And then there were eight! The UEFA Champions League quarter-final’s draw is set to take place tomorrow, and it’s safe to say that we’ve got some scintillating soccer to look forward to. Let’s take a look at the teams in the pot and get the best Champions League betting odds for who we think will go all the way.
We’re inching ever-closer to crowning the 2021 UCL Champions, and here are the teams who are all battling it out for the coveted trophy.
Liverpool
Odds to win: +750
Liverpool shook off their horrendous domestic record and despondent attitudes by securing their place in the Champions League quarter-finals. The win came via two commanding performances by the Reds, and they quite easily saw off Bundesliga title-hopefuls, RB Leipzig.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were the men of the moment and finally gave Liverpool a ‘home’ win. Although, it seems the change of scenery—with the match played in Budapest due to Covid-19 restrictions—helped shake off some of the expectation that has so heavily weighed on Klopp’s men at Anfield. The Champions League is going to be Liverpool’s most likely way to salvage the damage that’s been done to their reputation this season and, as such, expect the Reds to try to push all the way for the title.
Manchester City
Odds to win: +240
Keeping true to their domestic form, Manchester City probably could have won this match with their eyes closed. The Citizens seem unstoppable at the moment and have only lost to Manchester United in over 20 matches. Their opponents, Borussia Monchengladbach, attempted to put up a fight, but there was simply no way for the Germans to stop Guardiola’s machine in its tracks.
First-half goals for Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gungogan were enough to see off the opposition and sell another comfortable victory for this talented City side. The aggregate score of 4-0 after both legs was fair, and Guardiola will be fairly confident that his team can win trophies on multiple fronts this season.
City will be the team that everyone wants to avoid in tomorrow’s draw, and for good reason.
Chelsea
Odds to win: +800
Chelsea have now gone 13 games unbeaten since Thomas Tuchel took charge. That’s the record for the longest unbeaten run at the beginning of a career for any Chelsea manager. Just a couple of months ago, no one would have dreamed that this Blues side would be able to topple the perennial high achievers of the Champions League with such confidence.
Tuchel has got Chelsea’s expensive summer signings playing like they are supposed to, with Ziyech and Werner playing an influential role in getting past Athletico. Even more impressive is that the Chelsea defense managed to nullify the attacking threat of Luis Suarez for both legs. Emerson and Ziyech were the two Chelsea players on target in the second leg, and their two goals took the overall aggregate to 3-0.
Chelsea aren’t quite as strong as some of the other teams in the Last 8, but with little hope for a trophy elsewhere, they are going to fight hard to get as far as possible in this competition. Whoever they draw is going to have to contend with a team full of belief.
PSG
Odds to win: +500
The PSG vs. Barcelona match was undoubtedly the most eagerly anticipated one in the last round, but needlessly so. Instead of a breathtaking, closely-tied two games of soccer—we got an absolutely dominant PSG that ran riot around Lionel Messi and his team in the first leg to produce a stunning 4-1 win at the Nou Camp. This result pretty much guaranteed that PSG would go through to the next round, and Barca fans will take little pleasure in the 1-1 draw result in the second leg.
PSG seem to be a much stronger outfit under Mauricio Pochettino, and he has definitely brought out a more ruthless streak in the team’s forward players. In particular, Kylian Mbappe is flourishing under his management, and was responsible for four of the five goals PSG scored against Barcelona.
After dominating on the domestic front, this PSG team is desperate to get hold of the Champions League trophy to cement their status as an elite team in Europe.
Porto
Odds to win: +3300
Porto vs. Juventus was, surprisingly, the tightest contest in the last round of UCL matches. If you had told Cristiano Ronaldo that his team would be dumped out by a Porto team that was down to ten players, it’s likely that he would have laughed in your face. However, the reality is that this is exactly what happened.
With just ten players on the pitch, Porto managed to squeeze past Juventus to reach the quarter-finals. Despite losing the second leg 3-2 and a 4-4 overall aggregate, Porto went through because they scored more away goals than their Italian counterparts.
Sérgio Oliviera is the player of the moment after he scored a free kick in the 114th minute (which went straight through Ronaldo’s legs) to get his team into the next round.
Sérgio Conceição will be pleased with his team’s performance in their win over the Bianconeri. Still, ultimately, even he will know that they aren’t likely to go any further than the quarter-finals.
Bayern Munich
Odds to win: +325
Bayern are the current title holders of the Champions League, and they look eager to keep a firm grasp on the trophy. Lazio manager, Simone Inzaghi, would have bemoaned his luck when Bayern’s name was pulled from the hat — for good reason.
Robert Lewandowski is a player at the top of his game. Despite being 32 years old, it’s seemingly impossible to stop him from finding the back of the net. He scored two of the six goals that Bayern put past the Lazio keeper, and he will undoubtedly get more in the next round.
Leading 4-1 after the first leg, there wasn’t much that Lazio could do to try and rescue their passage into the quarter-finals, and it was more damage control than anything else. This Bayern team is a well-oiled and extremely experienced machine in the Champions League, and it’s hard to see anyone but Manchester City giving them a run for their money.
Borussia Dortmund
Odds to win: +1600
Dortmund booked their passage into the quarter-finals by the skin of their teeth. They came up against a talented and well-drilled Sevilla side that made both legs incredibly hard work for the Germans.
Of course, when you have a player like Erling Haaland to rely on upfront, it doesn’t really matter what else you do on the pitch and that was clear to see. The young striker has simply grown to greater heights over the Champions League course, and he scored four of the five goals that Dortmund put past the Sevilla keeper. His talents are desperately needed in this side, as they conceded four goals on the other side of the pitch. If Dortmund want to go any further in the Champions League, they’re going to have to sort out their defensive frailties too.
Ultimately, Dortmund are going to come up against much tougher opponents in the next round, and while Haaland is out of this world, can they keep relying on him to score more goals than the team concedes? If they come up against the likes of Lewandowski or Mbappe, Dortmund’s number could be up.
Real Madrid
Odds to win: +1000
Zinedine Zidane would not have been too upset when Madrid was paired up with Atalanta for this tie. While talented, Atalanta are relatively inexperienced in the Champions League and this showed over the two legs.
The first leg was a little close for comfort, with Madrid only scoring a single goal, but the second leg more than made up for the close encounter. Atalanta came out swinging, with attractive, high-pressure soccer, but the combination of Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, and Marco Asensio ultimately proved too much, with the trio all finding the back of the net.
Like many other teams into the quarter-finals, Madrid have struggled domestically, and this means that they will push as hard as they can in the UCL. Ultimately, Real Madrid have won this competition more times than any other teams, and that experience goes a long way. It will be interesting to see if this team can push through to the semi-finals.
Quarter-finals draw
Time: 1:00 GMT. (7:00 ET and 04:00 PT.)
Date: March 19, 2021.
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