The 2020-21 UEFA Champions League is drawing towards its conclusion as the draw for the quarter-finals was made on Friday, with the ties taking place next month ahead of the final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on Saturday 29 May.
Eight teams also remain in the Europa League, in which this season’s tournament has seen a number of upsets to this point. Dinamo Zagreb overturned a 0-2 first leg deficit to eliminate Tottenham Hotspur this week, whilst Slavia Prague have beaten both Leicester City and Rangers to get this far.
The draws for the next round of both competitions took place earlier today and here are our early thoughts on the competitions:
2020-21 Champions League
Quarter-finals
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund
FC Porto vs Chelsea
Bayern Munich vs Paris Saint-Germain
Real Madrid vs Liverpool
FC Porto are arguably the biggest surprise so far this season, eliminating Juventus to reach the final eight. Borussia Dortmund are also having a much better time of European competition than domestic this term too. Manchester City and Bayern Munich are the only sides remaining whom also top their respective leagues. No surprise that Betway Sportwetten have these two as the favorites to win the trophy this season.
Although the infographic below shows the bigger the spend the more success you get in this competition, Real Madrid have made the quarter-finals without spending a penny in either transfer window, whilst Chelsea spent the most among the remaining teams but are not among the immediate favorites.
Prediction: Bayern Munich to retain 100/30
Bayern Munich looked unbeatable after football resumed last season and despite the scoreline only reading 1-0 versus Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s final, the result never looked in doubt.
Head coach Hansi Flick is now in his first full season at the club and has won seven of their eight games in this season’s competition, drawing the other away to Atletico Madrid. It’s hard to see anyone dethroning the Bavarians over the next couple of months, but Manchester City have looked excellent in the Premier League in recent months.
Robert Lewandowski has scored a staggering 32 goals in 23 Bundesliga starts this campaign, whilst Thomas Muller has been involved in 23 goals too (10 Goals, 13 Assists) as they have a powerhouse of an attack.
Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka and Leroy Sane are all threats too, and although they have been fragile at the back on occasions in recent weeks, they are more than capable of fixing those issues between now and the end of the campaign.
Opposition fans may want to keep an eye on the latest Bundesliga news in hope they pick up a few injuries in the coming weeks because it’s hard to see anyone stopping Bayern Munich when they’re on their game.
2020-21 Europa League
Quarterfinals
Granada vs Manchester United
Arsenal vs Slavia Prague
Ajax vs AS Roma
Dinamo Zagreb vs Villarreal
Premier League sides have dominated the bookmakers’ selection as favorites this season, but Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City have since fallen. In fact, two of the top four favorites went out at the last round – Spurs had been second favorites and AC Milan fourth.
Prediction: Manchester United to win 15/8
Winning the Europa League is a route into next season’s Champions League so you can be sure the final eight sides in this season’s competition will take it seriously between now and the final in Gdansk, Poland in May.
Manchester United benefited from opponent’s AC Milan resting stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the previous round but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team can’t expect any teams to roll over from here on out.
The Red Devils currently sit second in the Premier League with no realistic opportunity of winning the title but have both the FA Cup and Europa League to add some silverware to their trophy cabinet this season.
Manchester United have looked very good going forward with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, whilst also having Edinson Cavani, Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood.
The bookmakers expect Premier League rivals Arsenal to be their biggest threat, but one should not overlook AS Roma and Ajax in the remaining rounds.
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