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The UEFA Champions League quarter-finals begin on Tuesday night and some of the best teams in Europe will face each other in a few delectable encounters.
Several well-matched teams in the Champions League final eight
There are really no clear-cut favorites in the Champions League this time around. Teams like Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are all teams that have enough quality to go on and win the title.
The others, namely Villarreal and Benfica, are also capable of pulling off an upset when they are on top of their game.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of our bold predictions for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
#5 Manchester City to lose to Atletico Madrid
Manchester City were utterly dominant in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Sporting Lisbon. They beat the Portuguese side 5-0 at the Estadio Jose Alvalade to kill the tie with the second leg yet to be played.
But City couldn't replicate that level of dominance in the second leg and settled for a goalless stalemate. To be fair, they did not need to score goals as long as Sporting were kept at bay. But heading into the game against Atletico Madrid, City are without their best centre-back Ruben Dias.
Atletico Madrid, under Diego Simeone, have become experts at getting a specific job done. They executed that plan to perfection against Manchester United in the Round of 16.
Despite being outplayed in the second leg, the Rojiblancos dug their heels in, took their chances and resorted to all kinds of time wasting antics to seal the tie. If they can keep Manchester City at bay, then there is every chance that Atletico Madrid might just execute a classic smash-and-grab here.
#4 Real Madrid to take revenge for last season against Chelsea
Real Madrid were dumped out of the Champions League in the semi-finals by Chelsea last season. Thomas Tuchel and co. managed to tactically outfinesse Real Madrid. They beat the La Liga giants 3-1 on aggregate over the two legs.
The Blues looked hungrier, getting to every second ball and refusing to let the Real Madrid midfield maestros run things from thcenterre of the pitch with ease.
Chelsea head into the first leg of their quarter-final tie against Real Madrid, reeling from a 1-4 loss to Brentford at Stamford Bridge this past weekend. Tuchel's men have looked shaky on occasion and though they have a cohesive structure, some of their players are going through a lean patch.
Real Madrid have to get a lot of things right to avenge their loss in the semi-finals last year. They have to be slick with their build-up, be adventurous and deal with the press better. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos will be hoping to do way better against N'Golo Kante and Jorginho than they did last year.
Real Madrid have enough and more quality in their ranks and we expect Ancelotti to set them up for the perfect revenge against Chelsea.
#3 Robert Lewandowski to score more than 3 goals over the two legs against Villarreal
Robert Lewandowski is the most prolific striker in Europe's top five leagues right now. He has scored 45 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions for the Bavarians so far this term. The 33-year-old is currently the leading top scorer in this season's Champions League with 12 goals from eight matches.
Bayern Munich are up against Villarreal in the quarter-finals. Julian Nagelsmann's men are widely tipped to make quick work of the Yellow Submarine over the two legs. We expect Lewandowski to score at least three goals over the two legs thanks to the brilliant form he has exhibited all throughout the season.
#2 Liverpool to keep clean sheets in both legs against Benfica
Liverpool have been drawn against Benfica in the quarter-finals. Benfica have fared decently in the Champions League this term and defeated a promising Ajax 3-2 on aggregate in the Round of 16. However, they will be against much superior opposition in the quarter-finals.
The Merseysiders can be merciless on their home turf. Anfield is a fortress and with Virgil van Dijk guarding the defensive third, Benfica are going to find it tough to break Liverpool down.
We're expecting Liverpool to keep a clean sheet in both legs and produce a thoroughly dominant performance against the Portuguese side.
#1 Joao Felix to be the standout player in the quarter-finals
Joao Felix has been in exceptional form for Atletico Madrid in recent times. In his last six La Liga appearances for the Rojiblancos, Felix has scored six goals and provided two assists. The youngster seems to have finally found his groove and has looked sharper than ever before in recent weeks.
We expect Felix to steal the show in the quarter-finals. Felix can cause a lot of problems for the Manchester City backline with his movement, pace, agility and dribbling ability.
It won't be easy but it is starting to look a lot like Felix has finally arrived and a great performance over the two legs will be a confirmation of the same.
