Aadi's Sports Corner

We are just a couple of days away from the eagerly awaited Champions League Quarter Final Fixtures. With all the clubs gearing up to go the distance for European Football’s biggest glory, it is safe to say that this is one of the best draws for the UCL quarter finals in quite some time. 

This edition is going to be the final format of the traditional UCL, with UEFA devising a new Swiss model for the next season, paving way for a bigger tournament with 36 teams. With the number of clubs participating, increasing  next season onwards, the competition is just going to get tougher for all. 

So what does this say about the current season? This might be the best opportunity for the clubs to reach the pinnacle of European Football.

Manchester City versus Real Madrid is the biggest tie of the UCL by far. The defending champions will be facing the record champions in a repeat of the semi-final of the previous two seasons. Manchester City have a core group of players with many returning from injury. Their current form can work for them and the fact that they are playing the second leg at home, will be a win from Guardiola’s perspective. 

But underestimating Real Madrid would be the last mistake City would want to commit after the “Miracle in Madrid” two years ago. Real Madrid might be lacking a quality striker, but the likes of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Luka Modric can single handedly destroy the opposition. Real would definitely miss their seasoned goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtouis at such a crucial point of the season, but after all, this is Real Madrid, 14-time European Kings, the “real owners” of the competition.

Bayern Munich versus Arsenal is the second most talked about fixture of the quarter-finals. Though historically it is obvious that Bayern have had the upper-hand in this fixture, it would be interesting to see how Mikel Arteta with his young gunner’s squad can overcome the Bavarian challenge, after reviving the club last season and guiding them to UCL after nearly 7 years.

For Bayern, their season has been quite mediocre for the standards they have set. They need to hope that their domestic form should not impact their quest for European glory. With the likes of Harry Kane and Thomas Muller in attack and Manuel Neuer in goal, Bayern are a force to reckon on their day. 

FC Barcelona versus Paris Saint-Germain cannot go unnoticed. With the “Remontada” of 2017 at the Camp Nou being a fresh memory for Culers, a lot has changed over the past 7 years. Lionel Messi and Neymar have played for both the clubs and Luis Enrique, the Barcelona manager on the night of the Remontada is the manager of Paris. 

Paris would want to make a statement as Kyllian Mbappe is set to leave the French outfit by the end of the season and would surely want to make his final UCL campaign with the club a memorable one. 

On the other hand, Xavi Hernandez, who will be stepping down as the head coach of Barcelona at the end of the season, would want to end his short tenure on a high note. Barca will mainly rely on their young talents- Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Ronald Araujo as injuries have crippled their team. The return of Robert Lewandowski back to form will be a positive for the Catalan club. They would also be hoping that Ferran Torres and Frenkie de Jong can make a comeback at least for the second-leg of the fixture. 

Nevertheless, this match is going to be a memorable one for either of the sides.

The final fixture of this season’s UCL quarters is Atletico Madrid versus Borussia Dortmund. Most people had betted against these two teams reaching this far and yet one of them will be playing in the semi-finals. Diego Simeone’s side are the ones to look out for, but Borussia Dortmund are far from giving away the match. This tie is surely going to be a cracker.

This season’s UCL quarter-finals proves to be an entertaining one and is going to offer plenty new memories for fans and viewers.