A League

Here's where things stand in the Champions League as the quarterfinal round begins.

Benfica is likely to bow out against Liverpool in the quarterfinal round. Bayern has a relatively light draw with Villarreal in the quarterfinal, so these odds are likely to improve after this round. This team can defend, which makes its matchup against Chelsea in the quarterfinal round intriguing. Liverpool has been great in the UCL arena under Jurgen Klopp, making back-to-back finals in 2017-18 and 2018-19. These Premier League rivals have gone back and forth in recent seasons to assert their dominance on the sport. The UEFA Champions League has moved into the quarterfinal round, with Benfica-Liverpool and Manchester City-Atletico Madrid kicking things off Tuesday, April 5.

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Arsenal's aspirations of securing Champions League football for next season were dented by Monday evening's comprehensive 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace.

The lowest points tally to secure a top-four finish during the past seven seasons is 66 (2016 and 2020). Bruno Lage’s men would therefore probably require at least six wins from their remaining seven games – which include meetings with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City – to be in genuine contention. Uncertainty continues to cloud Old Trafford as United’s search for a permanent successor to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rumbles on. Aside from Chelsea, West Ham are the only top-four hopefuls juggling interest elsewhere. Arsenal’s recent resurgence was emphatically ended at Selhurst Park. Mikel Arteta is operating with a slim squad and currently has limited options at full-back and up front. Remaining fixtures: Aston Villa (a, April 9); Brighton (h, April 16); Brentford (a, April 23); Leicester (h, April 30); Liverpool (a, May 7); Arsenal (h, May 12); Burnley (h, May 15); Norwich (a, May 22). A five-point buffer on fifth place, plus a game in hand on Tottenham, puts the Blues in a strong position to prevent a calamitous end to a turbulent campaign.

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Benfica squeezed past Ajax in an entertaining round-of-16 matchup and survived a group with Bayern (despite being destroyed on two occasions by the German giants). And while it would have preferred Villarreal or maybe even Atlético, Benfica will have to face one of the most in-form teams in the world. Without that win over Manchester United, Villarreal would have never found itself in the Champions League this season, let alone in the quarterfinals after upsetting Juventus. Its trip to Turin last month was more than just an upset—it was a stunning show of force. The one thing Villarreal has going for it is a raucous home crowd from the get-go, and an early goal would go a long way on multiple fronts. And after leading Atlético to his second La Liga title, Simeone will surely go all in on taking down the giants of the European stage in search of the club’s first Champions League title. And in a tie that should be very close (and very entertaining), a lockdown defense is usually what provides the difference. After a nail-biting last-16 tie with Manchester United, Atlético must now head to the more formidable Manchester side in Guardiola’s City, where it definitely cannot look ahead to meeting Chelsea/Real in the semifinal and then potentially Liverpool or Bayern Munich. But is it out of the question? First up is its quarterfinal against a Real Madrid side that turned the tables on PSG in the final half-hour of the tie. Last season in the semifinal, Chelsea used the second leg at home to its advantage with a 2–0 (3–1 agg. Bayern is coming off consecutive four-goal performances in the Bundesliga and has its eyes set on a 10th straight league title, given its nine-point lead atop the table with eight games to go. The journey is difficult with Atlético potentially followed by a semifinal against Real Madrid or Chelsea. And if it gets past them, then Liverpool and Bayern could await in the final. It would be easy to get caught looking ahead to a potential showdown with Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the semifinals, but this Bayern team is too experienced and balanced, especially in his high-octane attack. Yet they could both be caught looking ahead at the other in a mouthwatering semifinal that is sure to entertain.

Atlético head to the blue side of Manchester having scored nine goals in eight Champions League matches, and given the un-Simeonean defensive record they've had ...

Ten of Unai Emery’s players have scored non-penalty goals in this season’s Champions League. That’s tied with Manchester City and Chelsea for the most in the competition. Chelsea don’t concede at home in the Champions League, Real Madrid hardly concede away in the Champions League. The rematch of last season’s semi-final might be the most likely 0-0 of the week. Klopp’s players are going to attack in Estádio da Luz, and they’re going to have plenty of the ball. Perhaps that’s what Benfica want: They’re one of two remaining teams to score two goals from fast breaks in the competition. To bring this back around to that 35.7 number at the top, Atléti’s sequences started an average of 34.9 metres from goal away to Liverpool, and their 0.25 xG was their lowest in eight UCL matches. Only 23% of their shots are coming from outside the box, which is the lowest of all 32 UCL teams: To put that in context, the best PPDA for the competition is Ajax’s 7.4 mark spanning eight matches. An even goal difference has gotten them here (nine goals scored and conceded), and an optimist may tell you all it really takes is an even goal difference to keep going at this stage of the competition. Atlético head to the blue side of Manchester having scored nine goals in eight Champions League matches, and given the un-Simeonean defensive record they’ve had in Spain this season, it’s remarkable that’s been enough for this Atlético side to remain in the competition. They were outmatched in the group stage at Anfield, a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in which Jürgen Klopp’s side had a 3.22-0.25 xG advantage. Those are your last eight in the 2021-22 Champions League. No Italian teams, just like the World Cup. Here are the predictions, rankings and a few deeper numbers to consider for the first legs of each tie. City average 5.17 passes per sequence, Atlético are at 2.85. That’s the longwinded way of saying this tie likely has the most contrast in styles among the quarter-finals:

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Man of the Match pick: Robert Lewandowski. His European record is just unbelievable. While it will be a tight affair, Benzema will pull Real Madrid across the line in victory. While I see Chelsea scoring in the match, he'll keep Real in a match that they likely shouldn't walk away with a victory from. Benzema also has a chance at the golden boot if Real Madrid are to advance in the competition sitting on eight goals in the competition. Most likely to score a goal: Karim Benzema. Although it's an away match, I find it hard to bet against Benzema performing on the big stage, especially after his hat trick with everything on the line against a star-studded PSG side. It's hard to look at this matchup and come away with the expectation that anyone will have a larger say in how things will go than Benzema. With eight goals already in Champions League play, Benzema has been instrumental in Real's performance. Heavy City possession leads to a ton of chances, but a lone goal is enough as they combat Atleti's pressure with crisp passing. If they can keep the ball on the ground and be smart in their distribution, they can limit the chances and get a key clean sheet. The Uruguayan is a tank at the back, but he will have to be super cautious when going up against a tricky and speedy Foden, knowing that one wrong challenge can dig a huge hole. Man of the Match pick: Thiago Alcantara has the technical ability to dominate and dictate this sort of contest and he will be one of the main dangers Benfica seek to neutralize. Given that the Egyptian is under a little scrutiny of late, this could be the sort of game where he makes the difference as a reminder of his quality. Adding to the stakes is the fact that Otamendi is a booking away from second-leg suspension so will be walking a tightrope from the off.

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Bayern hammered Barcelona 8-2 and saw off Lyon 3-0 in the semis, with Lewandowski scoring a goal in each game. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo each changed their surroundings for this season, but the outcome was the same. Still, there was the all-too-familiar image of Messi trudging off ashen-faced after PSG collapsed against his old foes Real Madrid in this season’s round of 16.

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Man City vs. Atletico Madrid updates. 20 minutes to kickoff: There's rarely such consternation over a Simeone line-up, even allowing for Cholo's fairly recent switch from his trusty compact 4 ...

50 minutes to kickoff: As is often the case with a Guardiola XI, who plays where is the big question. 1 hour 40 mins to kickoff: It's that time of year again where all eyes will be on whether Pep Guardiola has a tactical brainwave for a major Champions League game. Some of the scrutiny around Guardiola's tactical calls is a little imbalanced. Paramount+ will also stream the match. 1 hour to kickoff: So, are those "stupid tactics" to quote the man himself? The teams are going through their warm-ups amid a steady stream of Manchester drizzle. 5 minutes to kickoff: The atmosphere in here is ramping up nicely as kick-off approaches. The teamsheets are under half an hour away... As Guardiola would say - and this was kind of his very sarcastic point yesterday - we'll only really know once we see how it all shakes out. You know exactly what you’re going to get from Atletico and Simeone’s players are rigorously familiar with what their coach requires. 2nd minute - City have lined up with Cancelo at right-back, Ake and left-back and Stones and Laporte at centre-back. It was 3-2 midway through the first half, which sounds great but my fingers might fall off if anything like that goes down again.

Minute-by-minute report: Join Rob Smyth for updates as Diego Simeone's side return to Manchester after toppling United.

It’s Manchester City v Atletico Madrid, with the winners to face either Chelsea or Real Madrid in a semi-final which, whatever the permutation, will be loaded with meaning.The first leg of the quarter-final is at the Etihad tonight, with the second at the Wanda Metropolitano next Wednesday. City are strong favourites, for reasons that would be intelligence-insulting to explain, and all things being equal they will go through. But all things weren’t equal when Atletico put Guardiola’s Bayern out in the 2015-16 semi-final, or when they eliminated a rampant Liverpool two years ago, or when Pep was too funky by far against Spurs/Lyon/Chelsea.If Atletico can get out of Manchester with at worst a one-goal deficit, they will fancy their chances next week. They’ve won seven of their last eight games, and the eighth - a draw at home to Manchester United in the last 16 - ultimately led to victory. We want to impose our game but they are a good team - champions of Spain, and they have always had good results in Europe. They’re a tough opponent.“John [Stones] will play with Aymer in the centre and Nathan [will play at left-back]. We have players on the bench who can change the game - Gabi, Phil, Jack. But I decided to start with these guys today.”Manchester City’s Phil Foden (left) and Jack Grealish head out for the warm up. “Speaking of Football Weekly,” says Matt Burtz. “I’ve been a faithful listener for many years now, and I’ve always wondered if we’ll ever get to hear your dulcet tones as a panelist. But it’s the Withering Depths of Simeone’s sh!thousing Atletico that I’m looking forward to enjoying tonight.” It won’t be the same without Hector Herrera.