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The UEFA Champions League is the most coveted trophy a club competes for and it's at its most exciting at the knockout stages. This year's quarter-finalists have learnt who they will face at the draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
F.C Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid C.F, Manchester City, Liverpool, Juventus, A.S Roma and Sevilla are the quarterfinalists for the 2017/2018 edition of the Champions League.
The rules of the draw for the quarter-finals were pretty straightforward. They stated that any two teams could play each other, irrespective of the country they belonged to, which opened up possibilities for an El Clasico.
This, fortunately, did not happen, as this coveted tie is usually preferred by most fans to be played in either the semifinals stage or as the final of the Champions League.
The draw did, however, set up a few very juicy fixtures to keep fans happy. Let us take a look at each of the matchups:
#4 Barcelona vs A.S Roma
F.C Barcelona will be reasonably happy with the draw as they managed to avoid teams like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
A.S Roma will still pose a certain threat but when Lionel Messi is part of your squad, playing against any team is a touch easier.
For Roma, it is one of the toughest ties they could have found themselves a part of. Playing against Messi and co. on any given day is not an easy task, but trying to keep the maestro quiet over 180 minutes is nearly impossible.
Also read: 5 reasons why Lionel Messi is bigger than the Ballon d'Or
To do this, the Roma defence line needs absolute concentration. Any lapses in concentration will lead to what happened against Chelsea - Lionel Messi destroying the defence line.
The first leg at Camp Nou is very important for Roma as the last time they met at Camp Nou, the score was 6-1 in November 2015. Although that time Roma held Barcelona to a draw in the return leg at Rome, it looks unlikely to happen again this time around.
F.C Barcelona are also flying in La Liga. They are runaway leaders by 11 points with just 9 games left to play. With the league almost wrapped up, all their focus will now understandably be on the Champions League.
Although players looked fatigued at their game in the weekend against Athletic Bilbao, Ernesto Valverde will be able to rest key players before Roma visit them.
Prediction:
F.C Barcelona to go through to the semi-finals with an aggregate scoreline of 5-1.
#3 Sevilla vs Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich have the easiest draw according to most pundits in Europe but they are still up against a Sevilla side that knocked out Manchester United, although the Red Devils were abysmal over the two legs which made Sevilla's job a little easier.
For a team of Bayern Munich's stature, this should be a fairly straightforward tie over the two legs. Ever since they sacked Carlo Ancelotti earlier in the season and got Jupp Heynckes out of retirement they look rejuvenated.
At the start of the season, they were in shambles but Heynckes seems to have turned things around and as a result, Bayern have started playing the attacking brand of football all fans expect from them.
With stars like Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, James Rodriguez, and David Alaba, they should have more than enough firepower to dispatch Sevilla without too much trouble.
On the other hand, the Sevilla side that Bayern are up against is bound to be full of confidence after knocking out a team with Manchester United's history. They could give Bayern a run for their money although at this moment, that looks rather highly unlikely.
Their performances against United over two legs act as evidence that they will certainly try as hard as they can and will do everything in their hands to stifle Bayern. Sevilla do have the experience of playing continental football as they won 3 consecutive UEFA Europa League titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016, becoming the first team to do so.
Prediction:
Bayern Munich to go through to the semi-finals with an aggregate scoreline of 4-0.
#2 Juventus vs Real Madrid C.F
Real Madrid, 12 times the winner of the competition cruised past a spineless Paris Saint-Germain who played with no real conviction and confidence.
Despite Real Madrid's domestic issues where they are 15 points behind league leaders F.C Barcelona with 10 games to go, they go into this tie as favourites, but not by a huge margin.
This tie is the repeat of last season's finale where a self-destructive second-half performance by Juventus handed the title to Real Madrid for the record 12th time.
This season, Juventus fought hard to overcome a youthful and energetic Spurs side in the previous round.
With the first leg ending 2-2 in Turin, Juventus' qualification was largely thanks to the inspirational duo of Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala scoring in a space of 3 minutes to come from behind and win in Wembley to advance to the quarterfinals.
This time around, they will want to exact revenge on Real Madrid for the humiliation of last years final.
This will be a very interesting tie with many subplots as Zinedine Zidane will be playing against his old club(where he contributed as a player), while Higuain playing against his former club, while also, it might just be Gigi Buffon's last chance to win the Champions League.
But with Real Madrid's ultimate ace Cristiano Ronaldo, who always scores in the Champions League, they should just about have enough to defeat Juventus and go through. It's going to be incredibly entertaining and will be an intensely fought tie over the two legs and it will have supporters on the edge of their seats.
Prediction:
Real Madrid to go through to the semi-finals with an aggregate scoreline of 3-2.
#1 Liverpool vs Manchester City
Undoubtedly the most exciting tie of the quarterfinals, these two English giants are set for a juicy encounter.
They won one game each when they faced off in the Premier League. This was, perhaps, the most exciting and entertaining matchup in the Premier League season as well, and with the stakes this high, this Champions League tie is bound to be explosive.
The first leg is at Anfield where Manchester City's record is poor, to say the least. City have lost 14 of the 20 Premier League meetings at Anfield and the last time they won there, was in 2003, nearly fifteen years ago.
This season, when they met Liverpool at Anfield, it was probably the most entertaining match of the season, with Liverpool eventually claiming a 4-3 victory.
But in the UEFA Champions League, the tie is decided over 2 legs, and over two legs Manchester City might just edge them out.
These are the two highest scoring teams in the Premier League, and the mentality of both coaches is to play aggressive attacking football. Further, there could be a number of goals on show, as the two matches between these two teams, this season, contained a total of 12 goals between them.
Both teams are brilliant going forward with Liverpool trusting in Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, while City have the likes of Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva tormenting every defence in the Premier League and the Champions League.
In fact, the only time Manchester City tasted defeat this season was at the hands of Liverpool in January, but Pep Guardiola would have learnt from the experience and will tactically brief his team for the first leg in April.
Manchester City have scored the most number of goals in the Premier League, and their forward line has the capability to dismantle any defence. This was shown in the games that they played against Chelsea and Newcastle where they were against teams where all 11 players were defending.
The attacking force of City still managed to find a way through. Against teams that try to press them, they have enough quality to calmly pass the ball through their opponents. This City side is playing the most jaw-dropping football and they will want to take revenge for their loss at Anfield earlier in the season.
This will undeniably be a nail-biting encounter, but over two legs, City should just about clinch it.
Prediction:
Manchester City to go through to the semi-finals with an aggregate scoreline of 6-4.
