5 UEFA Champions League Tips For This Week's Quarter Final First Legs

On Tuesday night Manchester City host Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium in a game that lies firmly in the balance.

Under Pep Guardiola, City are yet to advance past the quarter-final stage having been knocked out by the likes of AS Monaco, Tottenham and Lyon, and the Black and Yellows will provide another stern test of the Citizen’s character.

The players being studied are former Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and Norwegian prodigy Erling Haaland. So far this season Gundogan has had an impressive campaign, scoring 16 goals across all competitions, including in City’s last Champions League match against Borussia Monchengladbach, as they strolled to a 4-0 aggregate win following two legs at the Puskas Arena.

Haaland is the name on everyone’s minds, as several teams look set to scrap it out for the Dortmund man’s signature in the summer. At present that 20-year-old is the top scorer in the Champions League with 10 goals in just six appearances, meaning that his overall goal tally for this campaign lies at 33 in 32 matches.

Tuesday night also sees Real Madrid take on Liverpool at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

Real Madrid come into this game in much the better form, as they have lost just one game in La Liga since the start of December, whilst Liverpool are trying to build on any confidence gained by recent wins against Arsenal and Wolves, having lost six of their previous seven games in the league prior to their win on Saturday night at the Emirates Stadium.

Karim Benzema has been Los Blancos’ talisman this campaign, scoring 24 goals in 33 matches, having scored six goals in his last four La Liga appearances against Atletico Madrid, Elche, Celta Vigo and Eibar. The 33-year-old also got on the scoresheet when Real beat Atalanta 3-1 in their last Champions League outing.

On Wednesday night a mouth-watering tie takes place in the Champions League at the Allianz Arena, as the holder Bayern Munich host Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain in what is a replay of last season’s final.

At present this is a battle between the two top-scoring sides in the competition, as Bayern have found the back of the net 24 times in eight matches, whilst PSG have scored 18.

There are notable absences in both sides, as the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Marco Verratti have both been ruled out, however, for Bayern who have better squad depth than the French side, this will likely see Thomas Muller play as a striker.

Bayern come into this tie having hammered Lazio 6-2 on aggregate, whilst PSG also thumped Barcelona 5-2 on aggregate following an appalling first leg display by the Catalonian outfit which saw them trail 4-1 going into the away tie.

Hansi Flick’s side come into this game on the back of five wins in a row in the Bundesliga, following their win against RB Leipzig at the weekend, which has all but sealed their 31st top-flight title. On the other hand, PSG lost in a top of the table clash against Lille on Saturday, which means that they have lost eight times in the league this season.

As discussed above, Bayern come into this match as favourites despite not having top scorer Robert Lewandowski due to an injury picked up whilst on the recent international break with his side, Poland.

This will more likely see Muller move up-front for the holders, and despite playing in an attacking midfield role for the majority of the season, the 31-year-old has scored 13 goals and assisted 18 in 37 appearances.

Meanwhile, French World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe is PSG’s most likely goal threat on Wednesday night, as the 22-year-old has managed 30 goals in 37 matches so far this season, including six in seven Champions League appearances, including a hat-trick against Barcelona at the Nou Camp as the Parisians thumped Barcelona 4-1 in mid-February.

The final fixture to be included in these Champions League tips comes from the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in Seville, as Chelsea take on Portuguese side FC Porto.

Both sides had impressive results in the last round, as Sérgio Conceição’s side knocked out Juventus on away goals following a dramatic 4-4 aggregate draw with the Italian side.

Meanwhile, Chelsea eased to a 3-0 aggregate win over La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, limiting the Spanish side to no clear-cut chances, winning the away leg via a sensational bicycle kick by Olivier Giroud, before Hakim Ziyech and Emerson goals settled the outcome at Stamford Bridge.

Thomas Tuchel’s side will be more than confident of bouncing back against Porto, following their humiliating 5-2 defeat by West Bromwich Albion on the weekend. Since Tuchel’s first game in late January against Wolves in late January, the Blues have won nine games via the scoreline of 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1.