The Champions League draw gave us some interesting fixtures to look forward to between some of the best teams in Europe. Among them, we have the rematch of the 2016-2017 Champions League final between Juventus and Real Madrid. The battle between the last English teams also promises to be electrifying. Most of these teams know each other very well from previous matches but of course, every year it’s a whole different ball game. Just how much do you let historical statistics influence your predictions for your favorite team?
Barcelona vs AS Roma
Barcelona: The last time the Catalan giants met AS Roma in the Champions League was back in 2015-2016 during the group stage. Over the course of two games, Barca outscored their Italian opponents 7-2 including a whopping 6-1 victory at the Camp Nou. Roma held their own at home as they tied Luis Enrique’s men 1-1 thanks to a wonder goal by Alessandro Florenzi. Ironically, that was the last time Luis Suarez scored an away goal in Champions League.
AS Roma: Barcelona have struggled during their trips to Italy in recent years. Since Barcelona met Inter Milan in the 2010 Champions League group stage, they have played a total of 9 games while winning just one (3-2 victory over Milan in 2011-2012). Since then, Barcelona have lost three (3-1 vs Inter 2010, 2-0 vs Milan 2013 and 3-0 vs Juventus 2017) and tied five (0-0 vs Inter 2009, 0-0 vs Milan in 2012, 1-1 vs Milan in 2013, 1-1 vs Roma in 2015 and 0-0 vs Juventus in 2017). In other words, Barcelona have gotten outscored 8-1 in defeats and have been held scoreless five times in their last nine trips to Italy
Bayern vs Sevilla
Bayern: Bayern storm in to the quarterfinals after scoring eight goals past Besiktas in the Round of 16. The Germans have now scored 21 goals in eight games in Champions League so far. In four of those games, Bayern scored three or more goals. Luckily for them, they are going up against a Sevilla side that allowed 12 goals in the opening six games of the Champions League. Shaky defending and goalkeeping by Sevilla mixed with Bayern’s dominating offense cannot be a good thing for the Spanish side
Sevilla: As dominant as Bayern can be in Champions League, their achilles in the competition continues to be Spanish teams. In fact, in the last four years, Bayern have been eliminated by Spanish sides (2014 Real Madrid, 2015 Barcelona, 2016 Atletico and 2017 Real Madrid). They have allowed 18 goals in the last eight games in the knockout stage while being held scoreless four times.
Real Madrid vs Juventus
Real Madrid: Back to back defending Champions of Europe. Real Madrid have been eliminated just once in Champions League since 2013-2014. The last time Los Blancos did not reach the semi finals of the Champions League was back in 2009-2010 when they were knocked out by Lyon in the Round of 16. Since then, they’ve reached the semi finals every year since Jose Mourinho’s first season at the club.
Juventus: The last team to eliminate Real Madrid in Champions League was none other than.. Juventus. Alvaro Morata’s goal in the Bernabeu saw the Italians beat the holding Champions before losing to Barcelona in the final. Since 1995-1996, Juventus have beaten Real Madrid in six out of the last 12 non-final games.
Manchester City vs Liverpool
Manchester City: City has been arguably the best team in Europe this season and their numbers speak for themselves. They have scored a whopping 85 goals so far this season in all competitions including 19 in 8 games so far in Champions League. Their attacking depth gives them the opportunity to play different styles with different players to accommodate for the opponent.
Liverpool: Liverpool has been the only team to beat City in league so far. A 4-3 victory at Anfield halted City’s unbeaten run in the league and prevented them from finishing unbeaten. In that game, Liverpool seemed to neutralize City’s attack for the most part while capitalizing on City’s weaknesses. A strong first leg in Anfield could mean a tie or defeat would be enough to go through.