The Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) kick-off this evening and, unlike the elongated previous round of sixteen, this one wraps up quickly. With two full Matchdays of action taking place in back-to-back weeks, we’ll know the identity of our Semi-Finalists in just eight days time. Here’s our scoop for the upcoming fixtures…
FC APOEL vs Real Madrid
The “FC APOEL story” has been a real beacon of light this season. To find themselves in the final eight of the Champions League is an extraordinary feat but the Cypriot outfit look likely to have met their match in Madrid.
APOEL have provided more than a few budget options over the last eight weeks and a prudent UCL manager will make sure they have snapped up at least a couple for their squads. At bargain prices, Dionysis Chiotis (goalkeeper) and Constantinos Charalambides (midfielder) offer the potential of points over the next two Matchdays but also the option to “abandon” the position if and when the time comes.
Despite a couple of recent hiccups, Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid are still on course to win the La Liga title. This past weekend Cristiano Ronaldo became the quickest player to score 100 Spanish League goals and constantly remains in our thoughts. Alvaro Arbeloa has also proved to be a relatively cheap option in a defence that will be expected to return at least one clean sheet over the next two Matchdays.
Ones to Watch…
Dionysis Chiotis & Constantinos Charalambides (FC APOEL)
Cristiano Ronaldo & Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid)
Benfica vs Chelsea
The only Champions League tie to feature a side from English soil sees Chelsea travel to Portugal to face off against Benfica. The visitors are arguably still flowing on the crest of the wave, following their stunning comeback victory over Napoli in the previous round, while the home side have lost only one fixture at the Stadium of Light in all competitions this season.
With Benfica conceding just two goals in their four home games in the competition to date, Chelsea may well struggle to grab a goal in the first leg encounter. Roberto Di Matteo’s side will be looking to breach the home defence to set themselves up nicely for next week’s return.
Quite fond of a ‘returning favourite’ as I am, we can’t help but keep an avid eye on David Luiz and Ramires as they try to get one up on their former employers. While some will argue about the state of the former, Luiz is joint-top scoring defender alongside Sergio Ramos, with 46 points on the board already.
The Portuguese side have an obvious candidate in the shape of the well-touted Nicolas Gaitan in midfield; with five assists already, he sits on 39 points, just a single point behind Franck Ribery at the top of the midfielder rankings. This relative security allows us to flex the chancer’s arm by giving the bargain forward Rodrigo a whirl over these two rounds. He’s played in the Premier League before with Bolton, will it serve him any kind of advantage against Chelsea?
Ones to watch…
Nicolas Gaitan & Rodrigo (Benfica)
David Luiz & Ramires (Chelsea)
AC Milan vs Barcelona
The most interesting and highest profile of the Quarter-Finals will see AC Milan and Barcelona lock swords for the third (and fourth) time this season. Having already troubled each other in the group stages, these two sides will be well aware of their opponents’ capabilities.
If those previous two fixtures (5-4 on aggregate in favour of Barcelona) are any kind of indicator for the forthcoming double-header, we can expect to see goalkeepers being kept plenty busy this Wednesday and next Tuesday.
Milan’s Thiago Silva (firmly believed to be Barcelona’s number one summer transfer target) picked up an injury at the weekend; the news that he’s set to miss out on both fixtures is a bitter blow for Massimo Allegri’s side and only adds fire to the goalscoring flames.
No surprise to see all our tips are attacking options, then. Lionel Messi gets his obligatory selection and this time we enroll Cesc Fabregas to join his brother in arms. The ex-Arsenal midfielder currently leads the way for Barca midfielders in terms of points accumulated so far and therefore gets the nod ahead of Andres Iniesta and Xavi, with a likely role in the front three affording Cesc more chance of attacking returns.
Barca old boy Zlatan Ibrahimovic – coming off a brace in Milan’s weekend win over Roma – is a shoo-in to be considered if you happen to have a spare striking spot going. Kevin-Prince Boateng, just coming back from injury, meanwhile, may be the outside of the box option needed to push some European managers up the Fantasy rankings.
Ones to watch…
Kevin-Prince Boateng & Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan)
Cesc Fabregas & Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Marseille vs Bayern Munich
The French outfit arrive in a dire run of run, having drawn one game – a 1-1 result in last Saturday’s trip to Nice – and lost seven of their last eight fixtures. Bayern, on the other hand, have bucked what was previously stuttering form by recently scoring 20 goals in just three fixtures across a six-day spell (Liverpool, take note).
Didier Deschamps’ side are frankly awful right now. Reports in France range from disparaging to disgust and, yet, they have rightfully earned a place in the Quarter-Finals, after seeing off Inter Milan. Picking your options here is something of a struggle, so Nicolas N’Koulou gets another crack of the whip for consistency and value, with Mathieu Valbuena’s name drawn out of the hat to join him.
Munich, on the other hand, have a litany of options that we struggle to narrow down to eleven. We’d frankly be quite fond of placing pretty much any of their side in our European Fantasy outfits. Clean sheets could be on the cards in both fixtures for the Bundesliga outfit, meaning Manuel Neuer and co are well worth a look in.
With Marseille’s first-choice keeper Steve Mandanda suspended for the first leg, any of the attacking quadrant of Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller, Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben could rack up substantial scores over the next two rounds. We’ll keep our eyes on the two wide men, while fully expecting all of them cash in at the bank of Deschamps.
Ones to watch…
Nicolas N’Koulou & Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)
Arjen Robben & Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
