Champions League Quarter Final Predictions

Rather surprisingly only Chelsea let me down in my predictions for the last 16 round. This time however, we have a few more ties which are a lot less clear cut. Wolfsburg reach the quarter finals of the competition for the first time in their history, as do Manchester City, and they face Real Madrid and PSG respectively. Bayern Munich face Benfica and Barcelona lock horns with Atletico Madrid in an all Spanish affair.

Wolfsburg v Real Madrid

Viewed as one of the easier ties that Madrid could have got, they will cast their minds back to last years semi final in which they were expected to defeat Juventus with relative ease. Under Deiter Hecking, the German club has come on leaps and bounds and deservedly have made it through to this round. Wolfsburg have invested the money received by the sale of Kevin de Bruyne very wisely, bringing in players such as Julian Draxler. Madrid will undoubtedly be favourites, but the pressure on Zinedine Zidane and his team will be immense, particularly as they sit 12 points adrift of Barcelona at the top of La Liga. I tip Real Madrid to win the tie in front of their own fans in the second leg, with Wolfsburg running the home side close and achieving a score draw in the first leg.

Bayern Munich v Benfica

Bayern survived an almighty scare against Juventus in the previous leg, with a late Thomas Muller strike saving Pep Guardiola's blushes and forcing extra time. Like Madrid, they will perceive this to be one of the better ties to get and I do expect them to progress. Both sides are fabled for their vociferous atmospheres and the return leg to the Estadio da Luz will send shivers down the spine as Benfica return to the quarter finals for the first time since 2012. Both sides sit top of their respective leagues with Benfica two points ahead of fierce rivals Sporting CP while Bayern lead Europa League quarter finalists, Borussia Dortmund by 4 points. Benfica are a strong outfit and they defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon back in September. Although they cant be taken lightly, I do expect Bayern to have the tie sewn up in the Allianz Arena, however if the Portuguese side come away from the first leg with something, then anything is possible.

City v PSG

England's sole representatives in the quarter finals this year welcome French champions Paris Saint-Germain to the Etihad Stadium. Defeating Chelsea in the first knockout round, the Parisians are in the fortunate position of being able to rest their first eleven in the run up to the Champions League matches having secured the Ligue 1 title in record time with a 9-0 thumping over Troyes last week. However this could prove a negative, as it will prevent the side from getting any match practice with the league matches effectively being a dead rubber and could hinder them when pace increases in Europe. This match is finely balanced and gives Zlatan Ibrahimovic the chance to end his career in Paris in style having decided not to extend his contract. Manchester City have had a mixed season this year. With the league out of their hands and progress in the FA Cup halted in the 5th round, the Champions League represents the last opportunity for Manuel Pellegrini to get success as the City manager. I can see this tie going the distance with both sides struggling to break each other down. City to win on penalties.

Barcelona v Atletico

Last but certainly not least, Atletico meet tournament favourites, Barcelona in a repeat of the 2014 semi final. On that occasion, Atletico triumphed, but have not defeated the Catalan giants since in the 7 games since then, losing 6 and drawing 1. The Madrid side scraped through against PSV Eindhoven in the last round, courtesy of Juanfran netting the deciding penalty after enduring 310 minutes of goalless football. It is obvious that Atletico will look to frustrate and absorb Barca pressure and then hit the holders on the counter attack. This worked with aplomb in the last European meeting between the sides but they have struggled to stop the dreaded MSN trio from scoring in the matches since. I fancy Barcelona to win overall, but Atletico will definitely pose a different challenge to Arsenal in the previous round.

There are once again some very intriguing ties thrown up by the chiefs at UEFA, feel free to leave your tips on who you think will triumph and if there will be any shocks this season.