The draw is now set for the 2019 Champions League quarter-finals, with matches set to begin on April 9. It’s an interesting pool of remaining teams, lacking a few regular powerhouses (Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, and PSG for instance), but featuring some fresh faces and some of the hottest clubs in Europe. There’s a lot of action left to be seen before a 2019 champion is crowned, but in the meantime, we’re taking an early look at the matchups as they’ve been set.
Ajax vs. Juventus
Ajax might have pulled off the biggest stunner of the tournament this cycle when they embarrassed Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, earning a quarter-final berth with a 4-1 victory (5-3 on aggregate). It will now run up against another legitimate contender in Juventus, though the Italian side haven’t quite looked their best either. Juve needed a 3-0 win in Turin to secure a 3-2 aggregate advance against Atletico Madrid, and now superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is dealing with an injury – though he claims he’s not worried about it. Juventus are the justified favourite in this pairing, but it could be more closely contested than some would expect.
Liverpool vs. Porto
It’s no insult to say that Porto are quite clearly the weakest team remaining. They squeaked by in a 4-3 aggregate over Roma – themselves no powerhouse – and should be perfectly pleased with having made it to this stage to begin with. Liverpool, meanwhile, are in the hunt for a special season, still with a legitimate shot at capturing both the Premier League and Champions League titles. The Reds dismissed Bayern Munich with relative ease (closing things out with a 3-1 win in Munich), and should have very little trouble doing the same to Porto – unless, that is, energy is diverted to the EPL push.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City
We haven’t focused much on the actual odds in this little preview, and to some extent they’re still sorting themselves out following the draw. Mainstream betting sites are easy enough to find these days though, and several of the newer sites in the UK-based digital casino business will also be posting odds as we near the action. As of now, according to the casinos and oddsmakers, Manchester City are the overall favourite from this point forward. Tottenham are capable of fine form, and managed a decisive 4-0 aggregate win against a solid Borussia Dortmund club in the round of 16. But Man City, who crushed an overmatched Schalke club, should still advance.
Manchester United vs. Barcelona
This is one pairing in which it feels like anything could happen. Barcelona are real contenders and may boast the most talented lineup in the quarter-finals, on paper. Manchester United had a tougher test to get to this point, however, squeaking past PSG on the away goals tiebreaker, and sometimes being battle-tested by this stage of the Champions League can be a blessing.
Barcelona, on the other hand, had a breeze of a round of 16 match-up against Lyon. Barcelona will be the favourite, and are set to focus on the Champions League, having all but won La Liga already (whereas Man Utd. are scrapping for a top-four EPL finish). But we’d expect this to be a closely contested pairing, and perhaps the most entertaining tie of the round.
