth three weeks ago, that could have seen any team surrender their title challenge and hit rock bottom, but Paul Cook’s men have shown their class by moving on well from that loss to win 4 of their last five league games and put themselves firmly in the running for the league title, also netting an impressive 14 goals in those matches. Bristol have continued to struggle in defence and they have kept just two clean sheets at home in the whole of this season and their inability to keep things tight at the back might be their biggest undoing here again.

Athletic Bilbao came agonizingly close to securing a famous win at the Bernabeu in their last league game after taking a 1-0 lead late into the game against Real Madrid, but predictably, Christiano Ronaldo ruined their party to see the game end 1-1. That result is still a credible one considering how poor a season the Basque outfit have had. Bilbao are currently 13th on the league table, and next season they would have to focus solely on domestic competitions, but they would need to spend big especially on their attack if they want to return to Europe after next season. Levante come into this game fresh from helping to relegate Malaga following a late 1-0 win which helped their own survival bid. That win gave them a 7 points cushion on 18th placed Depotivo, but they would want to win here as their run-in looks relatively tricky. Bilbao have only lost 19% of their home matches this season, with two of those three losses coming against the teams inside the La Liga top two. They were on a run of ten home games without a defeat before they slipped against Deportivo, that would be seen as just a glitch and they would look to get the better of Levante in this match.

Orlando City defeated the Philadephia Union in their last league game, a win that makes it three victories on the bounce for the Lions and a major upturn in form having previously gone 3 games winless. The Lions are now 6th on the Eastern Conference league table and they would be looking to continue their good run of form here. Orlando City were second from bottom in the MLS table last season and fresh fears were raised when they failed to beat DC United, the only team they finished ahead of last season in their opening game of the season, losing their next two games  against Minnesota United and New York City didn’t help to calm nerves either, but their last three wins have changed moods among fans and their players. They were 14 goals scored in their last three wins against New York RB (4-3), Portland Timbers (3-2), and Philadephia Union (2-0). Last season Orlando City’s first clean sheet of the season also came against the Philadephia Union, what a coincidence that is. Unlike their host, San Jose Earthquakes started the season brightly before fading away into a run of bad form. The Earthquakes won their first game of the season 3-2 with Dutch attacker, Danny Hoesen scoring twice against Minnesota United to give them their only win of the season so far. They have lost out to Sporting Kansas City (3-4), New York City (1-2), before picking up two draws against Philadephia Union (1-1) and Houston Dynamos (2-2). The Earthquakes have been involved in interesting clashes this season with four of their five league games this season seeing over 2.5 goals scored and both teams scoring in 100% of those matches. The Earthquakes have scored in all of their matches this season while conceding in all also. Conversely, Orlando City have scored in all but one of their six league games this season while their defence have also kept out their opponents in just one game this season.  

Chelsea have had a predictably bad season despite winning the Premier League last season. Axing Diego Costa and bringing in an inexperienced and goal-shy Alvaro Morata was always going to see them struggle for the cutting edge they need in attack for a successful season. They are currently outside the top four and their hopes of making it back there is fading by the week. Antonio Conte would most likely not remain as Blues manager beyond this season, however, he would want to end the season on a high by winning the FA Cup and this semifinal offers him the chance to show that he can do just that. Chelsea defeated an in-form Burnley 2-1 in midweek and that followed a 3-2 come back win over Southampton in their previous game, they should head into this game with high confidence to send them to the finals. Southampton collected a point from their last league game against Leicester City on Thursday. While that win helps them end a three-game losing streak, they are still 4 points short of surviving the drop, which should be a priority for them at this stage of the season. The Saints usually a solid team at the back, but the reverse has been the case this season as they have conceded at almost every attack they face. Infact, they have conceded at least 3 goals in 4 of their last 6 games and that could be the case here again. Chelsea are also struggling to shut teams out as they have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last ten games.