The exciting final stages of the world's most followed Club competition, the UEFA Champions League are once again here. Next week the first legs of the quarter finals will be played out.
7 out of the 8 teams have been to the final before with 24 wins between them. Amazingly 6 are giants of the game & have been in finals of both the old European Cup & the new Champions League.
Monaco & Atletico have been losing finalists (Atletico 3 times with twice in the past three seasons in the hands of their cross town rivals Real Madrid)
And as for Leicester City, they epitomise the romance in the game as they aim for a semi final spot in their first ever UCL adventure.
Amazingly though, all four quarter finals are harder to predict than it appears at first.
Real have been less than exciting & Barcelona are only here following arguably the greatest ever 2nd leg escape in the history of the game when they scored the 3 goals they needed to win 6-1 in the last 7 minutes of the match+time added on, beating PSG 6-1 in the process & 6-5 on aggregate.
Juventus on the other hand, are even harder to beat now than they have been in the past few seasons & they are still creative without Pogba.
Bayern on the other hand may not be playing the free flowing Guardiola style football of the past few years but unlike their previous 3 semi final disasters under Guardiola, this year they are much more wary of their Spanish opposition(s)…..although it must be said pundits as well as both Real & Bayern were looking for the encounter as a final!
Monaco & Dortmund on the other hand are very similar, with Monaco having shown more consistency during the season & Dortmund suffering with key injuries.
And then there are the two counter attacking success stories of recent years: Atletico, following a mid season stutter are back to their best & the same can be said about Leicester….following a disastrous title defence they are now back to their winning ways using the trusted tactical approach of last season.
And now for my tips:
Juventus are much more wily & experienced than the hapless PSG over the two legs & are capable of exposing the obvious defensive & midfields frailties of Barcelona over the two legs than the naive PSG were.
Bayern, utilising Ancelotti's knowledge of Real Madrid can & will scrape through over two legs as longs as NEUER is fit for both matches & Muller continues his improved form.
Dortmund can account for Monaco as long as the long injury list can be dealt with in time for next week….otherwise Monaco are in with a chance over two legs.
Atletico, as I mentioned have got past their mid season form slump & are back on their winning ways & will end Leicester City's gallant run…..and with that once again highlight the poor return of mega TV money at EPL….in particular if Manchester United fail to win the Europa League.
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