After a short hiatus, the UEFA Champions League is back in action this week as the quarter-final round kicks off.
Eight teams continue the long journey, all of them focused on working their way towards May’s final at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Sportsnet’s Gerry Dobson and the crew of Sportsnet 590 the FAN’s European Weekly Football podcast (Derrick Brandao, Gordon Brunt and Dan Riccio) offer their picks, predictions and analysis of Tuesday’s matches.
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Tuesday programming alert: Watch Paris Saint Germain v Barcelona (on Sportsnet) and Bayern Munich v Juventus (on Sportsnet World). Live coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT.
Wednesday programming alert: Watch Galatasaray v Real Madrid (on Sportsnet ONE) and Malaga v Borussia Dortmund (on Sportsnet World). Live coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona
Dan Riccio: At what point is it the right time to start doubting Barcelona? Is it now? Probably not, but their performances against sides in the upper-echelon of European play have left a lot to be desired this season. It has also exposed defensive frailties that have otherwise been covered up by their ability to keep possession.
PSG falls into that category of upper-echelon European teams, and couple that with the fact that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be available for this first leg since having his ban reduced, and we got ourselves a game. Barcelona is still Barcelona, and will have a full squad available on Tuesday with Xavi and Jordi Alba returning from injury.
Lionel Messi will welcome the return of Xavi more than anyone as he’ll need those precision passes to find space behind PSG’s Thiago Silva, who remains one of the best central defenders in the game. I see Barcelona controlling the game but unable to stop PSG.
Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain wins 2-1.
Derrick Brandao: The only thing that could make this tie more intriguing is if Pep Guardiola was involved, thus coming face-to-face with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. To be a fly on a wall near those two. Ibrahimovic has a chance for revenge against the team that deemed him inadequate and silence all those that claim he doesn’t show up in big games.
With Javier Mascherano likely to start at centre-back, Ibrahimovic will have a distinct size advantage, making that the one v one situation that PSG will want to exploit. Lucas will be looking to use his pace along with Ezequiel Lavezzi to counter attack Barcelona whenever PSG is able to strip the Catalans of possession.
No Pedro for Barcelona might be a bigger problem than many think. While he might not be as skilled as some of his other Barcelona team mates, he provides the team with a bit more balance on the pitch than Cesc Fabregas.
Prediction: a 1-1 draw.
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Bayern Munich vs. Juventus
Gerry Dobson: For Bayern, there’s good news and bad news. They’re romping in record style to the Bundesliga title, and threw down the gauntlet on the weekend by thrashing Hamburg 9-2 with little used Claudio Pizzaro scoring four goals. Top scorers Mario Mandzukic and Thomas Muller were rested (Muller until the 64th minute at least), and now Bayern has a whopping 20-point lead. And they’ve conceded just 13 goals in 27 matches, and suffered just one league loss and that came in October. Heady stuff.
Now the bad news. They haven’t been nearly as tight defensively in the Champions League. In fact, they’ve conceded 10 goals in the competition in only eight matches. And so now they face a Juventus side known for its defence. The Turin giants sit atop the Serie A table and have a nine-point lead after beating Inter Milan 2-1 on the weekend. If you want to talk about defence, Juventus have conceded just four goals in the Champions League this season.
Prediction: a 1-1 draw.
Gordon Brunt : One of the few encouraging aspects for Juventus entering the first leg at the Allianz Arena will be Bayern’s 2-0 defeat at home against a lowly Arsenal side in their last home match in the UEFA Champions League.
It proved that Bayern can be defeated on home soil. Otherwise, there are few reasons to believe the Bianconeri can leave Germany with much more than a draw.
Juventus’ label as the underdogs in this match, however, could prove to be misleading. They have a wealth of European experience in their squad, starting with Andrea Pirlo anchoring the midfield, and will respect the magnitude of the test ahead of them in Munich. Keeping a clean sheet will be close to impossible against Bayern, but limiting the damage could help their prospects of progressing.
Expect Bayern to enter Tuesday’s game with the same attacking flare they’ve shown consistently this season and pressure the Juventus defence relentlessly. And if they manage to penetrate their back line, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon could prove to be a massive obstacle for Bayern forwards to get past without imaginative plans of attack.
Prediction: Bayern Munich wins 2-0.
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