The UEFA Champions League continues this week with the second leg of the quarterfinals.
Sportsnet’s panel of soccer writers and broadcasters preview this week’s matches and offer their predictions.
Wednesday programming alert: Watch Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich (on Sportsnet) and Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona (on Sportsnet World). Live coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT. | Sportsnet World Online | TV schedule
Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich
James Sharman: Last week, I told you all how it was unlikely that Manchester United would get anything from its first leg against Bayern Munich. A 1-1 draw later and it serves as a lesson to never trust me. However, it is extremely unlikely United will get anything out of the second leg.
The Germans played their typical style last week, and only standout defending from United resulted in Bayern unable to create very many actual goal scoring chances. A team that generally scores for fun was throttled at Old Trafford, and it was only after Mario Mandzukic appeared as a more typical target man did they begin to have success. On Saturday, however, Bayern lost for the first time in 54 Bundesliga matches. Don’t consider this evidence of a slump though—it was a makeshift team with the likes of Mitchell Weiser, Ylli Sallahi and Emile Hojbjerg starting the match.
Meanwhile in England, Man United continued its improved form smashing four past Newcastle. Sadly for United fans the key man was Juan Mata who scored the brace, but who is also cup tied for the Champions League. Wayne Rooney is a doubt for this week, and if in fact he cannot play, then United, who need to score to overturn Bayern’s away goal edge, are in quite a kerfuffle. United is improving, they are not as dreadful as we’ve been led to believe, but they will lose this week.
Prediction: Bayern Munich wins 2-0 to advance.
Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona
Jamie Doyle: This is a tough one to call. Atletico are in-form, top of La Liga and riding the back of a nine-game unbeaten streak—including a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou in the first leg. Barcelona, meanwhile, are Barcelona. Perpetual monsters in the Champions League, you wouldn’t count them out if they were three goals down heading to an away second leg.
On the one hand Atletico are missing talismanic striker Diego Costa—whose 25 La Liga goals this year is more than a third of Atletico’s production. On the other Barcelona have a dangerously bare cupboard at the back; Gerard Pique is out with the injury he picked up in the first leg, and with Carles Puyol’s season all but scuttled by injuries Barca will likely be forced into a makeshift centreback pairing of defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano and academy youngster Marc Bartra.
The opener was about as tight an affair as you could ask for—Barcelona’s possession style and Atletico’s preference for playing off the ball all but cancelling each other out. Figures, really: The previous three matches between the two ended in draws, with only two goals scored. In the end, you’ve gotta give Atletico Madrid the edge, with a draw under their belts and an away goal to their credit there’s a feeling that Los Rojiblancos are the slight favourites heading back to the cauldron that is the Estadio Vicente Calderon. Barcelona will make a game of it, but if they play their game at the level they’ve been playing it this year, Madrid should edge them out.
Prediction: Atletico Madrid wins 1-0 to advance.
Tuesday programming alert: Watch Chelsea vs. Paris Saint-Germain (on Sportsnet) and Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund (on Sportsnet World). Live coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT. | Sportsnet World Online | TV schedule
Chelsea vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Gerry Dobson: PSG have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, a chance to join the elite of European club football. Getting to the semifinals would go a long way towards that goal. They’re in great shape heading into Stamford Bridge, up 3-1 after the first leg. Big problem though—Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not play due to a leg injury suffered last week at Parc des Princes. If there’s any silver lining behind that dark cloud, its that Edinson Cavani will get a chance to move into his more favoured position in an attempt to add to his not too shabby total of 22 goals in all competitions. But if Chelsea gets that first goal, Cavani might find himself in the position of having to score in order to save the tie.
As for Chelsea, they’re a contradiction this year. Or at least the confounding Jose Mourinho is. He complains about his lack of quality strikers. He complains about “joke” defending. He claims his team has no chance of winning the Premier League title, and yet there they are, just two points back as we swing into the season’s final matches. Chelsea is coming off a complete 3-0 league victory over Stoke and will likely welcome back Samuel Eto’o to the squad. Both teams rested players on the weekend. Both should be primed and ready for this encounter. It’s one of those contests where the first goal truly is crucial. If PSG get it, it’s over at 4-1 on aggregate. But if Chelsea scores first, its now 3-2 and game on.
Prediction: Chelsea wins 2-0 to advance.
Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
Thomas Michalakos: Should Dortmund somehow reverse a 3-0 deficit at the Westfalenstadion, the monumental feat would go down in Champions League history and force the visitors to continue to wait for the elusive decima (10th European title). Far be it for me to be the bearer of bad news, but this dream sequence has minimal chance of happening. Truth be told, Dortmund dug themselves into a deep hole in the first leg—down two-nil within 30 minutes at the Bernabeu, it was practically over as a contest. One away goal would have completely changed the landscape of the tie, but Dortmund never really threatened Iker Casillas’s goalmouth—they were outshot 11-2 on target with only 39 percent ball possession.
Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to return to the lineup following a sabbatical over the weekend, having been rested in Real Madrid’s 4-0 victory at Real Sociedad. CR7 matched the Champions League record for goals in a season (14) last week, and its a safe bet he will eclipse Lionel Messi’s two-year old mark in the same season he bested his rival for the Ballon d’Or.
Prediction: Real Madrid wins 2-1 to advance.