The quarter-final and the semi-final draws for this season’s UEFA Champions League was made on Friday. With all four of the English sides still left standing after some epic round of sixteen action, the draw has thrown together some mouth-watering clashes.
Tottenham and Manchester City will meet in the final eight in what should be a full-blooded contest. Manchester City are favourites to win the tournament outright, but in last season’s quarterfinals, they slipped out of the competition at the hands of fellow Premier League side Liverpool.
Liverpool have received the easiest tie that they could have gotten as they will face off against rank-outsiders Porto. Manchester United have drawn the short straw through as they have to take on the might of Barcelona in their quarter-final tie.
Champions League Winner Odds*
Manchester City 2/1
Juventus 10/3
Barcelona 7/2
Liverpool 4/1
Man Utd 20/1
Spurs 25/1
Ajax 40/1
Porto 100/1
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on March 15th, 2019)
Ajax v Juventus To Qualify Odds*
Juventus 1/5
Ajax 1/3
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on March 15th, 2019)
The fact that Ajax are here is tremendous. They have the youngest average age of all the squads left in the tournament. In the last round they were given little hope as they were drawn against Real Madrid, the Spaniards having won the Champions League for the last three seasons running. However, an astonishing 4-1 win by the Dutch side at the Bernabeu saw the title holders crash out.
Ajax did also hold their own against Bayern Munich in this season’s groups stage as well. Will they be able to handle Juventus? The Old Lady recovered from a 2-0 away defeat in the first leg of their round of sixteen tie against Atletico Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo was the hero of the day as he fired off a hat trick to get Juventus through after a fantastic comeback in Turin. That’s what he is still capable of. The Italians have won five of the last six games against Ajax and are currently undefeated in their last ten against the Dutch side. Ajax are at home for the first leg, but it is Juve who are the even-money favourites to win that fixture* (betting odds taken from bet365 on March 15th, 2019)
Head-to-head in UEFA competition: 6 Juventus wins, 2 Ajax wins, 4 draws
Liverpool v Porto To Qualify Odds*
Liverpool 2/9
Porto 3/1
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on March 15th, 2019)
Liverpool will have a big smile across their faces after the draw. They got paired up against the tournament outsiders FC Porto. This is a highly favourable draw for the Reds, which raises their chances of making a return to the semifinals. The Reds covered themselves in glory in midweek as they took a win at Bayern Munich in the second leg of their contest against the German champions, following a 0-0 first-leg draw at home.
Porto saw off Roma in their round of sixteen tie and the Portuguese side will be looking for their first ever win over Liverpool in the competition. Porto haven’t beaten an English side in a knockout tie in Europe since their 2003/04 win over Manchester United. Liverpool are 1/3 to win the first leg at Anfield* (betting odds taken from bet365 on March 15th, 2019).
Head-to-head in UEFA competition: 3 Liverpool wins, 0 Porto wins, 3 draws
Tottenham v Manchester City To Qualify Odds*
Man City 1/6
Tottenham 4/1
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on March 15th, 2019)
The all-Premier League clash that is going to guarantee that we see one English side in the semi-finals at least. Manchester City are likely not going to be too unhappy with the draw really. It’s probably better to be taking on a side they know well than in trying to figure out other opposition. Man City took a 1-0 win at Wembley in the Premier League over Spurs earlier this season. In the round of sixteen Manchester City hammered Bundesliga side Schalke 10-2 on aggregate, posting a 7-0 win at the Etihad in the second leg.
They have lost their last two European knockout ties against English opposition though. Will they be able to handle Spurs? It’s been some campaign from Spurs, having come through such a tough group in the first place to reach the knockouts. But they impressed highly in banked a 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the round of sixteen, winning both legs. The Citizens are 4/6 favourites to open with a win in the first leg away from home* (betting odds taken from bet365 on March 15th, 2019).
In 156 competitive meetings, City have won 61 to Spurs’ 60, with 35 draws.
Barcelona v Manchester United
Barcelona 1/4
Manchester United 11/4
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on March 15th, 2019)
Not the draw that Manchester United would have wanted in the quarterfinals. After their heroics against PSG in the round of sixteen, the Red Devils will have wanted something a little more favourable. Manchester United lost the first leg of their tie at home against PSG 2-0 and looked a clear second best. But they became the first ever side in the history of the Champions League to overturn a first leg 2-0 deficit by winning out in Paris thanks to a last-minute penalty via VAR by Marcus Rashford. It doesn’t get much more dramatic than that.
But this is now Barcelona who they are going up against. The Catalans cruised to a 5-1 win over Lyon in midweek at the Nou Camp in their round of sixteen tie. They are still one of the clear front runners for the tournament outright as they look for their sixth title. They are going to be a huge danger here with the second leg back at the Nou Camp. So it is going to be all about what United can dig out on home soil against Messi and co. The Red Devils have only won one of their eight previous meetings with Barcelona in the European Cup/Champions League. United are 9/4 underdogs for the first leg at OT* (betting odds taken from bet365 on March 15th, 2019).
Head-to-head in UEFA competition: 4 Barcelona wins, 3 United wins, 4 draws
Semi Final Draws
1. Tottenham Hotspur / Manchester City v Ajax / Juventus
2. Barcelona / Manchester United v Liverpool / Porto
