With one foot in the quarterfinals, Premier League powerhouse Liverpool welcomes reigning Serie A holder Inter, while German giant Bayern has a tough but achievable task at hand against RB Salzburg in the Champions League last 16 ties Tuesday.
Although Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is still laughing off the idea, there is increasing talk about a possible quadruple of titles for Liverpool.
It has already won the League Cup, is in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup and has closed in on Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
The Reds' involvement in the Champions League should stretch into next month after late goals at the San Siro gave Liverpool a handy 2-0 advantage to bring back to Anfield, where it is notoriously hard to beat – especially on big European nights.
Liverpool is unbeaten in all competitions in 2022 and perhaps has its strongest squad in Jurgen Klopp's reign, with the German coach having plenty of options in attack.
Klopp's big decision, however, might be who to start out of Diogo Jota and new signing Luis Diaz alongside Sadio Mane and Salah.
In the San Siro three weeks ago, it was Diaz's introduction that helped turn the tide as Klopp made four changes before the hour mark.
Inter was the better side for much of the first 75 minutes, but the financial gulf between the top of the Premier League and Serie A showed in the final stages.
The Italian champion, who was forced to sell Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi last year due to financial problems, faded in the final stages by Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah scored to give the tie a one-sided look.
That defeat started a run of four straight matches without a goal for the Nerazzurri. They went more than 400 minutes without scoring before ending their goal drought in spectacular style on Friday with a 5-0 win over last-place Salernitana.
Lautaro Martínez scored a hat trick in that match but he hasn't netted in the Champions League since 2020.
Thomas Muller’s first own-goal in his long Bayern Munich career has disturbed what should have been relatively straightforward preparation for the visit of Austrian champion Salzburg on Tuesday.
Muller scored in the wrong goal for Bayer Leverkusen to draw 1-1 in his 407th Bundesliga appearance on Saturday when it was evident that communication among the German league leader is an issue.
Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, who is filling in for the injured Manuel Neuer, said he told Muller he had Kerem Demirbay’s harmless-looking cross covered, but Muller was already on his way to turn it in.
Dayot Upamecano also produced an error-strewn performance in defense, where any mistakes Tuesday are likely to be punished by Salzburg’s German forward Karim Adeyemi, a reported target for Borussia Dortmund next season.
Salzburg, which held Bayern to a 1-1 draw in its first game, warmed up for the return in Munich with a comfortable 4-0 win at SCR Altach.
Bayern struggled with the Austrian team's pace in the first leg before Kingsley Coman rescued a draw for the Bavarians in the last minute.
To make matters worse, Bayern's Robert Lewandowski is agitating for a new contract and transfer speculation around the Poland striker's future is clouding the issue.
Lewandowski, 33, like fellow Bayern veterans Neuer, 35, and Mueller, 32, is out of contract in June 2023.
Yet while Neuer and Mueller have reportedly been told in person that the club wants to extend, Lewandowski has not.
Last month, Bayern director Hasan Salihamidzic publically stated that the club does not want to sell him. "It's out of the question. Robert is a very important part of the team."
Yet the news surprised Lewandowski. "I'm hearing that for the first time," he said.
The Poland international turns 34 in August, but due to his punishing fitness regime, Lewandowski is at the top of his game.
He has hit 39 goals in 34 games in all competitions this season.
Before Saturday's draw with Leverkusen, Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said Lewandowski, like Mueller and Neuer, will be offered a new contract once certain objectives are achieved.
"We now want to concentrate 100 percent on what's at stake: becoming German champions and the second leg against Salzburg. Then we'll take a look," Kahn insisted.
