Wednesday will see the field for the quarterfinals of the 24-25 UEFA Champions League set, with two of the remaining four matches looking quite competitive. We take a look at how each will finish out.
Club Brugge at Aston Villa
(Aston Villa 3-1 on aggregate)
Has the magic run out for Club Brugge? The first leg at home against Aston Villa would indicate as much. The Belgian side were locked in a battle with Villa for 80 minutes, only to concede twice with an own goal and a penalty giving Villa a healthy 3-1 lead for this game in Birmingham. Club Brugge did win their domestic derby on the weekend, and Villa may be without goalkeeper Emi Martinez and Marco Asensio who scored that late penalty, but producing two goals with reply feels unlikely. Aston Villa has enough defensive prowess to prevent disaster in this one. Prediction: 1-1 Draw, Aston Villa 4-2 on aggregate
Real Madrid at Atletico Madrid
(Real Madrid 2-1 on aggregate)
Diego Simeone was accused of parking the bus and playing with extreme caution in the first leg of this clash of Madrid rivals, Real Madrid created twice as many chances in the first leg and Brahim Diaz put them up 2-1 heading into the away leg across town. Julian Alvarez remains magic for Atletico Madrid, but they will need to do more than just defend soundly if they are going to pull off the upset in this tie. The Real Madrid machine is revving up, as they won 2-1 on the weekend while Atletico suffered a shock collapse and conceded twice in the final minutes to lose their domestic game, a result that hurts their chances in the La Liga title race that both teams are contesting with Barcelona.
Alvarez and Griezmann have enough talent to get Atletico Madrid on the board, but Real Madrid should have enough to counter and manage a draw here, as the defending champions keep their title hopes alive. Prediction: 2-2 Draw, Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate
PSV at Arsenal
(Arsenal 7-1 on aggregate)
Things spiraled for PSV in the first leg at home, and the Emirates will be buzzing as this game is expected to be little more than a celebration of all things Arsenal. Arsenal had scored three goals before Noa Lang converted a penalty for 3-1, that was a respectable score at halftime before Arsenal poured it on with Martin Odegaard scoring twice, and the rout was on as PSV’s defense and a depleted squad were exposed. Despite the scoreline, PSV are far from the worst team in Europe, but another defeat, perhaps lopsided feels extremely likely as Arsenal have effectively confirmed their place in the quarterfinals. Prediction: Arsenal 3-0, Arsenal 10-1 on aggregate
Borussia Dortmund at Lille
(1-1 on aggregate)
Dortmund were favored in their home leg but slumped to a 1-1 draw that felt like a victory for Lille. who controlled possession in a game where the teams combined for just two shots on target the entire match. Dortmund lost on the weekend as they continue to struggle in the Bundesliga while Lille continue to hunt for a Champions league berth in Ligue 1. Look for Jonathan David and Lille to continue their press at home, Dortmund has not been impressive for much of the season and it’s hard to have confidence in them for this matchup. Prediction: Lille 1-0 Lille 2-1 on aggregate)
Main Photo by Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images
