The return of Europe’s premier competition is mere weeks away, and the draw for the quarter finals has left football fans salivating, eager for the Champions League’s return. This year, all remaining games, apart from any yet to be played round of sixteen second legs will be played in Portugal, with the final to be played in Lisbon on the 23rd of August. I have decided to predict every remaining game, and ultimately a winner, starting with the remaining round of sixteen second legs.
Round of 16
FC Barcelona vs SSC Napoli, first leg score: 1-1
When this draw was initially made most anticipated a comfortable Barcelona triumph, as Napoli were a side in disarray, having recently sacked Carlo Ancelotti and replaced him with the inexperienced Gennaro Gattuso, since Serie A’s restart, however, Napoli have found some form, with just 1 loss in their last 5, suggesting maybe Gattuso could be able to take this ageing side forward. Barcelona, however have been a mess since the restart, they have more or less surrendered the title to Real Madrid, with just 3 wins in the last 5 at the time of writing, and being out of the cup, Quique Sétien has mighty pressure on his shoulders to win this competition or his job could (unfairly) be on the line. The first leg was a reasonably cagey affair, with Barcelona only mustering up 1 shot on target from 65% possession, and having Arturo Vidal sent off, although they do have an away goal to take to the empty Nou Camp. Barcelona have Messi, and therefore I find it hard to look past them in this tie, they may be dysfunctional at the moment, but despite their improvements, I struggle to see Napoli getting past them, I see a relatively comfortable win for the Blaugrana.
Prediction: FC Barcelona 2-0 SSC Napoli (3-1 agg)
FC Bayern Munich vs Chelsea FC, first leg score: 3-0
This one should be very short and sweet, Chelsea are a team who seem to be stumbling to a potential Champions League spot in the Premier League having suffered recent defeats to Sheffield United and West Ham United, while Bayern have not dropped a point since the restart, and last did not win on the 9th of February, in a strong Bundesliga season, Bayern finished 13 points clear of 2nd and are many fans’ favourites for the Champions League. This gulf in quality showed in the first leg as Bayern blitzed Chelsea 3-0 in London with a Gnabry double and one from Lewandowski. The only possible advantage Chelsea could have is that Bayern’s league season has already finished, so they will not be totally match sharp, although it is clear that Chelsea are nowhere near Bayern’s level and will come nowhere near the miraculous comeback required.
Prediction: FC Bayern Munich 3-0 Chelsea (6-0 agg)
Manchester City vs Real Madrid, first leg score: 2-1
Probably the most finely poised of all of the unplayed round of sixteen games, two heavyweights go head to head, Manchester City have had their Champions League ban retracted after a successful appeal, which does take some pressure off, while Real Madrid still have to fight tooth and nail to secure the La Liga title. Zidane seems to have proven doubters wrong this season, as he has created a very strong and unstoppable machine out of Real this season, even with an out of form £100 million signing. The first leg was a game which Manchester City dominated, but did make defensive mistakes, which has been a theme of their season, and I have no doubt that if they do the same in the second leg they will be punished. Manchester City’s attack may be one of few which can break down Real Madrid’s exceptional defence, so this should by all means be an excellent game. Whichever team ends the season on a better note is likely to get the better of this tie, but as I don’t know what the remainder of the season has in store for these two I will predict a score draw, seeing Manchester City through to the quarter final.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-2 Real Madrid (4-3 agg)
Juventus FC vs Olympique Lyonnais, first leg score: 0-1
When this draw was initially made, I thought this was the most one sided of the lot, as Lyon have had a very poor season, finishing in 7th, relying on the cup final for European football, while Juventus seem unstoppable in Serie A, even if ‘Sarriball’ has not quite got going yet. This meant that Lyon defeating Juve 1-0 in the first leg after a Hertha Berlin-bound Lucas Tousart goal came as quite a shock. Despite this, I still can only see Juventus going through here, Lyon will have played no football for nearly 6 months by the time this game is played, while Juve still have 6 games to play of their league season, so despite the close first leg I can only see a Juventus win in this tie.
Prediction: Juventus FC 2-0 Olympique Lyonnais (2-1 agg)
Round of 16
Atalanta BC vs Paris St-Germain
This is the one quarter final tie that gets me the most excited, 2 of the best attacks in Europe going head to head, hopefully just trying to outscore the opposition. Over 2 legs I would have little doubt that PSG would triumph, but in a one off game, this could definitely go either way. In my opinion, Atalanta are the best team in Serie A, and next season, they could definitely make a meaningful challenge for the scudetto, and even have an outside chance this campaign. PSG are fresh from another campaign of domestic dominance, but as they haven’t played since February, this could easily be a difficult one to acclimatise to. Atalanta will know that PSG will be rusty and try to attack them from the beginning, as they do every game, and if PSG can’t shake off their lack of match-sharpness, it could be a disaster for them. On the other hand PSG’s defence is far stronger than Atalanta’s and if they are not too rusty, then they could comfortably put a few past them with their talent, either way this will almost certainly be a footballing spectacle. I think PSG will win, however, they simply have the better team, and crucially the better defence, although I would be shocked if both teams don’t score a few.
Prediction: Atalanta BC 2-4 Paris St-Germain
RB Leipzig vs Atlético Madrid
This will be a bizarre game, one of Europe’s most offensive teams up against one of its’ most conservative. The main story here is that RB Leipzig will be without their talisman Timo Werner after leaving the club, although they have more than enough alternative sources of goals in their side with the likes of Schick, Sabitzer, Nkunku and Forsberg. Atléti will be confident going into this game after knocking out Liverpool and securing Champions League football for another season despite a rocky season in La Liga. Like PSG, RB will be reasonably rusty, as their league season finished at the end of June, but will still immediately press Atléti like they did Spurs. Atlético’s defence is far superior to Spurs’, obviously, but should they be on anything other than their A game for this game, they can expect to be punished. The mattress makers should try to hit the red bulls on a counter as that is where they have been most vulnerable this season with a very exposed back 3. This tie should be interesting, if it is entertaining, Leipzig have the upper hand, if not, Atléti do, but without Werner, I struggle to see Leipzig progressing here.
Prediction: RB Leipzig 0-1 Atlético Madrid
FC Barcelona vs FC Bayern Munich
Should my predictions be true, this will be the third quarter final and what a quarter final it could be. While on paper these sides seem to be around even, Bayern should fancy their chances against this out of sorts Barca. At the time of writing Real Madrid are 1 win from their first title since 2017, and Barcelona’s poor form since the restart needs to pick up if they are to have any kind of momentum going into this game. Bayern, on the other hand have won their 8th consecutive title and have been flawless since the restart. The one factor that can not be ignored, however is that of a certain Lionel Messi, whenever Barcelona have him on the pitch, they have a chance, but in every other aspect it is difficult not to fancy Bayern here. It would be harsh in my view, but Sétien could possibly not be in charge for these games, which could give Barcelona a freedom that they haven’t seemed to have, but I think they need to give him time to figure out how to get the best out of an undoubtedly talented crop of players, and if he can do that in the next few games, they have a chance here, but if not I can only see Bayern coming out on top here.
Prediction: FC Barcelona 1-2 FC Bayern Munich
Manchester City vs Juventus FC
The winners of the two tightest remaining round of 16 games, this would be a phenomenal tie. That said, I find it very difficult to see past Juventus here, although the pressure is off Manchester City now that they have succeeded in their appeal of their UEFA competitions ban. Juventus, barring a total collapse will most likely win Serie A this season, despite a heavy reliance on Ronaldo’s goals, and certainly not playing as good football as may have been expected under Sarri. Manchester City, however no longer have anything to play for in the Premier League after what has been, by their standards, a disappointing season, nowhere near Liverpool at the top of the division. That said, on their day they can beat anyone, we know that, and they seem to have thrived behind closed doors, playing irresistible football at times, something that can not really be said of Juve. Whenever a team has Cristiano on the pitch, however, they have a chance in the Champions League, I can see this either being an entertaining, end to end affair, or a total whitewash by Manchester City, either way, I can only see the sky blues progressing here, leaving Juventus with a lot of work to do in the summer.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-1 Juventus
Semi Finals
Atlético Madrid vs Paris St-Germain
This tie is very similar to Atléti’s against Leipzig, should their discipline be compromised whatsoever in this game, they will be punished by PSG’s outstanding front line, while over two legs, Atlético would probably have more license to be more experimental, in a one off game against the French champions, Simeone would almost certainly look to totally shut off the PSG attack, and would dread any scoreline other than 1-0 to them. PSG’s attack is relentless and if there’s any attack I would want to pick apart Atléti it would be theirs. By this point PSG should be more than match sharp, so Atlético can’t rely on complacency on PSG’s part. All in all, like the Leipzig game, Atlético seem to be in charge of their own fate here, on their day they can shut out any team, so if they are I can see them winning, but with both teams having never won the competition, I can imagine both being nervy to win this one. In previous years I would have backed Atlético here, but PSG are probably better than ever this season, so I think it will be them to reach the final.
Prediction: Atlético Madrid 0-2 Paris St-Germain
Manchester City vs FC Bayern Munich
Arguably the two favourites for the competition, I predict that they will face each other in the semi finals, and there is no reason why this game should not be a spectacle to behold. Two of the most relentless attacks in Europe go head to head here, but both teams do have their weak points. With their high press, Bayern should be able to force a mistake out of the Manchester City defence in this game, which has so often been their downfall over the last season, and wether it be Gnabry or Coman on the right, Flick will certainly look to expose a relatively weak left side of defence in Manchester City, wether it be Mendy or Zinchenko to start there. Bayern have, however often been caught out on their right hand side, where Pep, in his infinite wisdom will certainly look to focus his attack, this tie would be won and lost on those flanks, but Bayern have so much consistency, which Manchester City have lacked, that I can only see them winning this game.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-3 FC Bayern Munich
Final
Paris St-Germain vs FC Bayern Munich
So in this slightly strange version of this years’ competition I see that two relentless forces in their domestic leagues will come together to claim the big-eared trophy in Lisbon. PSG have, of course never won the competition, while Bayern bid to win it for the first time since 2013. Both these teams are simply outstanding all over the pitch, both with solid bases (this would be Thiago Silva’s final game for PSG) and fullbacks with a good balance. Both have exceptional balance between destruction and creativity in their midfield, and of course they both possess some of the world’s best attacking players. I feel that Bayern may benefit here from experience, with Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez, David Alaba and Manuel Neuer all on the winning side in 2013, with Robert Lewandowski even being on the losing Dortmund team that night. That said, PSG do have 4 time winner Keylor Navas and 1 time winner Neymar in their ranks so that presence could help. The pressure here would clearly be on Tuchel more than Flick, as PSG have plugged so many finds into this team in the goal of achieving this final, and to lose at the final hurdle would hurt more for them than most. That said pressure can be a good thing for a team, but the past suggests that that hasn’t tended to be the case for Les Parisiens, so I will back Bayern here to win the competition as they are the best team in Europe by my reckoning, but there is no doubt in my mind that PSG will win it at one point before 2025.
Prediction: Paris St-Germain 1-3 FC Bayern Munich
Football 37 