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This week sees the first legs of the Champions League quarter-finals take place across Europe. A number of the usual suspects are in the last eight, with some surprise names also having made it to the quarter-finals. Here are the ties taking place in midweek:
Tuesday night
Sevilla v Bayern Munich
Spanish outfit Sevilla shocked Premier League Manchester United in the last 16 by recording a 2-1 win at Old Trafford in the second leg of the tie after a 0-0 draw at the Sanchez Pizjuan. Bayern recorded a rather more convincing 8-1 aggregate win over Shakhtar Donetsk to set up this last-eight tie.
Sevilla’s recent record in the Champions League is decent, as the Andalucian side has lost just once in their last ten games in Europe’s elite competition. However, the home side has won just four of those games.
Bayern Munich has been in top form of late in the Champions League, winning their last six games in Europe. The Bavarian giants have also scored at least two goals in all those recent victories.
Juventus v Real Madrid
These two teams are tradition giants of the European Cup. This clash could be a fantastic clash of one of the best defences in Europe against one of the most dangerous attacks.
Juventus are unbeaten in seven Champions League outings, having beaten Tottenham 4-3 on aggregate in the last 16. It is worth noting that the Bianconeri’s only defeats in this competition in their last 21 games have been against Spanish opponents, including a 4-1 defeat against Los Blancos in the 2017 final.
Real Madrid have hit form of late and are four games unbeaten in the Champions League. Zinedine Zidane’s side has lost just one of their last nine games in this competition, having recorded seven wins.
Wednesday night
Liverpool v Manchester City
This clash has the potential to be the most exciting of all the quarter-finals, with two of the Premier League’s most attacking teams going head-to-head at Anfield.
Liverpool recorded a comfortable 5-0 aggregate victory over Porto in their last Champions League outing, while City defeated Swiss side Basel 5-2 on aggregate to set up this clash.
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 12 games in the Champions League. However, the Reds have only won six of those games, drawing the other six. Jurgen Klopp’s side has been solid in defence in this competition, having kept clean sheets in five of their last six European games. The Merseysiders are also unbeaten in 17 home games against City in all competitions.
Manchester City have won six of their last eight games in the Champions League. However, Pep Guardiola’s side has lost two of their last three games in Europe’s elite competition. City also has a mixed away record in the Champions League, winning just three of their last eight away games in Europe.
Barcelona v Roma
Barcelona heads into this tie as favourites against Roma, who made it to the last-eight courtesy over Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. The Italian visitors are now regarded as the biggest underdogs in the competition.
The home side heads into this clash unbeaten in their last nine Champions League games. The Catalan giants are known for their attacking play, but it is at the other end that they have impressed of late in Europe, keeping four clean sheets in five games in this competition. The Spanish league leaders have won 18 out of their last 19 home games in the Champions League.
Roma has a mixed recent record in the Champions League, having won three, lost two and drawn one of their last six outings in Europe’s elite competition. The Giallorossi’s recent record on their travels in the Champions League is poor, as they have won just one of their last 14 away games in this competition.
Who will gain the upper hand in the Champions League quarter-final first legs?
