Champions League quarter-final preview
The English teams may no longer be involved in the Champions League, but that should not detract from what should be an exciting quarter final phase in the world's biggest club competition.
77 teams from across Europe attempted to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. 32 made the pool stage, and now just 8 of the continent’s best teams remain in contention for the biggest prize in club football, and are potentially just four games away from a trip to Berlin for the Champions League final on June 6. There may be no English involvement, but we should nevertheless be in for a feast of quality football. DNS takes a closer look at the quarter-final match-ups on show.
Arguably the biggest contest on show will be the Madrid derby, as the two finalists from last season’s competition; Real Madrid, and their less glamorous but certainly no less determined neighbours Atletico Madrid, prepare to battle it out for a place in the semis. Real were victors in last season’s finale in Lisbon, and sit one place above their neighbours in Spain’s La Liga, but they would do well to not let the favourites tag get to their heads.
Atletico have a great recent record against Real (2014 CL final aside), including their 4-0 hammering of Real back in February. Under manager Diego Simeone, they possess a supreme work-rate, team spirit and organisational skills that few other teams around the world can match, while in the shape of Koke, Arda Turan and Mario Mandzukic, they are not short of individual quality either. Real of course do not lack quality either, and with Cristiano Ronaldo having recently scored five goals in one game, Atletico will do well to keep him quiet, along with the likes of Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema.
If Atletico v Real is the biggest clash of the quarter-final stage, then Paris Saint-Germain v Barcelona surely runs a close second. Both sides are leading their respective leagues and will consider themselves to be among the front-runners for European glory in June. Barcelona, possessing the not insignificant front-line of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, will start this tie as favourites, especially as PSG will be without their talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the first leg in Paris on Wednesday night through suspension.
PSG have exited this stage of the competition on the away goals rule in each of the last two seasons, and will give everything to make sure there is no repeat this time round, and with the likes of Edinson Cavani, Marco Verrati and Ezequiel Lavezzi in their ranks, they will certainly be no pushovers. They can also take confidence from the fact they did beat Barcelona 3-2 in Paris back in September in the pool stage of this competition. The Catalans did however win the return game 3-1.
On Tuesday night Italian champions elect Juventus are in action against probably the tournament outsiders in the shape of Monaco. The team from the principality should not be underestimated. They’ve conceded just four goals in eight games in the Champions League, are in good form in the French Ligue 1, and knocked out Arsenal on away goals in the previous round.
Juventus however, who are closing in on a fourth successive Serie A title in Italy, will be heavy favourites to progress, and after dominating in Italy for years, they will feel that it’s about time they made a serious bid for the Champions League trophy. With the futures of key players like Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Alvaro Morata still up in the air, they may not get a better chance at European success than this season.
The last quarter-final sees 2013 European champions Bayern Munich take on Porto. Given their recent record in the Champions League, along with their position at the top of the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich will be strong favourites to progress to the semis. Porto are a good side who have done well to get this far, having topped their pool in stylish fashion before dispensing with Basel in the previous round. Unless something catastrophic happens to Bayern though, it is difficult to see Porto getting the better of a side containing the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze among others.
No preview would be complete without a prediction, so for now I will go with Bayern Munich, Juventus, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to progress. The first legs will be played on April 14/15, with the second legs on April 21/22. The Europa League quarter-finals are also upon us, but to cut a long story short, I will go for Dnipro, Fiorentina, Wolfsburg and Sevilla to reach the semis.
Away from the Champions League, you may have also heard that Liverpool’s contract rebel Raheem Sterling has recently been getting high on laughing gas. His manager doesn’t like it, and suffice to say he will not consider this a laughing matter (to excuse the pun). At 20 years old Sterling is likely to make some mistakes, just as any young man sometimes does, but after all the issues surrounding his contract, this latest story may not endear him anymore to Liverpool fans who are already feeling disillusioned by Sterling’s apparent lack of loyalty and professionalism. Perhaps they could do with some nitrous oxide themselves?
