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The final eight of this season's Champions League are set. The round of 16 offered some interesting matchups as Neymar's Paris-Saint Germain faced Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid, Juventus clashed against this season's European high-flyers Tottenham and Barcelona renewed their rivalry with Chelsea.
Liverpool, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich effectively finished their ties in the first leg itself while AS Roma had a thrilling contest against Shakhtar Donetsk over two legs. Sevilla turned on their European form of recent years to stun Manchester United at Old Trafford as every other fixture saw the team with higher revenue go through.
Now, every team realizes they are two steps away from reaching the final in Kyiv and each team holds a good to decent chance of winning Europe'a top-tier club tournament. However, few teams are better-placed than the others due to several reasons ranging from quality to experience to winning mentality.
So, take a look at the 8 teams ranked in order of their chances to win the tournament irrespective of their opponents in the upcoming rounds.
#8 AS Roma
The least-fancied team going into the quarterfinals, AS Roma have mostly flown under the radar so far. The Italian side topped a tricky group consisting of Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, where the other two were expected to go through. Then, they battled a 2-1 loss in the first leg of the round of 16 against Shakhtar Donetsk to win 1-0 in the second leg and move ahead in the competition.
Eusebio de Francesco's side have hit form in recent weeks, winning five out of their last six league games. Further, they are a good team with highly-rated Alisson Becker in goal and seasoned veteran, Edin Dzeko, leading the line. The entire team is sprinkled with quality and experience in the right amounts and yet, they have the least odds to win the coveted trophy.
Despite being a decent footballing side, the capital club do not possess the European pedigree associated with the other clubs on this list and this could come back to haunt them in crunch moments. Thus, AS Roma come in at the tail end of this list.
#7 Sevilla FC
Sevilla caused the shock of the round when they eliminated Jose Mourinho's Manchester United in a stunning fashion at Old Trafford, thanks to a brace from Wissam Ben Yedder, who now has 8 Champions League goals this season. The Spanish side carried an uncanny knack to win games in the Europa League when one would least expect. In fact, they won Europe's second-tier tournament thrice in a row from 2014 to 2016.
This season, they finished second behind Liverpool in the group stages and were second favourites to Manchester United in the round of 16 tie. While their side is not as solid from front to back like it was a few years back, they are still a good side who can score against any opposition on their day, as the Red Devils found out.
The Andalusian side are languishing at 5th in the La Liga with qualification for next season's Champions League looking slim. Thus, Vincenzo Montella's side can be expected to go all in as they take part in their first-ever quarterfinals since the tournament was rebranded in 1992.
#6 Liverpool FC
As Jurgen Klopp said, not many would have bet on Liverpool making it to the quarterfinals when the season began, especially with the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United getting knocked out. Nevertheless, the Reds find themselves in the final eight. The free-scoring side have taken a distinct liking for Europe as every team tends to play instead of sitting back, which suits the English side.
Liverpool scored a superb 23 goals in just 6 group games, including seven each at Maribor and against Spartak Moscow at Anfield. In the first knockout round, they put five past FC Porto, effectively finishing the tie at the end of the first 90 minutes. For all the domination, the five-time winners lack European experience and their defensive discipline can become awry every now and then, which will be punished in Europe.
Nonetheless, the front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah can score past anyone, having scored 68 goals among themselves this season. Loris Karius' newfound form and Virgil van Dijk's arrival have steadied the ship and finally, Klopp's managerial pedigree gives them a genuine chance to go all the way if his side manages to turn up in every match from now on.
#5 Juventus FC
The Old Lady are the exact opposite in terms of experience when compared to the previous three teams. They have been one of the most consistent sides in the tournament in recent years and have made it to the final in both 2015 and 2017. It showed as Tottenham dominated their round of 16 tie but the Italian side stepped up when mattered to seal their progress.
Massimiliano Allegri's side have finally overturned their league campaign in recent weeks after a slow start and now opened a 4-point lead over Napoli at the top of the Serie A. They are already in the finals of Coppa Italia and have conceded only 3 goals in this calendar year.
Juventus' famous defense is going strong as the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli continue to deliver. Although they finished second to Barcelona in their group, they still have a great chance of ousting each of the remaining teams if drawn together. Further, the attacking power of Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain gives them an edge while their midfield can out-work anyone.
Thus, Juventus can be considered to be strong contenders for the tournament but find themselves fifth as attacking teams have been winning the Champions League more in recent years.
#4 FC Bayern Munich
The 2013 winners are undoubtedly one of the biggest and strongest sides left in the tournament. However, the struggling start to the season under Carlo Ancelotti saw them lose to Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage and finish second. After a managerial change with their Champions League-winning manager Jupp Heynckes returning, the Bavarians have returned to their scintillating best.
Bayern are cruising in the Bundesliga with a whopping 20-point lead over second-placed Schalke and through to the semi-finals of DFB-Pokal. They are scoring freely at the moment with 42 goals in 12 games since the turn of the year and are yet to lose in 2018. Robert Lewandowski already has 32 goals this season and their defense has done well in the injury-forced absence of Manuel Neuer.
While eventual winners Real Madrid knocked the German side out in the quarterfinals last season, the latter definitely have the quality and winning experience to get across the finish line this season.
#3 Manchester City FC
Manchester City are the only team in the top 5 who have never won the tournament before. However, this year is definitely the best year for the club to break the duck. Pep Guardiola has revolutionized the playing style and mentality at Etihad and the results are there to be seen.
The Citizens are cruising in the Premier League, needing just 9 points from their last 8 games to lift the title. They have already won the Carabao Cup and now are aiming for the Treble with the Champions League. City topped their group consisting of Napoli, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Feyenoord and then almost finished their first knockout tie against Basel in the first leg itself.
Now, Guardiola's side have the quality and belief to take on any of the European elite and the manager himself has won the trophy twice with Barcelona. While the defense is not as water-tight as he would like, it is the midfield and attack that sets them apart as they can both wow and score past opponents. In Kevin De Bruyne, City have a player who is considered second only to Lionel Messi by their manager and the likes of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane add to their attacking strength.
Thus, Manchester City represent England's best chance of winning the Champions League for the first time since 2012.
#2 FC Barcelona
After the sub-par season in 2016-2017, the Blaugrana have bounced back with a vengeance this season. New manager, Ernesto Valverde, has steadied the club off the pitch and handled Neymar's departure well to usher in the start of a new era at Camp Nou. The Catalan outfit are on course to win the La Liga, through to the finals of the Copa del Rey and are one of the hot favourites to win the Champions League.
Barcelona topped their group consisting of Juventus, Sporting Lisbon, and Olympiakos and then faced a potential banana skin against old rivals Chelsea in the round of 16. They negotiated Stamford Bridge with a respectable 1-1 draw before Messi turned it on at Camp Nou to win the tie comfortably.
Valverde's side have a robust defense guarded by a world-class goalkeeper in Marc-Andre ter Stegen and a mesmerizing attack with Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele supporting their magician. While their midfield remains the weakest link, the likes of Andres Iniesta knows how to get the job done when needed.
Thus, Barcelona are in prime position to try and win the trophy which they last won in 2015 and having lost only one game all season, one would not put it past them to be crowned the champions in Kyiv.
#1 Real Madrid
The first team to retain the Champions League crown when they won back-to-back in 2016 and 2017, Real Madrid are the favourites to make it three in a row. Zinedine Zidane's men endured a disastrous start to the season which saw them knocked out of Copa del Rey, run out of La Liga contention pretty early and finish second to Tottenham in their Champions League group.
However, a team which has won Europe's top-tier tournament thrice in the past five years, Los Blancos are full of seasoned superstars who bring their top game when the Champions League anthem is played before the match. The likes of Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Marcelo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema are form-proof when it comes to Europe as PSG found out in the highly-anticipated round of 16 tie.
Finally, Real Madrid have arguably the greatest-ever player in the Champions League knockouts - Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese might not be the deadly winger who burst onto the scene with Manchester United but he is a top goalscorer with a sense of occasion that sets great players apart. The 33-year old is the only player with over 50 goals in the knockout stages, the only player to score in 3 finals and already has 12 goals in the tournament this season.
Thus, the record 12-time winners, with the tournament's record goalscorer have only the Champions League to play for this season. Looking at the way they dispatched PSG with ease, they are once again favourites to land the trophy at the end of the season and make a stronger case to be named the greatest team ever in European Cup history.
