The arrival of April in the football calendar means one thing- Champions League quarter-finals. Last round threw up some great surprises - Ajax beating the defending champions Real and Manchester United producing an extraordinary comeback against PSG - so nothing can be considered easy in this round. The only certainty of the quarter-finals is that there will definitely be one English side in the semis, as Tottenham face Manchester City. Read below for my preview and verdict on each of the ties.
LIVERPOOL vs PORTO
After overcoming Bayern Munich and with a serious chance of winning the league, Liverpool fans would've hoped for an easy tie, and they got it. Porto, with all due respect, are the weakest team left in the competition and the signs are not optimistic for the Portuguese outfit. Currently in their own title race, Porto may face a similar task to when the sides met last year in the Round of 16 - Liverpool running out 5-0 aggregate winners (5-0 win obtained in the first leg at Porto). Porto did well to beat Roma but Liverpool represent a more difficult challenge, and will be on a high after beating Southampton 3-1. Of all the ties, this seems like the only formality.
VERDICT - Liverpool
TOTTENHAM vs MANCHESTER CITY
The all-English tie is set up to be quite the contest. Tottenham, who in their last match secured the first ever win at their new stadium, have been a little shaky over the past weeks but that win will give them confidence into this one. Manchester City, on a quest to be the first English side to do the quadruple, will be hungry to progress beyond the stage they reached last year. City also secured passage to the FA Cup final on the weekend, but one or two signs that they are not firing on all cylinders. That could give Tottenham hope, but City's superiority will ultimately shine through over the course of the two legs.
VERDICT - Manchester City
AJAX vs JUVENTUS
Ajax provided the biggest shock of the last 16 but Juventus are a completely different animal to the ageing Real Madrid however, the knowledge that they can pull off a 'David vs Goliath' style victory is important. Juve, though, are much better than Real so this may be a bridge too far for the Dutch side. To progress, the performances of Matthijs de Ligs and Frenkie de Jong will be integral and the added boost that Cristiano Ronaldo might not be 100% fit for the first leg is a confidence booster.
VERDICT - Juventus
BARCELONA vs MANCHESTER UNITED
Barcelona have Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest ever and playing perhaps the best football of his career. Any side featuring the little Argentinian will always be favoured over the oppposition. United, at the worst possible time, are going through their first "crisis" with Solskjaer so a challenge that was hard enough already, as become ever harder. They may need a PSG reincarnated performance at the Nou Camp to have any chance of progressing to the last 4.
VERDICT - Barcelona
Those are my predictions. Two English sides and 1 Italian and Spanish. Perhaps all the fixtures seem straightfoward but this is the Champions League - the greatest club competition in the world. The semi-finals of Barcelona vs Liverpool and Manchester City vs Juventus seem extremely exciting.
LIVERPOOL vs PORTO
After overcoming Bayern Munich and with a serious chance of winning the league, Liverpool fans would've hoped for an easy tie, and they got it. Porto, with all due respect, are the weakest team left in the competition and the signs are not optimistic for the Portuguese outfit. Currently in their own title race, Porto may face a similar task to when the sides met last year in the Round of 16 - Liverpool running out 5-0 aggregate winners (5-0 win obtained in the first leg at Porto). Porto did well to beat Roma but Liverpool represent a more difficult challenge, and will be on a high after beating Southampton 3-1. Of all the ties, this seems like the only formality.
VERDICT - Liverpool
TOTTENHAM vs MANCHESTER CITY
The all-English tie is set up to be quite the contest. Tottenham, who in their last match secured the first ever win at their new stadium, have been a little shaky over the past weeks but that win will give them confidence into this one. Manchester City, on a quest to be the first English side to do the quadruple, will be hungry to progress beyond the stage they reached last year. City also secured passage to the FA Cup final on the weekend, but one or two signs that they are not firing on all cylinders. That could give Tottenham hope, but City's superiority will ultimately shine through over the course of the two legs.
VERDICT - Manchester City
AJAX vs JUVENTUS
Ajax provided the biggest shock of the last 16 but Juventus are a completely different animal to the ageing Real Madrid however, the knowledge that they can pull off a 'David vs Goliath' style victory is important. Juve, though, are much better than Real so this may be a bridge too far for the Dutch side. To progress, the performances of Matthijs de Ligs and Frenkie de Jong will be integral and the added boost that Cristiano Ronaldo might not be 100% fit for the first leg is a confidence booster.
VERDICT - Juventus
BARCELONA vs MANCHESTER UNITED
Barcelona have Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest ever and playing perhaps the best football of his career. Any side featuring the little Argentinian will always be favoured over the oppposition. United, at the worst possible time, are going through their first "crisis" with Solskjaer so a challenge that was hard enough already, as become ever harder. They may need a PSG reincarnated performance at the Nou Camp to have any chance of progressing to the last 4.
VERDICT - Barcelona
Those are my predictions. Two English sides and 1 Italian and Spanish. Perhaps all the fixtures seem straightfoward but this is the Champions League - the greatest club competition in the world. The semi-finals of Barcelona vs Liverpool and Manchester City vs Juventus seem extremely exciting.
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