The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 has concluded, and the 8 teams remaining in the competition have their ticket punched one step closer to the Final at the Stade de France in Paris on May 28th. Here's everything you need to know about the Champions League Quarter Final draw, teams involved and much more.
How did the Round of 16 shake out?
The Round of 16 finished up this past week, with eight teams advancing. Those teams are Chelsea, Manchester City, FC Bayern München, Atlético de Madrid, Villarreal, Benfica, and Liverpool. These teams were placed in a random draw to find their opponents in the Quarterfinals
When is the Champions League Quarter Final Draw
The draw for the Quarter Final was Friday morning, and the matchups are set. Every tie offers interesting storylines, starting with reigning Champions Chelsea, who are set to take on Real Madrid for the second consecutive season, having met in last seasons's Semifinals, with Chelsea winning 3-1 on aggregate. Meanwhile, the other Finalist of last year's competition will also be in Madrid, with Manchester City set to take on Atlético. Elsewhere in Spain, last year's Europa League Champions Villarreal will square off with the German giants Bayern. Finally, Benfica will take on Liverpool, where for the second year running a Portuguese club has reached this stage of the competition.
When do the Quarter Final Ties Begin?
The Quarter Final will officially begin in a little over two weeks, with Liverpool on the road at Benfica, and Atlético on the road at Manchester City on April 5th. The next day, April 6th the other two ties kick off with Villarreal hosting Bayern and Chelsea hosting Real Madrid. The second legs will be played in reverse the following week, with Chelsea-Real Madrid and Villarreal-Bayern on April 12th, while Manchester City-Atlético and Liverpool-Benfica playing on the 13th.
What storylines should you be watching during these ties?
As previously mentioned, this is the second consecutive season where Chelsea and Real Madrid have met in the knockout stages, and something worth mentioning outside the obvious Eden Hazard connection, is that Real Madrid, in five games since their first meeting in the 1971 European Cup Winners Cup Final, has never beaten Chelsea in a competitive fixture, losing three times and drawing twice.
Also, while Manchester City and Atlético have never met before, the tactical battle will nonetheless be fascinating. Pep Guardiola is one of the greatest tactical minds in the world, and has been for years now, and during his time at Barcelona, he and Atlético manager Diego Simeone always produced fascinating battles, and there's no reason to believe this tie will be any different. There will be stars all over the field, maybe moreso on Guardiola's side of the pitch, but Simeone is no stranger to that. He hasn't taken Atlético to the very brink of Champions League glory on two separate occasions by being afraid of star power.
Meanwhile, Liverpool and Benfica actually have met ten times in their histories, though not once since 2010. However, it will be an interesting test of Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool, given their opponents were not expected to advance past Ajax. Sure, Benfica will likely be counted out oncemore, but they should play with the same lack of fear they showed in Amsterdam.
Villarreal are another club that some say should feel lucky to reach this stage of the competition, but Unai Emery has his squad playing even better than last season when they hoisted the first trophy Villarreal had won in over a century. Bayern, as always, are a well-oiled machine so this may be the toughest tactical challenge Emery has faced in either of the last two seasons, and it will be interesting to see how he responds to such pressure.
Finally, let's go over the odds. Manchester City currently sit at odds of +185 to win the competition, with Liverpool not far behind at +200, and Bayern at +300. Chelsea face +1000 odds of a repeat as Champions, while their quarter final opponents Real Madrid sit at +1400. Atlético face a tough road to the Final, having to face both Manchester City and one of Chelsea or their crosstown rivals Real Madrid to get to Paris, and the odds reflect that, placing their chances at +2500. Then we approach the clubs Vegas has little to no faith in to reach the Semifinals, let alone win the competition, with Villarreal facing odds of +8000, and Benfica facing an even more daunting set of odds, with theirs being set at +10000.
Follow Us
Subscribe