With the Covid inspired general travel ban on flights from England to Germany, both Champions League ties between clubs from the two countries have had to be re-arranged. Neither Liverpool’s game at RB Leipzig on Tuesday 16th February or Manchester City’s at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Wednesday 24th February could take place at the Red Bull Arena or Borussia Park respectively as the English teams were not granted permission to travel into Germany.
After a day or two looking at potential alternatives, both games will now be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Despite the existence of a travel ban in that country, certain exceptions can be made and professional sport is one of them.
Mönchengladbach’s sport director Max Ebert said “UEFA regulations state that in such a case, as the home team we have to find an alternative venue. For various reasons wwe have finally decided on the Puskas Arena in Budapest and would like to thank UEFA and the Hungarian FA for their support.”
RBL will be looking to replicate last season’s run deep into the tournament and may be able to profit from Liverpool’s poor run of recent form. Mönchengladbach’s hopes of advancing further will depend on them reproducing the kind of performances from the group stage, because their Bundesliga form is a patchy right now. They will need to be at their best to have any chance against a rampant Manchester City .
