'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Champions League quarter-final draw was held on Friday and the schedule for the rest of the tournament has been finalized. Catalan giants Barcelona are going to face English giants Manchester United, Juventus would face Ajax Amsterdam, Liverpool would meet Porto and Tottenham Hotspur would take on Manchester City.
Big clubs like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG have already been knocked out, and therefore, the likes of Barca, United, Juve and City would fancy their chances of winning the biggest trophy in club football. Moreover, football fans worldwide would expect to watch some exciting contests in the month of April.
The winner of the Barca-United clash would take on the winner of the Liverpool-Porto tie in the semifinal and the winner of the Juve-Ajax tie would face the winner of the Tottenham-Man City clash.
We would now rank the quarter-final ties in terms of importance and excitement.
Also see : Womens World Cup Bracket, Copa America Standings, Gold Cup Standings
#4 Liverpool vs Porto
Liverpool beat Bayern 3-1 in Munich to ensure qualification for the quarter-finals, after a goalless draw in the first leg. They are also in contention for winning the Premier League title this season. Jurgen Klopp’s men would be reasonably happy with the draw, as they have possibly got the easiest opponent in this round.
Porto would be no pushovers though, and have actually won the Champions League once. They beat Italian heavyweights Roma in the round of 16, and are performing quite well under the tutelage of former Portuguese international Sergio Conceicao.
They have had a good goal-scoring record in the Champions League so far this season, and might pose some problems to Liverpool’s defence in the quarter-final. However, Liverpool would start firm favorites in that clash, as they have one of the best attacks in the world, consisting of the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Salah has scored 20 goals this season so far, while Mane has chipped in with 19 goals. Both would be hopeful of scoring against Porto in the quarter-final. Mane was in excellent form against Bayern, and scored a brace against them. Moreover, Liverpool also have a good defence and a very solid midfield comprising of the likes of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Giorginio Wijnaldaum. Virgil Van Dijk has been a revelation as a central defender for them.
Both Liverpool and Porto are previous European champions, but the former should prove to be too strong for the latter in the upcoming quarter-final. It is safe to assume that Liverpool already have a foot on the semifinal, and therefore their clash with Porto is likely to be the least exciting of the four quarter-final match-ups.
#3 Juventus vs Ajax
Juve came back superbly to beat Atletico 3-2 on aggregate in their round of 16 tie, after having lost the first leg 0-2. Their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo scored a wonderful hat-trick to rescue his team again. It is no mean feat to score 3 goals against a solid Atletico defence, and Ronaldo would hope to carry on the good work in the upcoming matches as well. He has scored already scored 63 goals in the Champions League, and would look forward to improving his tally in the match-up against Ajax.
Juventus can also boast of players like Paolo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic and Pjanic in their attack. They also have one of the greatest defences of in the world with defenders like Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. They are almost certain to win the Serie A again this year, but would like to be successful in the Champions League as well.
However, Ajax would not be an easy opposition either, as they beat the mighty Real Madrid 4-1 at Santiago Bernabeu in order to ensure qualification for the quarterfinals. Ajax’s Dusan Tadic has scored 29 goals this season so far and might move to a bigger club next season. They also have some other young and exciting players in their line-up, and might give Juve some trouble with their fast and direct football.
Ajax and Juve have won the Champions League four and three times respectively, but Juve should prevail in their upcoming match-up. Ajax would definitely fight hard, but Juve have a better team overall, and should have little difficulty in overcoming the Dutch champions.
#2 Tottenham vs Manchester City
In this contest between two English clubs, Tottenham should give the mighty Man City a run for their money. City have the best midfield in the world, a great attack and enviable bench-strength. But Tottenham would be well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their opposition and play accordingly.
City have won the Premier League title thrice in the last 8 years, but not been able to make it to the Champions League semifinal even once. Moreover, Tottenham are a dangerous opposition in their home ground and have actually beaten a strong team like Borussia Dortmund convincingly in their round of 16 tie.
Tottenham's forward Harry Kane can actually be trusted to score against any opposition and has already scored 24 goals this season. But Sergio Aguero, with 27 goals in the current season already, might again prove to be decisive for City.
Tottenham have a decent defence but should have some problems in negotiating with Aguero and Sterling, who has scored 19 goals so far. City would start as the favorites in this tie, but Tottenham might be able to spring in a surprise.
City would be slightly wary of familiar foes Tottenham, and can not afford to take the latter lightly. Moreover, Pep Guardiola's side is aiming for an audacious quadruple this season, and some of their players might be exhausted by mid-April. Therefore, Tottenham would have an outside chance of causing an upset against them, and it promises to be a very exciting match-up.
#1 Barcelona vs Manchester United
This is a dream match-up for the football lovers worldwide, but United would be wary of their own modest record against Barcelona. The Catalan giants beat United in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals, and would again start favorites this time around.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have scored 36 and 20 goals respectively this season and might prove to a handful for United's defence. Moreover, Barca also have quality players like Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets in their squad, and are always a very difficult team to beat. They beat Olympique Lyonnais 5-1 at Camp Nou in their round of 16 clash and remain almost invincible at home.
However, United have won 14 of their 19 matches under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and setbacks like the recent 0-2 defeat against Arsenal and the 2-1 defeat to Wolves should not affect their morale.
Moreover, United are likely to be bolstered by the return of injured players like Anthony Martial, Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard. They also played brilliantly to beat PSG 3-1 in Paris in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie. Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford should be the two key players for them against Barca.
Their defence is also quite solid with players like Victor Lindelof, Ashley Young, Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling, and should be able to hold their own against the much-vaunted Barca attack. However, Messi’s presence alone is sufficient to make Barca the favorites to qualify for the semifinal at United’s expense.
Both Barca and United are traditional heavyweights of European football, and either of them can actually end up winning this year's Champions League. Barca are probably the most consistent team in European football now despite United being reinvigorated by the appointment of Solskjaer. The undeniable pedigree of the two clubs and the presence of some quality players in their respective squads make their clash a potentially mouth-watering one, and also the best this year's quarter-final stage has to offer.
