Europe Champions League Quarterfinals - 1st Leg

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Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Arsenal:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Bayern Munich:
Ulreich; Kimmich, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Goretzka, Laimer; Muller, Musiala, Gnabry; Harry Kane

Arsenal will welcome Bayern Munich to the Emirates on Tuesday evening, in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. The Gunners had eliminated Porto on penalties in the previous knockout stage. Arsenal are leaders in the Premier League and they are in fantastic form. Mikel Arteta is doing a great job and the fans are pleased. It wasn't easy to be Arsenal's manager after Arsene Wenger. The Spaniard was brave enough to take the risk and this could be a successful season. During the weekend they beat 3:0 Brighton & Hove Albion at Amex. It was their 10th win from 11 top-flight games and fourth clean sheet in a row in all tournaments. What is important to mention, the home form in Europe is very good. The Gunners have won all four of their Champions League clashes on familiar territory this season without conceding a single goal. Arteta has the majority of his players read, only ACL victim Jurrien Timber is sidelined. Declan Rice and Kai Havertz have to be careful as yellow card here means they will miss the second leg at the Allianz Arena..

This is an awful season for Bayern Munich. The reigning champions can not defend the title in Bundesliga. To be worse, they are out of the cup. That means the Champions League is the only remaining chance for silverware. One thing is clear - it won't be easy to win the European top competition. On the positive note, England capital suite the Bavarians. They have triumphed on their last three visits to London, beating Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea by an aggregate score of 15:3. However, the current form of both teams is not suggesting something similar. While Arsenal are easily winning the matches and climbed on the top of the table in England, Bayern are 16 points adrift of first-placed Bayer Leverkusen, with six games remaining. What is worse, the players confidence is not high after the last match. Serge Gnabry put Bayern 2:0 up in the weekend's Bundesliga showdown with Heidenheim, but a catastrophic second-half lead to frustrating 3:2 loss. Coach Thomas Tuchel looks unable to change something. In addittion, he has big injury worries. Gabriel Marusic, Tarek Buchmann, Bouna Sarr, Sacha Boey and Noel Aseko are sidelined, while five more are rated as doubtful. Manuel Neuer, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane, Noussair Mazraoui and Aleksandar Pavlovic have all sat out the match with Heidenheim, and they are rated as doubtful for Arsenal.

Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich Prediction:

Bayern have visited the Emirates Stadium in London three times to date, and have never lost a match. However, the situation looks different now. Arsenal are in terrific form and the players confidence is "High as Everest". On contrary, Bayern are in big crisis, the biggest one in the last 20-30 years. This is a perfect opportunity for the Gunners. And I think they will win. Regarding the circumstances, I think Bayern would also be satisfied with a narrow defeat. Everything will be decided in the second match.

Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich Pick: Arsenal to win @ 1.70 with Everygame

 

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Atletico Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Atletico Madrid:
Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; Molina, Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Lino; Griezmann, Morata

Borussia Dortmund:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can, Brandt; Sancho, Fullkrug, Adeyemi

Atletico Madrid will try to secure victory when they welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Civitas Metropolitano (previously Wanda Metropolitano) for the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie. The Rojiblancos will participate in the quarterfinals for the third time in five years, but failed to progress further on the last two occasions, losing to Red Bull Leipzig in 2019-20 and Manchester City in 2021-22. The current form isn't at desired level and they are very inconsistent in the last period. Diego Simeone's side managed to eliminate Inter Milan in the previous stage of the competition, but few days later suffered a high 3:0 home defeat to Barcelona in domestic La Liga. Atletico also suffered elimination in Copa del Rey, losing twice to Athletic Bilbao. Maybe the injury situation was a problem, maybe the fatigue. Griezmann was struggling with an ankle injury that also prevented him to play for the national team. The good news is Griezmann has recovered and should start from the first minute. However, Thomas Lemar and Mario Hermoso are out injured. Memphis Depay was unable to complete Saturday's training session due to a knock and he is rated as doubtful.

Borussia Dortmund had a difficult path to the quarterfinals. Coach Edin Terzic's side finished first in the 'group of death' with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United as opponents. In the first knock-out round they faced the Dutch champions-elect PSV. After they played an 1:1 draw in Eindhoven, Borussia won 2:0 at home soil thanks to goals scored by Manchester United-owned Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus. According to many pundits, that's the maximum. Indeed, Dortmund have suffered three successive quarter-final Champions League eliminations since 2013, when they lost the final from Bayern Munich. The actual form is good, they have five wins on the last six matches across all competitions. The big problem is their only defeat came last weekend, when they suffered a 1:0 home defeat to Stuttgart. About the team news, centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck is back from suspension, but Ramy Bensebaini is definitely out with a knee injury. Donyell Malen is rated as doubtful with a hip injury. Niclas Fullkrug should lead the line, but he is out of form. He hasn't score a single goal on the last eight games. I suppose his confidence is low at the moment.

Atletico Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund Prediction:

Both teams are fighting for the Champions League places in domestic leagues. And both teams can neither prioritize European glory nor a top-four finish. Atletico secured an important victory against Villarreal, while Dortmund lost to Stuttgart. The home advantage shoud not be underestimaated too. Considering these facts, I think Atletico Madrid are closer to the victory here. More important, they have player able to make a difference - Antoine Griezmann.

Atletico Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund Pick: Atletico Madrid to win @ 1.80 with Pinnacle

 

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Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Paris Saint-Germain:
Donnarumma; Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Mendes; Lee, Ugarte, Vitinha; Dembele, Ramos, Mbappe

Barcelona:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Cancelo; De Jong, Gundogan, Lopez; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha

Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will face in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie at the Parc des Princes. PSG are between the favorites for the trophy. The Arab owners invested enormous money, brought top players like Leo Messi and Neymar, but still nothing. The duo left the club last summer and it is matter of time when the third star Mbappe will join Real Madrid. Lot of coaches were sacked in the meantime as the owners are no more satisfied with domestic titles. They want the Champions League trophy, nothing less. Coach Luis Enrique is already feeling a big pressure, he knows how important this match is. The Spaniard is doing a good job so far in Ligue 1 and PSG sit on the top of the table with 10-point advantage to the second-placed Brest. The atmosphere in the squad is positive and the players confidence is high. Enrique has the majority of his players available, but right-back Achraf Hakimi will miss the game through suspension after he picked up his third yellow card of the competition against Real Sociedad. His absence is a big handicap and Zaire-Emery will hardly manage to deputize. In addition, Presnel Kimpembe and Layvin Kurzawa are sidelined through injury, while Nordi Mukiele is a doubt.

Barcelona have eliminated Napoli in the previous stage. They played 1:1 at Stadio Maradona in Naples, so everything was decided at Camp Nou. The Blaugrana were excellent and won 3:1 thanks to goals scored by Fermin Lopez, Joao Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski. Previously Barca finished as first in their group, however, they are inconsistent this season and not too successful in domestic La Liga. Considering the failures in Copa del Rey and Super Cup too, coach Xavi came under big pressure, so he announced his departure at the end of the season. It seems the pressure disappear after that announcement and Barcelona started to play much better. At the moment they are in series of four victories in all competitions, beating Mallorca before Napoli, as well as Atletico Madrid and Las Palmas after. The defense looks much better now as they have conceded just one goal in the process. Xavi has most of his players available, but Gavi and Alejandro Balde are out injured. In addition, Pedri, Andreas Christensen and Frenkie De Jong are rated as doubtful. Nevertheless, many things depend on Robert Lewandowski and his inspiration.

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona Prediction:

I expect both teams to score in Paris. PSG play at home and they will go for the victory. Mbappe is excellent striker, he has scored in nine of his last 10 Champions League outings at the Parc des Princes. But not only Mbappe, I am sure Dembele will be very motivated against his former employees. What is also interesting, coach Luis Enrique perfectly know everything about Barca. He was part of the club - as player and coach - and he is familiar with club philosophy. I think he is able to find some weaknesses. Barcelona, meanwhile, will have space for counterattacks. This is the most important fixture for Xavi and his players, as the Champions League represents their only chance for silverware. Scoring at Parc des Princes could be crucial.

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.63 with Pinnacle