Liverpool and Arsenal are the only Premier League teams to have made it through to the Champions League quarter-final
Liverpool are still in the Champions League after beating Galatasaray(Image: Liverpool FC, Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
The closing rounds of the Champions League are set to take centre stage when club football resumes after the March international break. Only two of the six English clubs managed to progress through the round of 16 and secure their spots in the quarter-finals, with Liverpool impressing in a comeback victory over Galatasaray and Arsenal defeating Bayer Leverkusen.
All eight teams made their respective cases when booking their place in the quarters and pundits have offered a variety of predictions about who could potentially clinch the title. It hasn’t all gone to form, either, with three teams still in the competition despite finishing outside the top eight in the league phase.
One of these teams is Paris Saint-Germain, who claimed the tournament last season despite finishing a disappointing 15th in the league phase. They knocked Liverpool out on penalties during that run and now face a rematch after coming through ties against Monaco and Chelsea.
Real Madrid (9th) and Atletico Madrid (14th) are the other teams from outside the top eight to advance, overcoming Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively in the round of 16. Los Blancos are now set to face Bayern Munich, while Atleti are up against a Barcelona team who thrashed Newcastle 8-3 on aggregate.
The final match in the quarter-finals sees Arsenal take on Sporting CP in a repeat of a dramatic 2022/23 Europa League clash which the Portuguese side won on penalties. Pundits have been making their predictions during the knockout stage and they’ve picked a number of different winners.
Jamie Carragher
In between the two legs of the round of 16, Carragher made his predictions for the entire bracket. He predicted a PSG vs Arsenal final, with the English side winning this time after falling to the French side in the semis in 2025.
“Most people will say Bayern are a better team than PSG this season but that will not sway me. PSG will be in the final” Carragher said on CBS Sports.
Arsenal are the Premier League’s second remaining representatives(Image: Stuart MacFarlane, Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
“That high line will cost Barcelona in the semi-final against Arsenal,” he added. “So a PSG-Arsenal final and then the winner will be… Arsenal will win the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Thierry Henry
If Carragher’s prediction proves accurate, Henry could have divided loyalties. The 48-year-old sees the case for his former sides Arsenal and Barcelona while also recognising Bayern Munich could yet outdo both.
“[Barcelona] need to find that consistency and that balance if they want to win and be considered one of the hot favourites to win it – I still think they are,” he said before the Catalan club brushed Newcastle aside in the second leg of the previous round. “But that balance sometimes that they don’t have make me turn a tiny bit more to Bayern and Arsenal.”
He had plenty of praise for Bayern as they hammered Atalanta home and away, suggesting they could ultimately have the strongest chance of going all the way. “You will see, whoever it is – it can be the winger inside, the striker like we saw with Nicolas Jackson on the right – [Bayern] know what they need to do, they press well, they’re very difficult to beat at times,” he said.
Micah Richards
Richards is the second pundit after Carragher to back Arsenal. The Gunners fell short against PSG last season but must regard themselves amongst the favourites after leading the Premier League and finishing the league phase in Europe with a 100 percent record.
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“They’re top of the Premier League and I think Arsenal are the favourites for the Champions League because I think it will suit them more than the domestic games,” Richards said on The Rest is Football. “In the Champions League the games might get a little bit more stretched whereas in the Premier League everyone is going to that low block against them.”
It’s worth recognising he made his prediction in early March, before the Arsenal lost to his former club Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Now they have time to make sure the Wembley setback doesn’t derail the remainder of their campaign.
Paul Merson
Former Arsenal player Merson has become less optimistic about the Gunners following their Carabao Cup final loss. While he stopped short of explicitly backing any side to triumph, he cannot envisage Mikel Arteta’s team overcoming Barcelona should both clubs progress to the semi-finals.
“I look at Barcelona – who Arsenal are on course to play in the semi-finals – and Arsenal haven’t got the pace to trouble Barcelona’s high line,” he said on Sky Sports. “The forward players aren’t electric – they’re not like Anthony Elanga or Anthony Gordon who caused Barcelona problems in the last 16. I dread to think what Barcelona could do to Arsenal.”
Owen Hargreaves
TNT Sports pundit Hargreaves initially championed his former club Bayern Munich. After looking more closely at the competition, though, he changed his mind and picked Barcelona to go all the way.
Barcelona put eight goals past Newcastle over their two legs(Image: Judit Cartiel – UEFA, UEFA via Getty Images)
“You know what, I’m going Barca,” the former England midfielder said. “I think with the draw, obviously it favours that side.”
“[Lamine] Yamal, [Robert] Lewandowski, Raphinha, Pedri, [Frenkie] De Jong, the manager [Hansi Flick] has already won it, they play super aggressive. When it gets to those games, they will probably play a little bit deeper. Barca could beat anybody on their day.”
Steven Gerrard
Former Liverpool captain Gerrard lifted the Champions League trophy with the Reds in 2005 and doesn’t want to dismiss the chance of a repeat despite inconsistent league form. With just eight teams left in Europe, Gerrard reckons Liverpool have as good an opportunity as any.
“I think Bayern and Liverpool could be the ones people don’t think can get there, but they can,” he stated. “I would be inclined that way [PSG] as well, if they can get everyone on the pitch.”
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