The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals draw was announced on Friday from UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland and the world got a peak at who the top teams in Europe will face in order to be crowned the Champion of Europe. Real Madrid will face a familiar foe, while Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are set for a star-studded clash.
For the first time in many years, the Champions League final features no teams from England. The Barclay’s Premier League, which is widely considered to be the top league in the world, had all their teams knocked out during the round of 16 last week. Spain is the country of choice in the quarterfinals as La Liga has three teams represented in the quarterfinals: FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Unfortunately for the Spanish League, two of those three teams will be playing each other in the quarterfinals as the Madrid Derby is unleashed when Atletico hosts Real Madrid on Tuesday April, 14th. Since losing to Real Madrid in last year’s Champions League final on a dramatic stoppage time header by Sergio Ramos, the Atleti have not lost to Los Blancos in six matches. Diego Simeone’s side is 4-0-2 since Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. lifted the cup and Simone has the formula to beat the most talented team in the world.
France has two teams remaining in the field of eight: PSG and AS Monaco. PSG sits atop the Ligue 1 table, but ironically, Monaco is not. Monaco surprised many experts when they defeated Arsenal in the round of 16, and have a great chance of advancing to the semifinals when they face Italian side, Juventus in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the league leaders of France will take on the leaders of Spain when Barcelona tangos with PSG. The two teams are more than familiar with each other after they landed in the same group during the first round of the tournament. The two teams split their two matches in the group stages with PSG winning 3-2 on September 30th in Paris, and Barcelona winning 3-1 in the rematch at Camp Nou.
The final quarterfinal match pits Portuguese side, FC Porto, against the German giants, Bayern Munich. Bayern gets a favorable draw in the weak underdogs Porto. The five-time champions should reach the finals after avoiding the top teams in Spain. The last time Porto and Bayern Munich played each other was in the 1987 European Cup when Porto upset the Kings of Germany.
Schedule/Time:
Tuesday, April 14th 2015
Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid (Leg One) 2:45PM EST
Juventus vs. Monaco (Leg One) 2:45PM EST
Wednesday, April 15th 2015
PSG vs. Barcelona (Leg One) 2:45PM EST
FC Porto vs. Bayern Munich (Leg One) 2:45 PM EST
Tuesday, April 21st 2015
Barcelona vs. PSG (Leg Two) 2:45PM EST
Bayern Munich vs. FC Porto (Leg Two) 2:45PM EST
Wednesday, April 22nd 2015
Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid (Leg Two) 2:45PM EST
AS Monaco vs. Juventus (Leg Two) 2:45PM EST
All games can be watched live on Fox Sports One and Fox Sports 2 and can be live streamed online here. If you prefer to watch the games on your phone you can download the Fox Sports Go app.
Predictions:
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus will all advance to the semifinals.
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