The draw for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals took place on Friday and has inevitably left us with some mouth-watering ties.
A repeat of last season’s final will take place in this round as Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain lock horns again.
Expect goals galore when Manchester City entertain Borussia Dortmund, whilst the three Premier League sides all got favourable draws as Liverpool face Real Madrid and Chelsea take on Porto.
Here’s our early look at the ties.
Champions League Predictions
Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund
The Premier League leaders had already been the favourites before the draw to win this season’s tournament with Betway Wetten. This tie only increases their chances.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been handed a favourable draw with Borussia Dortmund, who currently sit down in fifth in the Bundesliga.
Manchester City will be heavily expected to progress from this tie in which we are expecting many goals. The German side have Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus in a mouth-watering attack, but keeping clean sheets has been an issue for Edin Terzic’s side.
Dortmund overcame Sevilla 5-4 in the previous round after topping a fairly easy group. Meanwhile, Manchester City blitzed Borussia Monchengladbach in the previous round.
Prediction: Manchester City to progress
Manchester City’s odds are backed up by the infographic below that shows the total value of the squad usually equates to success.
Bayern Munich v PSG
The winners of the above tie will meet one of last year’s finalists in the final four. Bayern Munich were 1-0 winners of this fixture back in August in the delayed final.
Paris Saint-Germain haven’t had much luck with draws this season – RB Leipzig and Manchester United in the group stage, then Barcelona in the Round of 16. And now the German giants.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side currently trail Lille by three points in Ligue 1, having won the French top-flight in seven of the previous eight seasons.
It could be a tight tie featuring signed sports memorabilia stalwarts such as Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski, but ultimately the Germans have the skill and fortitude to beat the Parisians over two legs.
Prediction: Bayern Munich to progress.
Porto v Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel can’t do a thing wrong as Chelsea manager currently. The German is on a 14-game unbeaten streak and guided his side to a 3-0 aggregate thrashing of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid in the previous round.
Olivier Giroud’s incredible goal from the first leg is still fresh on fans’ minds and the team are unrecognisable from how they were playing in the last few days under previous manager Frank Lampard. The Premier League side will be widely expected to reach the semi-finals from here.
Porto eliminated Juventus after extra-time in the previous round with Sergio Conceicao tactically outclassing rookie manager Andrea Pirlo.
The former Portugal international will have a tougher time doing the same versus Tuchel and has two first-team players suspended for the first leg too.
Prediction: Chelsea to progress.
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Liverpool were eliminated at the Round of 16 last season having been the defending champions. Otherwise, Jurgen Klopp had an excellent record with the English giants in this competition.
Although their Premier League title race fell flat from the off and a top-four place even being a struggle right now, Reds fans can be boosted by a decent Champions League draw.
Real Madrid are far from the team that have dominated this competition in recent years and rely heavily on Karim Benzema and set pieces for goals these days.
Defensively, Liverpool’s front three should be licking their lips at the prospect of who they are coming up against. The Spanish giants sit down in third in La Liga with a title defence looking unlikely, which will make them a dangerous opposition at this stage of the Champions League, but Liverpool should have enough.
Prediction: Liverpool to progress.
Main Photo
