Five. This is the number of games between the eight teams remaining in the UEFA Champions and Glory. With the Champions League quarter-final draw conducted, we have an idea of which teams will play the four ties and the semi-final and final path that will bring all kinds of permutations and combinations to the fore.
The eight teams have won a combined 27 Champions League, which means that any team that will win the tournament come June 1, 2024, at Wembley Stadium will have done so by putting in a perfect display across all those games.
So here is the breakdown of the four games in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich
Arsenal is back in the Champions League after a six-year hiatus. Mikel Arteta’s men have fared brilliantly, reaching the last eight. However, they will probably face the team that has given them the most challenging times in Europe. Arsenal and Bayern Munich have squared off four times in the knockout phase, with the Germans winning on every occasion. Their last meeting ended in a 10-2 aggregate win for Bayern Munich. This was also the last Champions League game for seven years.
Despite this record, Arsenal probably have the best chance to get one over their German counterparts. Mikel Arteta’s men have been brilliant this season, leading the Premier League table. On the other hand, Bayern Munich will likely finish without a Bundesliga title for the first time in 11 years.
Bayern are struggling, and their manager, Thomas Tuchel, is scheduled to leave the club at the end of the season. However, the Champions League has been a tournament where experience has trumped current form several times.
This right will go down to the wire, but Bayern Munich will edge it by the finest of margins.
Winner: Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund
Based on form, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid were the weakest teams in this year’s competition. So, it was no secret that every team wanted to draw one of the two. However, the Champions League, like several times before, has thrown a surprise as the two supposedly ‘weak teams’ will play each other.
The two teams have previously played each other four times, the first two of which came in the 1996-97 season. Both teams won their games away on the road. Dortmund went all the way to win their first and, to this day, only title.
View this post on Instagram
Their second meeting came in the 2018-19 group stage season when both teams won on their home turf. On paper, this might be the most even clash as both teams play a system that is opposite to each other. Dortmund loves to play with flair, deploying a high-pressing system, while the Spanish team prefers to keep things tight in the back and use counterattacks to catch the opposition off guard.
However, Atletico just got themselves a morale-boosting victory as they knocked out Serie A league leaders Inter Milan. The German team has been brilliant, but Jude Bellingham’s absence after his move to Real Madrid has affected the team’s attacking quality.
This is another thriller, but Atletico Madrid could win on penalties.
Winner: Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid vs Manchester City
The biggest clash of the Champions League quarter-finals is undoubtedly between Real Madrid and Manchester City; while one is a 14-time champion, the other is the defending champion. In fact, they are the last two winners of the competition and did so by beating the other en route to lifting the trophy.
Real Madrid have rediscovered their mojo both in the league and Champions League, and a major reason for this has to be Jude Bellingham, who has been at the heart of Los Blanco’s midfield. The Englishman has also contributed to attack with goals when the club was affected by injuries to its frontline.
Manchester City, on the other hand, is still en route to replicating the treble that they won the previous year. Erling Haaland is once again the top scorer in the league and the Champions League. However, this season, he also has the support of World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, who has also chipped in with goals, making them the joint-top most devastating duo in the tournament.
Last season, City decimated Los Blanocs in the semi-final. Madrid are far stronger this year, but City have stepped up their game, too, and could once again get the best of Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
Winner: Manchester City
Paris Saint Germain vs Barcelona
The game that gave us one of the greatest comebacks in the history of football in the 2016-17 season. PSG and Barcelona have played each other 12 times in the Champions League and have a record four wins each and four draws.
However, the last time they met, PSG put them to the sword, beating them 5-2 on aggregate in the 2020-21 round of 16. Since then, the two teams have changed massively. Barcelona came back from the brink of bankruptcy, using their economic levers to build a good squad. However, the addition of La Masia graduates such as Marc Guiu, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Fermin Lopez and Hector Fort has improved them a lot.
PSG, on the other hand, have abandoned its strategy of exorbitant spending on star players rather than focusing on signing young players who have massive potential to become future stars. And with Kylian Mbappe leaving at the end of the season, that strategy will be put to further test.
The two teams have given us some brilliant clashes, but their erratic form makes it the most difficult to predict.
Considering only this year’s performance, we predict that PSG will win the tie.
Winner: Paris Saint Germain