The final eight teams left standing in this year’s UEFA Champions League now all know their fate in the quarter-finals after the draw was made on Friday, March 16th. It has thrown together a tremendous clash between the two last standing Premier League clubs in this year’s tournament, Manchester City and Liverpool.
So that will be a mouthwatering showdown to look forward too while the reigning Champions Real Madrid will have a tough battle on their hands as they head off to face Italian giants Juventus in the quarter finals. The two met in the Final in Cardiff last season, with Real Madrid running out big winners in the showcase match. Will Juve be able to gain some revenge? Here we take a preview of the four ties.
Champions League Quarter Finals Betting Odds*
Barcelona 5/2, Man City 3/1, Bayern Munich 4/1, Real Madrid 9/2, Juventus 10/1, Liverpool 12/1, Sevilla 66/1, Roma 66/1* (betting odds taken on March 16th, 2018 at 6:42 p.m.)
Outright Winner Odds Converted to Chance of Winning
Barcelona 28.5%
Man City 25%
Bayern Munich 20%
Real Madrid 18%
Juventus 9%
Liverpool 7.5%
Sevilla 1.5%
Roma 1.5%
Barcelona v Roma
Barcelona will be expected to roll their way through this one. Roma had a tough time of things in seeing off Shakhtar Donetsk in the last round so are probably going to have their work cut out for them in this one against a much more difficult opponents. The Catalans have been moving through the tournament effortlessly once again and they have moved to 5/2 favourites at Bet365 following the draw* (betting odds taken on March 16th, 2018 at 6:42 p.m.). They are favourites to win the first leg of this tie against Roma at home which is on Wednesday, April 4th. There have been the four previous meetings between the two clubs and from those things are actually even with one win each and two drawn matches having been played out. The last time they were together was in the 2015/16 Group Stage, with Barcelona winning 6-1 at home. The Spanish giants are unbeaten in their last twelve matches against Italian club, winning nine of those. Oh, and Lionel Messi has 12 goals 19 previous games against Italian opposition. Barcelona are probably going to find themselves in the final four.
Sevilla v Bayern Munich
After seeing off Manchester United in the last round, Spanish side Sevilla gets a tougher task as they face up to Bayern Munich. The Spaniards performed well against United in the round of sixteen, but they still looked pretty shaky at the back. Bayern Munich coasted through their tie against Besiktas in the last round and are favourites to win this tussle. This will be the first meeting between the two in UEFA competition and what makes this one interesting is that Bayern have lost their last five games in Spain, while Sevilla will be defending an unbeaten home record against German sides (W7 D4) when they host the Bundesliga powerhouses in the first leg.
Juventus v Real Madrid
What a tie this should be. Everything great about Juventus was seen in their second leg victory at Wembley over Spurs in the last round. They looked down and out in the second leg but called on all of their experience and nous to find a way to win through at the end of the day, taking a 2-1 win in London. They famously met up with Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League final with Real Madrid winning 4-1. However, it is Juventus who have won the last four two-legged ties against Real Madrid including the 2014/15 semi-final clash. They have won six of their last seven home games against the Spaniards as well. From the nineteen previous meetings, Real Madrid are 9-8 ahead with two draws. The Bianconeri may well make a good fist of this and do have a little appeal at 6/4 odds* (betting odds taken on March 16th, 2018 at 6:42 p.m.) to win the first leg in Turin.
Liverpool v Manchester City
The bonus of this draw is that there will be a guaranteed English side in the final four of this year’s Champions League. This will be their first meeting in UEFA competition but it was Liverpool who are the only side to have beaten Manchester City in the Premier League this season. They are dominating the head to head from previous domestic fixtures as well, being 87-45 ahead with 46 drawn matches over the Citizens. You get the feeling that Liverpool’s chances will hinge on them producing a result at home in this first leg, but they are 2/1 underdogs at bet365 to do so, with City at 13/10 to pull off the victory* (betting odds taken on March 16th, 2018 at 6:42 p.m.). The Citizens have managed to pick up just the one win in their last eight games against the Reds in all competitions.
Quarter-final first legs
3 April: Sevilla v Bayern, Juventus v Real Madrid
4 April: Barcelona v Roma, Liverpool v Man. City
Quarter-final second legs
10 April: Roma v Barcelona, Man. City v Liverpool
11 April: Bayern v Sevilla, Real Madrid v Juventus
First Leg Odds*
Juventus 6/4, Real Madrid 9/5, Draw 9/4
Bayern Munich 8/11, Draw 3/1, Sevilla 16/5
Barcelona 1/4, Draw 9/2, Roma 11/1
Man City 13/10, Liverpool 2/1, Draw 12/5* (all betting odds taken on March 16th, 2018 at 6:42 p.m.)
To Qualify Odds*
Barcelona 1/9, Roma 11/2
Bayern Munich 1/8, Sevilla 5/1
Real Madrid 4/9, Juventus 13/8
Man City 4/11, Liverpool 2/1* (all betting odds taken on March 16th, 2018 at 6:42 p.m.)
European Cup/Champions League Quarter Final Records
Barcelona – W14 L5
Bayern Munich – W18 L10
Juventus – W12 L5
Liverpool – W8 L4
Man City – W1 L0
Real Madrid – W28 L6
Roma – W1 L2
Sevilla – W0 L1
Quarter Final Predictions
It is easy enough to imagine that Barcelona and Bayern Munich will see off their respective opponents easily enough to make it through to the final four and take a step closer to the Final in Kiev. As for the other ties they are little harder to call. Manchester City probably won’t be too pleased with having drawn Liverpool, but over the two legs, you can see them just producing enough, especially with the second leg back at the Etihad, to get through. It could be an epic tussle between them though. The upset that we would put the most stock in would be Juventus doing a number over Real Madrid. They have head to head form over Los Merengues in Turin and if they can build a first leg lead, they will know how to defend it on the road.
