Champions League quarters is box-office stuff

April will be the best month of football going by the Champions League quarterfinal ties. Competitors have been eliminated and now serious contenders march on.

Four exciting, thrilling, and eye-catching matches will see PSG take on Bayern, Chelsea play Porto, Man City entertain Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid play Liverpool.

I haven’t heard anyone so far say “thank God it’s Bayern” or “thank God it’s Madrid”. This tells you everyone is expecting the worst and preparing the best way.

For Bayern vs PSG, the same questions will be asked - back in August 2020 when these two met in the Champions League final. With Neymar injured it’s up to Mbappe yet again to lead PSG to the semis.

Can PSG take advantage of Bayern’s high line? They didn’t do that last season. PSG players, led by Mbappe, need to be clinical when playing good sides like Bayern. This clash is hard to call but Bayern are favorites given their free-flowing counter of Koman, Leroy Sane and the ever-scoring Lewandoski.

This is arguably Man City’s best chance to deliver a quadruple after pairing Borussia Dortmund, a mid-block side. City have looked defensively solid, scored loads of goals yet again and are set to win the Premier League soon. However, Stones and Dias aka Stonesta and Maldias, face the biggest test of the season when they come against Haaland –Champions League leading scorer. I want to give Dortmund a chance in this tie but chances are slim.

Chelsea vs Porto is another unpredictable tie. Porto plays like Atletico Madrid who Chelsea dismissed in the round of 16. Chelsea will have possession and press high up while Porto will sit deep and attack on the counter requiring both sets of defenders to be alert throughout 180 minutes. The blues must be aware that Porto are also solid at the back courtesy of Pepe-Mbemba pairing with the former making 18 clearances in Turin. I hope Tuchel will start Giroud due to his finishing brilliance.

Real Madrid vs Liverpool is a repeat of 2018 final but both sides have taken different paths since then. Liverpool went on a rampage after the 3-1 defeat in Kyiv, winning the Champions League and Premier League while Madrid failed to reach Champions League quarters since then but won La Liga in 2020.

In Karim Benzema, Madrid is hopeful of getting over Liverpool given the absence of Van Dijk and Gomez but Nat Phillips is likely to be the “cult-hero” when it comes to aerial duels.

Liverpool has looked shaky throughout the season but Diogo Jota’s return, Madrid’s aging midfield and Thiago Alcantara’s experience may work on their favor.

This clash can go either way.

All these ties will be a pool of talent in Europe with eyes on Haaland and Mbappe yet again as they prepare to take over from Messi and Cristiano who will not be in the quarters for the first time since 2005.