Ranking Champions League contenders after quarter-final draw: Man City’s stock falling, Real Madrid on the up

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  1. Paris Saint-Germain: They will fancy themselves to see off the Sky Blues, particularly considering that—with Ligue 1 already wrapped up—they can focus almost entirely on continental competition. However, should they advance to the semi-finals—and nothing is guaranteed—how will they stack up as they enter uncharted territory?

  1. Bayern Munich: The Bavarians’ weaknesses were exposed during two concerning halves against Juventus—the second half of the first leg and the first of the second—and the presence of Borussia Dotmund in the Bundesliga (only five points behind Guardiola’s reigning champions) means that the Bavarians cannot entirely focus on the UCL.

  1. Real Madrid: Admittedly, rookie coach Zinedine Zidane has never experienced the kind of touchline pressures that he will come under as the Merengues advance further in this year’s competition, but the Blancos’ squad and wealth of options means they cannot be ruled out. We’re plumping for the 10-time winners ahead of, say, Bayern, because they are almost certainly out of the running for the Spanish title—sitting 12 points behind Barcelona at the time of writing—and can feasibly turn their full attentions to winning number eleven.

  1. Barcelona: It’s hard not to tip Barcelona to win this year’s competition—and retain the title—despite a testing quarter-final draw against Atletico Madrid. They dispatched Arsenal in the last 16 with some aplomb, are currently on a 38-game unbeaten run and have won their last 12 in La Liga. In Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, they also possess perhaps the most menacing attacking line in history and, perhaps most importantly, they’ve been there and have the experience of winning Europe’s premier club competition.
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