Who will lift the UEFA Champions League this season
The champions league knockout stage is fully underway and this season serves up some very exciting ties in the route to the final which is hosted at the home of football wembley stadium.
The route to the final
With champions league final route decided, we look ahead at some of the fixtures and predict who will progress and end up making this years final.
The format of the champions league will change next season which has been unpopular due to its similarity to the proposed super league.
That's not to say that UEFA haven't made adjustments recently with the away goals rule being removed has slightly altered some teams' approach to games a noticeable difference being that we have seen more attacking football in the knockout stages however many fans enjoyed the unpredictability and comebacks from underdogs.
Quarter-Final Predictions
Vs
Borussia Dortmund
Athletico Madrid
This quarter final tie is the battle of the underdogs. Not many would have predicted this as a quarter final however both teams deserve to be at this stage based on merit.
Athletico Madrid manged to defeat Inter Milan over penalty shootout, that comeback win will definitely give them momentum and belief to progress through the quarter final.
Borussia Dortmund overcame the challenge of PSV, and although they were under pressure during that tie they ended up winning comfortably in the end, quality from players like Sancho and Reus will be key as well their young players like
Karim Adeyemi and Felix Nmecha. Key players to look out for Athletico Madrid will be of course Antione Griezmann, as well as Memphis Depay, a youngster to look out for is Riquelme who is performing very well.
Our Winner
Vs
PSG
Barcelona
This quarter final match has history, arguably the most impressive champions league comeback Barcelona overturning a 4 goal deficit for the first time since the inception of the competition.
Barcelona haven't been in this stage of the competition since 2019 and it comes as a welcome return to competitive European football as they have been suffering with financial problems since lockdown in 2020.
They have had to adjust and overcoming Napoli Seria A holders and quarter finalists last campaign, was a huge step in returning to their dominance of Europe. PSG on the other hand have been adjusting to the departure of Neymar and Messi in the last summer window, the face f their brand Mbappe who is leaving at the end of the season is another dynamic which has affected the stability of the squad.
PSG won their last tie against exciting Spanish side Real Sociedad which topped their group this year, so by no means an easy task for PSG, Mbappe was the stand out player in both legs.
Players which Barcelona need to keep quiet are Dembele and Bradley Barcola. Players that could be key for Barcelona are Cancelo, Felix and Pedri.
Our Winner
Vs
Arsenal
Bayern Munich
This quarter final fixture isnt in fond memory of arsenal supporters the last time these two last met the aggregate score was 10-2 in favour of Bayern Munich, a lot has changed since that night however. Arsenal, didn't quality for the champions league since that game, new coaches, players and identity all factors which make them a completely different proposition.
After defeating an experienced Porto side in the first knockout game on penalties arsenal have developed a kind of resilience fighting on multiple fronts, most noticeable the premier league, how they balance their squad is important as this could affect their results. Key players for arsenal would be their captain Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
Bayern who are a mainstay in this stage of the competition have struggled in their domestic league however are free scoring in this years champions league, they mounted a comeback in their previous tie against Lazio losing the first tie and winning comfortably in the second.
The narrative which grabs much attention is Harry Kane not being able to win a trophy, and this is especially relevant now as they play Arsenal and no player has scored more than him against the gunners.
Key players for Bayern are Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala.
Our Winner
Vs
Manchester City
Real Madrid
The fixture of the round and many pundits, commentators and analysts have mentioned this match as being worthy of being a final. For the last few seasons these two sides battled it out in what is called now as classic fixtures.
Manchester city in their last meeting with Real Madrid dominated them winning 4-0 in a footballing masterclass which blew away 14 times winners real madrid on their way towards the historic treble win in 2023. Manchester city are in that same position this year to replicate the rebel again, they are a few points of the top of the league, into the semi finals of the FA Cup and the quarter finals of the champions league.
Manchester city's key players for this game is Rodri and phil foden.
Real Madrid have changed a fair bit since their exit from the competition last year their talisman Karim Benzema left the club, injuries to key players like Cortoius and Militao have affected them and required a measured approach in their games this season. Carlo Ancelotti adopted a new formation which centres Jude Bellingham and Vinicius and Rodrygo off of him.
#This new approach them a different dynamic in attack, this is positively reflected in their league position, they look on course to win the La Liga title.
Key players for Madrid in this game are Bellingham and Camavinga
Our Winner
Semi-Final Predictions
Manchester City
Vs
Arsenal
This fixture has so much to it, the rivalry of Manchester city and arsenal has definitely pushed both teams to think of ways in order to overcome one another.
Manager of arsenal Mikel Arteta has learned for years under pep as his deputy in charge at Manchester city witnessing Manchester city win many titles and achieve 100 points in his time there, once the opportunity to manage arsenal came up he took it and through time developed a team which mirrors similar aspects of the team he was partly responsible for.
In recent times Arsenal have become more competitive in the league and pose a serious threat to Manchester city's dominance especially given that Jurgen Klopp will depart Liverpool at the end of the season. This fixture in mind, both teams recently played out a cagey 0-0 draw at the Etihad.
Arsenal's defensive displays this season against Manchester city has been impressive being the first team to deny them from scoring at home in 57 games.
This game will definitely be won in the second leg and i believe that if Manchester City show even half the quality they are capable of in the final third of the pitch they will prevail into the final due to experience and squad depth.
Our Winner
Athletico Madrid
Vs
PSG
This fixture has a lot of unpredictability, PSG who have arguably the best player left in the competition in Kylian Mbappe, and one of the best coaches and most feared teams left Athletico Madrid.
I believe this game will turn out to be highly cagey and will not produce many exciting moments, and possibly this tie could go into extra time.
PSG are more of a team unit this season and the coaching of Luis Enrique has proven that it gets the best out of the squad as a whole not only focused on one individual, they managed to scrape though the toughest group in this years group stage, this shows PSG's reliance not found in previous campaigns.
Atletico Madrid are a known entity on the European stage to be a formidable outfit, they are incredibly difficult to break down and they attack and defend as one, despite having not won the competition they made two finals narrowly losing to real Madrid on both occasions.
This year seems different however as they have quality all over the pitch, the inform Antione Griezmann and youngsters like Riquleme just a glimpse of what they posses.
Athletico will fight to the death and that's shown perfectly in their last game against Inter Milan, coming from behind late in regular time and winning on penalties. If Athletico Madrid handle Kylian Mbappe they can make this years final in Wembley.
Our Winner
Final Prediction
Vs
This final is most likely not what you would have come up with at the beginning of the knockout stages, however due to the final route this is what i think how it is going to play out. Manchester City winners of the competition last year in Istanbul, they have the advantage of having players who have been there last season and they definitely have the drive to replicate or even better the performance in the champions league last year.
Last Time They Met
Over two legs they met Athleti in 2022 and they only managed to score a single goal in 180 minutes, on a one off game this will become an issue for Manchester City in penetrating the stubborn defence of Athletico Madrid.
if this game goes beyond 90 minutes the better chance Athleti have in causing a major upset.
Manager Head to Head
Diego Simeone
Pep Guardiola
These two coaches have plenty of history between themselves, having clashed in their playing careers back in the late 90s, both have proven themselves as exemplary coaches in Europe. The games between both coaches are a contrast in styles and approach to the beautiful game.
Pep, adopts the Johan Cruyff model of possession, high pressing rigid tactical shape way of football, whereas Simeone adopts the more aggressive compact, direct style of play which is similar to the type of player he was.
In knockout competition the latter is more beneficial as games are more tactical and require more care than regular games in addition the jeopardy of being knocked out due to one error makes it safer to be more pragmatic which is a skillset needed in the greatest club competition in the world.
Both coaches are geared to play against eachother and will not need to adapt their playstyle which will make it more of an interesting encounter.
Stats between Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone
Diego Simeone
Wins:
Losses:
Draws:
1
3
1
Pep Guardiola
3
1
1
Final Thoughts
My final thoughts on who will win the champions league is given the many factors which could come into play such as managers, squad depth, players in-form, the most glaring factor which i think is most likely to be decisive is the experience of Manchester City, their quality on its own would be enough of a factor however the fact that they managed two break their curse of not winning the competition last year i think could be the beginning of a roll of domination.
experience is one thing that cannot be bought and given Manchester City's array of wealth for the past decade and a half they needed to experience defeat in order to not make the same mistakes.
Athleti will have the neutrals support however they lack firepower in the shooting department and although they posses great players they don't match the well fashioned outlet of Manchester City which can dominate any team on its day.
Our Winner
Comment Below who will progress and win the Champions League!