After all the excitement of the Round of 16, 8 teams are still alive to square off for a place in the Champions League semi-finals. Out of the 8 matches from the last round I predicted 5 of them correctly. 2 of the 3 fixtures I failed to guess the winner of were decided by the away goal tie-breaker. Chelsea was knocked out in Stamford Bridge after tying PSG 2-2. Likewise Arsenal had a chance to comeback from the 3-1 loss at the Emirates but fell short, they won 2-0 at Monaco but 3-3 aggregate put Monaco through with 3 away goals. The PSG – Chelsea matchup was a rematch of last year’s Champions League where Chelsea advanced on away goals, this year PSG got their revenge. The other fixture I predicted wrongly was Borussia Dortmund – Juventus, where the first leg Juventus took 2-1 and then in the second leg they stomped Borussia 3 – nil.
The draw for the quarter-finals are as follow:
This draw looks very competitive and no one can be 100% sure in their predictions, but I’ll give it a try:
PSG v Barcelona
This is a rematch of their group stage matches, where Barcelona came out on top both times. I think Barcelona has shown great football lately, from El Classico, to their clash with Manchester City. Messi is in great form, and doesn’t need to be scoring goals to affect the game. Suarez has finally routinely found the back of the net. And Neymar is just Neymar, give him half a yard and he will be gone, to the goal or assisting, he has put up great numbers this year so far with 17 goals and 4 assists. He is second in the team for average whoscored.com rating at 7.89 behind Messi’s 8.83. Barça will win, but it will be a close one, as PSG’s back 4 are all Brazilians who have played against the Barca trio together, and separate.
Atletico v Real Madrid
Los Blancos will win the Madrid Derby in the Champions League. You likely didn’t hear it here first or have the thought come across your mind when you read these words. Yet this is one of the fiercest rivalries in Europe, and a rematch of last years final. Likely one of the most awaited games of the season so far. The question is can Real return to the form they saw in the first half of the 14-15 season, and ultimately the form that saw them Champions of Europe and of the Copa Del Rey 10 months ago. Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema definitely have the hype to win this matchup, but can they get their synergy back together and play as a team? Modric returning to the midfield was a great boost, and James should return by the first leg. With Ancelotti’s side fielding a 4-3-3 like formation, the three in the middle will have to work their asses off in training to show they deserve to start, with a pool of highly skilled players such as James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Isco Alarcon, Sami Khedira, Illaramendi, and the newly arrived Lucas Silva from Cruzeiro in Brazil. If Real play as well as they can and should, this should be a definite win for them.
Porto v Bayern Munich
No one else will believe this, and it may seem outlandish, but until now, Bayern has not faced a side that will challenge them more than FC Porto. The Portuguese side have shown that they can play world class football and have shown the world they are more than good enough to be among Europe’s best 8 teams. If they hang on in the match at Allianz Arena, I see Porto winning 2-0 at home. Casemiro, who won the Champions League last year with Real Madrid has been solid in the center midfield, along with distributing very well. Porto is also a team, but they do not lack quality in their ranks, many of the players shined in the World Cup last year. Brahimi with Algeria, Jackson Martinez and Quintero with Columbia, Herrera with Mexico, and finally Martins Indi with the Netherlands. Quaresma is a super-sub that can come in and work the Bayern wingbacks, the pace that Porto can offer from the outside with Tello, Brahimi, and Quaresma is insane, along with their set-piece prowess that they have shown in the UCL, there is no reason for Bayern to be counting them out. Finally I think that Porto matches up well with Bayern because they do not need possession to score and play their play casemiro free kickstyle. Counter attacks are the main threat with this Porto side, and Bayern should be careful.
Juventus v Monaco
Even though I messed up both of these sides last time I predicted winners, I am now almost sure Juventus will be in the semi-finals of Europe. I did not believe the hype around Juve. Sure they won the Serie-A last year and will likely do it again this year, although I did not know they could thrash teams in the European scene too. Roma was killed 7-1 against Bayern at home, one of the reasons I didn’t believe in Juventus. Though Tevez has shown new found form that mirrors his United days and Juve has several world class players and veterans such as Buffon, Pirlo, Marchisio, Pogba, Giovinco, Chiellini, Vidal, Evra, Morata and Llorente. This team has depth, and skill where Monaco doesn’t have nearly as many world class players. Taken Monaco did beat Arsenal, I don’t think Juventus will fly by them, but Juve has everything going for them.
Those are my predictions for the Uefa Champions League quarter-finals that show some very exciting matchups. I will be looking forward to watching them and enjoying the football. If you disagree with any of these predictions say so in the comments. Some of the sites I used for stats and draws are as follow:
Full Time 
No way Porto takes down Bayern
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