Tight showdowns in Champions League

Barcelona v Juventus

This fixture has split football right in the middle. Some feel Barcelona shouldn’t even be in the quarters, having needed two fortuitous penalties to get past Paris Saint Germain.

I disagree with them for three reasons. First off, Barcelona are the more experienced European team, having won five titles since Juventus last won Big Ears. Granted the Old Lady defends better, but she is blighted by facing weaker opponents on a weekly basis. Primera Liga’s superiority over Serie A will have prepared Barcelona better for a pressure cooker two legged European tie. Finally, Barcelona have better players. Paulo Dybala is Juventus’ best player. I am not sure he would even start for the Catalan giants.

Atletico Madrid v Leicester

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane and Juventus skipper Gigi Buffon both said they were keen to avoid Leicester City because they have an unquenchable fighting spirit. I am sure Atletico supremo Diego Simeone would beg to differ. There is no team in the quarters that can squander penalties in both home and away ties like Seville did in getting knocked out by Leicester City. The tie could be cagey but you must take into account the fact Atletico have been losing finalists in two of the last three Champions League finals. This tie is Atletico Madrid’s to lose as only Riyad Mahrez would make it into the Spanish side’s starting line up.

Dortmund v Monaco

This is the most exciting quarter final draw as both sides are noted for their gung-ho approach to the beautiful game. I am backing Monaco to progress because, for one, they are more consistent, having led the French Ligue One for over two months in a row while you can never tell which Dortmund side will show up. In fact, this season Dortmund have been the epitome of inconsistence. Further more, Monaco’s goals are well spread with Kylian Mbappe, Radamel Falcao, Thomas Lemar and Valerie Jermaine all sharing the goal scoring burden whereas Dortmund are overly reliant on Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. And then Monaco defend better courtesy of superior protection offered to back four by defensive midfielders Timoue Bakayoko and Fabinho Tavares.

Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

This is the pick of the quarterfinals as both sides are established European aristocrats, with Real Madrid bagging a record eleven titles compared to Bayern Munich’s six. For all their European glory, Real Madrid have an inferior head to head record with Bayern Munich. That’s one of my reasons for backing Bayern Munchen to progress. The other is Carlo Ancelotti. As Los Blancos’ immediate former manager, the Italian knows Real Madrid inside out. Lastly, Bayern Munich already have the Bundesliga wrapped up, which will allow Ancelotti to rest his best players for this tie. I still think this tie could be settled by a penalty shoot out, which, as we all know, German sides rarely lose.

Last week, Ssekamatte got SIX RIGHT WITH TWO PERFECT SCORES OUT OF 10 ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES.