Champions League venue changes for Premier League clubs
Just under a week left before we back to European action with the Champions League round of 16 up first. A few venue changes for English Premier League participants amid continuous pandemic problems and restrictions.
UEFA today (Wednesday, February 10th) has confirmed a trio of changes in venues for the up and coming Champions League round of 16.
As it is for Europe’s top competition so will it be for the Europa League. UEFA has relocated another three fixtures in the tournament – one of which does not involve a PL club.
"UEFA is able to officially confirm that the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match between Club Atlético de Madrid and Chelsea FC will now be played at the Arena Naţională in Bucharest.… round of 16 first leg match between Borussia VfL 1900 Mönchengladbach and Manchester City FC will now take place at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.… round of 16 first leg match between RB Leipzig and Liverpool FC will now take place at Puskás Aréna in Budapest. (Via: uefa.com)"
The venue changes arise because of the extended travel band between certain countries/locations in Europe, predominately England.
The coronavirus has persisted to interfere in several parts of the continent, causing a problem for some clubs travelling abroad until the ban is lifted, something they hope will happen by March – depending on the situation when the time comes.
Champions League venue changes for English Premier League clubs
Leipzig vs Liverpool – Puskás Aréna, Budapest (16 Feb)
Mönchengladbach vs Manchester City – Puskás Aréna, Budapest (23 Feb)
Atlético de Madrid vs Chelsea – Arena Naţională, Bucharest (24 Feb)
Europa League venue changes
Molde vs Hoffenheim – Estadio de la Cerámica, Vila-real (18 Feb)
Benfica vs Arsenal – Stadio Olimpico, Rome (18 Feb)
Real Sociedad vs Manchester United – Juventus Stadium, Turin (18 Feb)
The rest of the Champions League games
The rest of the fixtures taking place in other regions will go ahead as planned with no changes to venues or time. The first kickoff will take place on Tuesday at 20:00 GMT (21:00 CET) with the Reds the only English club playing in the first week.
16th-17th Feb UCL matchups
Barcelona vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Sevilla vs. Dortmund
FC Porto vs. Juventus
23rd-24th Feb UCL matchups
Lazio vs. Bayern Munich
Atalanta vs. Real Madrid
Four matches will be played out from the 16th to the 17th and the following week of the 23rd and 24th, another four. Chelsea and Manchester City will take part in the latter group of clashes. The best and most promising match has to be the meeting between Barca and PSG.
Although, this is the biggest stage in Europe for club football and any meeting guarantees to be entertaining. There are many mouth-watering games to look forward to coming next week when we back to European action.
Three other Premier League sides are taking part in the Europe League who are not affected by the pandemic at the moment.
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Those three are Manchester United, Leicester City, and Tottenham, whose fixtures will commence at the respective venues as planned.