UEFA Champions League: Who Will Advance To The Final Four
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League is entering in to the final stage, as only eight teams are remaining in the tournament to face-off in the quarter finals. The first legs of the knockout stage will kick off at 12:30 AM IST on April 8 and 9.
In the opening night, Arsenal will host the defending champions, Real Madrid, at Emirates Stadium in London while Bayern Munich will welcome Inter Milan for a heavyweight clash at Allianz Arena. The following day, Barcelona will take on Borussia Dortmund at home, as Aston Villa travel to Paris to face PSG.
All the four clashes promises to be a feast to the eye for the footballing world while all eight teams battle to book their spot in semi finals of the biggest club competition in the Europe.
Recent form
Arsenal: DWWDDW
Madrid: LDWWLW
D- Draw, W- Win, L- Loss
Most anticipated tie in the last eight, between two great teams in Europe with great past and present. It’s only second ever official meet between both sides, where the first face-off came in 2006 in Round of 16 when the Gunners beat the Los Blancos by 1-0 in two legs with the sole goal of Thierry Henry.
Since both teams lock horns after 20 years the expectations are sky high, given the similar strength and precision in their squads.
Both teams sit second in their respective domestic leagues where Arsenal is desperate with an 11-point gap with the table topper Liverpool. As they were knocked out of the EFL Cup as well, the Champions League is the sole competition to count on where they will fight their hearts out.
On the other hand, Real Madrid, the most decorated team in the competition, are going through a whirlwind season. Their woes in defence continue to hurt them. In the last three games against relatively weak teams, they went on to concede eight goals in which the previous match against Valencia ended in defeat with a last-minute goal. However, the 15-time champions always kept strong playing in Champions League, making them unpredictable.
Coming to the squad, Gabriel’s absence may hinder Mikel Arteta’s side, however Saka’s return might boost them. For Real Madrid, even though Carlo Ancelotti is ready with his great attacking front, they should be resilient defensively to emerge victorious.
Possible line-ups
Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Ødegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Merino, Martinelli
Madrid: Courtois; Valverde, Raúl Asencio, Rüdiger, Fran García; Rodrygo, Modrić, Camavinga, Bellingham; Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior
Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan
Recent form
Bayern: WWDWLW
Inter: DDWWWW
A battle between offense and defence, the clash between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan can be summarised so. It was in 2010 final both sides faced off last time in a knockout stage of competition when Nerazzuris went on to win their third and last title beating Baverians for 2-0. After 15 years, clashing in the quarter finals, the Italian champions and German leaders are on a good course, but on different aspects of the game.
Vincent Company’s side is well settled with their attacking football scoring 28 goals in 2024/25 Champions League, only second to the Barcelona’s tally of 32 goals. In contrast, Simone Inzhagi’s Inter is with their best defence in the competition conceding the lowest tally of just two goals.
The first leg in Allianz Arena will be decisive where Bavarian are unbeaten for last 22 Champions League games. Company’s men must have find a way through Inter’s persistent back particularly while Jamal Musiala are ruled out of tonight’s game due to an injury in their last league match against Augsburg.
Possible line-ups
Bayern: Urbig; Laimer, Dier, Kim, Stanišić; Kimmich, Goretzka; Olise, Müller, Sané; Kane
Inter: Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Martínez, Thuram
PSG vs. Aston Villa
Recent form
PSG: WWWWWW
Villa: WWWWWW
A regular meeting between two coaches, when PSG and Aston Villa compete in the first leg of the quarter final of the this Champions League it will be the 11th tie between Unai Emry and Luis Enrique. This fact, however, will worry the former as he lost seven out of ten meetings with his counter part.
In addition, the French giants is in a fabulous form throughout the season as they already sealed their league title with six games to spare. Knocking out tournament favourites’, Liverpool was a great testament to their course.
Villans can’t be underestimated though, as they are on a course of 7 consecutive victories in all competitions. Their further strengthened squad with two in-form loanees, Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford will definitely motivate Emry to fight against his former team as well as taking revenge of Enrique.
Possible line-ups
Paris: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Beraldo, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; João Neves, Vitinha, Fabián Ruiz; Kvaratskhelia, Dembélé, Barcola
Villa: Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Rogers, McGinn, Ramsey; Rashford
Barcelona vs. Dortmund
Recent form
Barcelona: DWWWWW
Dortmund: WWLWLD
The real test for Hansi Flick—while showing the world why Barcelona under him is one of the best teams in Europe this season, the game against Dortmund will be decisive for him to affirm it. The Catalans are cruising well after the German manager took charge at the beginning of the season. In the Champions League, they have scored the highest number of goals, netting 32. As one of the few teams in Europe keeping the dream of a treble alive, they will be the most confident side in the tie, especially having already beaten Dortmund 3-2 in the group stage.
Borussia, after finishing last season as runners-up in the tournament, were not in good form early this season, which even cost then-manager Nuri Şahin his job. Now under Nico Kovač, they are regaining their rhythm, having scored seven goals in their previous two games.
Considering the big stage, Barca’s job will not be easy, as the Germans are well known for stepping up in the Champions League.
Possible line-ups
Barcelona: Szczęsny; Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Fermín López, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Can, Anton, Bensebaini; Nmecha, Chukwuemeka; Adeyemi, Brandt, Beier; Guirassy
(This story is part of a Timeline internship project)
