Champions League Quarterfinal predictions

Celtic – Juventus

Prediction – Juventus

Chances: 90%

With three away goals in the bag, and impeccable form at the Juventus stadium this season, the Old Lady are the most likely to progress, of all the 16 clubs remaining in the tournament. In spite of a progressive performance from Celtic at Glasgow, the Italian champions proved simply too hot to handle for the Celtic defence, who particularly struggled with the movement of the young attacking lineup which Juve now boasts. Thus, a win is the most likely result for Juve even in the return leg, unless Conte decides to rest some players in pursuit of their Serie A title challenge, which is far from secured at the moment. Overall though, 3 away goals, if nothing else, should see them through.

Valencia – PSG

Prediction – PSG

Chances: 70%

An extremely clinical performance from the Parisian side was undone in the final few minutes of the game as Valencia first pulled one back in unlikely fashion, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic was then sent off for a technicality, in spite of not having made too bad a challenge in the first place. Thus, they will now welcome an upbeat Valencia, but should have enough in the tank to put it past the Spanish side,even with Ibra missing. Lavezzi, Pastore, and Verratti caused Valencia all sorts of problems while the defence collectively shut Soldado and co. out all game, except for during that goal. Thus, 2 away goals are very likely to prove sufficient for progress to the quarter-finals.

Shakhtar Donetsk – Borussia Dortmund

Prediction - Borussia Dortmund

Chances: 70%

Shakhtar Donetsk scored two brilliant goals in front of their home fans, and could have had a couple more, if lady luck had smiled upon them. However, to Dortmund’s credit, they fought back equally admirably and came from behind twice to take home a respectable draw and two valuable away goals from the fixture. Playing in front of Dortmund fans, however, is a whole different ball game, and with the Bundesliga a non-priority for his side now, Jurgen Klopp is very likely to field a full-strength side which will be rested the previous weekend. Thus, Dortmund are slight favourites to go through from this tie, but expect an equally entertaining game in the second leg.

Real Madrid – Manchester United

Prediction - Manchester United

Chances: 50%

Missing a couple of gilt-edged chances, mainly thanks to De Gea, and coming close with long range efforts on more than one occasion, Real Madrid were equally lucky and unlucky to emerge with a 1 – 1 draw at the Bernabeu. Robin van Persie nearly made it a very memorable night for the Red Devils, coming close on multiple occasions, hitting the bar once, and drawing a clearance off the line from a scuffed effort. Yet, it was the tactical brilliance of Sir Alex Ferguson that was the real highlight of the game as United played the second best tactical ploy of the round, apart from Milan, and made it virtually impossible for Real to dominate like they’re used to. Now, in the return leg at Old Trafford, with the Stretford end serenading RvP, expect him and United to strike, while maintaining the same defensive tactics as in the first leg. What will really help the game though, is a referee who does not officiate like he belongs in the third tier of English football.

FC Porto – Malaga

Prediction - Malaga

Chances: 50%

The only club in the first round of fixtures to have lost their game, yet be likely to go through, Malaga are tipped to progress because of their impressive record at home thus far in the season. They even beat Real Madrid recently, and played well against Porto, apart from that one lapse which led to the goal. They also know that they are banned from the next European competition they qualify for, and will want to go as far in this season’s tournament as possible to make a point to UEFA, if nothing else. The fans are completely behind Pellegrini and his men, and should create an atmosphere conducive enough for progress to the quarters.

Arsenal – Bayern Munich

Prediction - Bayern Munich

Chances: 90%

The second favourite team to progress, after Juventus, Bayern made the most of Arsenal’s weekend misery to record an impressive 3 – 1 win and put themselves in the driver’s seat for the tie. 3 away goals is difficult enough to overcome for Arsenal, but to do so against a club which has conceded just 7 goals in 22 league games thus far, and had kept five straight clean sheets before this game is nigh impossible. Arsenal did look a bit more likely to score with Walcott playing wide on the right than with him in the centre though, and that change could make the tie at the Allianz Arena a bit interesting to watch.

Galatasaray – Schalke

Prediction - Galatasaray

Chances: 60%

One of the more difficult ties to predict, based upon the performances of the teams in the first leg, this fixture is likely to go the way of Galatasaray, because there is a high possibility of each side scoring more than once in the reverse fixture. Huntelaar and Yilmaz were only two of many players to miss chances to score in the game at Turkey, and if they step their game up a bit, many more goals are likely to come in Germany. Thus, either a scored draw or an outright win for Galatasaray is in favour of Fateh Terim’s club, and makes them slight favourites to progress. Besides, they now have that man Didier Drogba in their ranks, remember?

AC Milan – Barcelona

Prediction - AC Milan

Chances: 70%

While it might seem too early to predict an exit for Barcelona in spite of their loss at the San Siro, this prediction is based on the fact that AC Milan seem very likely to score even at the Nou Camp unless Barcelona’s tactics change drastically. Milan played the perfect opposition to Barcelona with the perfect balance between attack and defence against a team which depends as much on possession play as Barcelona does. With Barca having 0 away goals to their name, and Milan likely to score at least 1 at the Nou Camp, the Blaugrana will then require to score 4 for an outright win. While they might have managed that against most teams in their league, doing it against quality European opposition like Milan might be too big a task even for Lionel Messi’s side.