The draw for the 2018 UEFA Champions League semi-finals were made on Friday, April 13th and it came out quite favourably for Liverpool, the last English side left in the competition. After their stunning rout of compatriots Manchester City in the quarter finals, Liverpool will get a shot against Roma in the final four, leaving a heavyweight duel between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Champions League Winner Odds*
Real Madrid 15/8, Bayern Munich 9/4, Liverpool 9/4, Roma 9/1* (betting odds taken at 3: 27 p.m. on April 13th, 2018).
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
To Qualify: Real Madrid 8/11, Bayern Munich 11/10 at bet365* (betting odds taken at 3: 27 p.m. on April 13th, 2018)
The first leg, Munich: Wednesday 25 April
Second leg, Madrid: Tuesday 1 May
What a tie this is going to be. The first leg will be the 25th game between Real Madrid and Bayern, making it the most played fixture in UEFA club competition. They have met six times before in the semi finals of European Competitions as well, with Bayern 4-2 up from those.
Bayern Munich have made light work of just about everything that has come their way this season in Europe. They lost against PSG in their second group stage match, sacked Carlo Ancelotti as boss and just haven’t looked back since Jupp Heynckes returned as head coach. They moved past Sevilla (the round of sixteen conquerors of Manchester United) to set up this tie. Bayern Munich are W8 D1 L1 in their ten Champions League games this season, producing a W4 D1 record at home. The last time Heynckes was in charge at the Bundesliga giants, he won the 2013 Champions League final with them.
Real Madrid survived a harrowing ordeal against Juventus in their semi-final duel. After winning 3-0 out in Turin in the first leg it was supposed to be a cakewalk for them back at the Bernabeu. It was anything but as Juventus simply tore into them. Going in 2-0 up at halftime, Juventus found a third goal in the second half of the game to leave the tie event. It was a fully deserved score and they were well on top until Real Madrid were awarded a penalty in stoppage time which Cristiano Ronaldo converted.
Real Madrid are looking for their third consecutive Champions League title and they are on a five-match winning streak against the Germans, scoring 13 goals and conceding four. Cristiano Ronaldo, who has now scored in all ten of his Champions League games this season, has seven goals in his last three games against Bayern (nine in six overall). Overall in the head to head, things are even at eleven wins each and two draws. Last season Real Madrid and Bayern battled it out in the quarter finals, with Madrid winning through 6-3 on aggregate after losing the second leg at home 2-1. That left the tie at 3-3 but Real powered in three extra-time goals. It wasn’t without its controversy though, with Bayern having Arturo Vidal sent off in the 84th minute despite a clean tackle and Cristiano Ronaldo was clearly offside when he made the scoreline 4-3 and that was the tipping point as Bayern crumbled.
Liverpool v Roma
To Qualify: Liverpool 2/5, Roma 15/8 at bet365* (betting odds taken at 3: 27 p.m. on April 13th, 2018)
First leg, Liverpool: Tuesday 24 April
Second leg, Rome: Wednesday 2 May
Liverpool will be delighted to have avoided Madrid and Bayern in the semi-final draw and now this gives them a great shot at making it to the Final. There have been five previous games played between Liverpool and Roma, the first of them being in the 1983/84 European Cup Final, with the Reds winning 4-2 on penalties. They were next paired up in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup fourth round with Liverpool winning 2-1 on aggregate and then the following season they were in the Champions League second group stage together with Liverpool collecting four points from their two games.
Liverpool star Mo Salah returns to face the club that he left in the summer. Liverpool were underdogs for their duel with Manchester City, but they produced two fantastic legs against the Citizens to prevail 6-1 on aggregate. Once again, their high-pressing, swift counter-attacking football winning out. Liverpool holds a W9 D5 L11 record against Italian clubs and from six previous two-legged knockout ties against Italian opposition, Liverpool have won four and lost two.
Roma pulled off a major upset in the last round to get past Barcelona. After trailing 4-1 from the first leg at the Nou Camp, somehow back on home soil, they turned it around. The Giallorossi just threw the kitchen sink at the Catalans to win the return leg 3-0 and get through on away goals. Edin Dzeko’s late strike at the Nou Camp proved to be decisive. While he was with Man City Edin Džeko scored three goals in 11 games against Liverpool with a W3 D4 L4 record against them. Roma doesn’t have form in two-legged knockout ties against English sides as they have lost their last six in a row. That was after winning their first three European ties against English opposition.
Predictions
Liverpool should have nothing too much to fear in Roma. They are a solid side at the back but Liverpool have shown time and time again this season that they can open up teams pretty easily. So they have a great shot at making the final. As for the heavyweight tussle of Bayern v Real Madrid. That is so hard to call. There really is nothing much between them, however, Real’s defence has been a little shaky this season, so that could just tip the balance in favour of the Germans.
