Champions League quarterfinal draw: First thoughts

The Champions League quarterfinal draw was held at Nyon this evening. Steve McManaman picked the balls out of the draw, a result of which was these four mouth-watering ties:

First Leg at Home	Return Leg at Home	Last time they met
Malaga	Borussia Dortmund	Never played each other
Real Madrid	Galatasaray	2-1 (Real Madrid Won), 2011
Paris Saint-Germain	FC Barcelona	2-2 (Friendly)
Bayern Munich	Juventus	4-1 (Bayern Won), 2009-10

The ties will be played on April 2/3rd, and April 9/10th.

1) Malaga vs Borussia Dortmund:

Dortmund have enough quality to see-off Malaga, but you never know. Malaga are an unpredictable team, proved by their victory against Real Madrid in January.

Team	Key Players
Malaga	Isco
Borussia Dortmund	Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus

2) Real Madrid vs Galatasaray:

When these two teams met the last time, it was a low-scoring affair, with Real Madrid winning the match 2-1. This time, it will be totally different, as Real Madrid are in top form, and Galatasaray could be easily swept aside unless there is a twist in the tale.

Team	Key Players
Real Madrid	Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Xabi Alonso
Galatasaray	Burak Y?lmaz, Didier Drogba, Wesley Sneijder

3) Paris-Saint Germain vs FC Barcelona:

Based on current form, Paris Saint-Germain should not be a problem for the rampant Barcelona. The PSG side consists of the only Englishman left in the competition in David Beckham, who has had numerous encounters against the Catalans while playing for Real Madrid.

Team	Key Players
Paris Saint-Germain	Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lucas Moura
FC Barcelona	Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi

4) Bayern Munich vs Juventus:

This would be the match to watch out for, as on one side there is Bayern Munich, who have a fantastic attacking arsenal, while on the other it’s Juventus, who have the best defensive line-up in Italy. Juventus are considered as the dark horses in the Champions League, and Bayern will find it difficult to get pass the Italians.

Team	Key Players
Bayern Munich	Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Mario Mandzukic
Juventus	Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Sebastian Giovinco

This year’s quarterfinal draw looks interesting, and Bayern Munich vs Juventus should be a mouth-watering contest!