The matches for the 2023/24 Champions League quarterfinal round have been set. Here is an early look at which teams could advance and which teams will be heading home in this year’s UCL.
Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich
Arsenal’s Best Player
How could it be anyone other than Bukayo Saka. The 22-year-old right winger is a Ballon d’Or-level talent and one of the most consistent footballers on the planet despite his young age.
Even in the Champions League, Saka is colossal, recording three goals and four assists so far in the current campaign, showing he can more than step up to meet the challenge of the highest level of European football.
Bayern’s Best Player
A familiar face to the Arsenal faithful, former Tottenham rival Harry Kane is having a special, potentially record-breaking season for Bayern Munich.
Kane has six goals and three assists in his eight Champions League appearances this season, as well as 30 Bundesliga goals. Spurs made the UCL Final without him, but Kane has always been an ace in the big games despite not getting that credit.
Why Arsenal Will Win
Arsenal are competing for Premier League titles. They face much better teams on a weekly basis than Bayern do, they have a young squad that believes in each other, and they have a settled managerial situation in Mikel Arteta.
Bayern, meanwhile, are rife with dysfunction. Thomas Tuchel will be gone at the end of the season, perhaps mercifully so. The entire team seems to hate each other and keeps making tabloid headlines for the wrong reasons.
Why Bayern Will Win
However, Bayern have game-changing players who are established at the Champions League knockout level. Joshua Kimmich is either the best right back in the world or a true midfield general, no matter what Tuchel or anyone else has to say about him.
Leroy Sané and Kane have been two of the best players in Europe at any position. Add Jamal Musiala in there, too. Alphonso Davies and Kim-Min Jae are world-class on the back line. Manuel Neuer is a different animal in the UCL knockouts.
Prediction
Arsenal signals a changing of the guard this year and takes the might Bayern Munich down.
Real Madrid vs. Manchester City
Real Madrid’s Best Player
Jude Bellingham has firmly established himself as the best player on the planet, and while he should have received those plaudits in 2022/23 when he carried an awful Dortmund side as a teenager, it truly does take a move to Real Madrid for some players to be appreciated fully.
The world-class midfielder has four goals and four assists in six Champions League appearances this season, taking over from Vinícius Júnior as THE player to watch in the Spanish capital. And it is not easy to unseat Vini – not at all.
Man City’s Best Player
With all due respect to Erling Haaland, Manchester City has always been Kevin De Bruyne’s team. The legendary attacking midfielder remains the finest playmaker in all the land, concocting passes that nobody else can even envision.
The Belgian is determined to hoist the Champions League trophy after falling injured in last year’s final. De Bruyne was meant for the big moments, whether he is playing for club or country.
Why Real Madrid Will Win
Real Madrid is Real Madrid. You can never count them out, regardless of how embarrassing their performance against Manchester City was in the 2023 UCL knockouts.
This is their competition. They proved it in 2022 with three straight comebacks and arguably the most memorable title triumph by any club in the history of this most prestigious competition.
Los Blancos now have Bellingham joining forces with Vini Jr. to form the world’s most prolific attacking punch. They are the clear dominant side in LaLiga and have bounced back from a rough 2022/23.
Why Man City Will Win
Manchester City are the best team on the planet until proven otherwise. They won the Premier League and Champions League last season and are in the driver’s seat to take both titles home again in 2024.
With De Bruyne healthy, Haaland still banging home the goals, Julián Álvarez improving, and Jérémy Doku now on board, City’s attack is even more vaunted than ever.
Prediction
Manchester City send Real Madrid packing again.
Barcelona vs. PSG
Barcelona’s Best Player
Ilkay Gundogan helped pull the strings for the Manchester City side that won the 2022/23 Champions League crown, and he has immediately been Barcelona‘s best and (by far) most consistent player from day one.
There are more talented and heralded younger players in Catalunya, but Gundogan’s professionalism and classy passing make him the No. 1 guy in the Blaugrana kit.
PSG’s Best Player
Even if Luis Enrique trie to phase him out because everyone knows he is finally headed for Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé is clearly PSG’s best player. It’s not even worth discussing. And it is embarrassing how much better he is than his teammates.
Why Barcelona Will Win
Barcelona will wave goodbye to Xavi at the end of the season, but he is stepping down on his own accord for the betterment of the club he loves.
On the pitch, Barça is far less dysfunctional than circulating reports would have you think. This team has a strong defense, even if it isn’t as good as last season, and quality in the midfield.
Yes, the attack is limited, but the problems Barça have are more weighed to injuries and lack of depth. This is still a good side capable of competing in the Champions League.
PSG, on the other hand, are rife with dysfunction, aging players who aren’t good enough, and a haphazardly assembled squad that falls apart in an instant without Mbappé. Their recent UCL track record is even more embarrassing than Barça’s.
Why PSG Will Win
PSG have Mbappé. If he is able to play and Enrique’s ego does not hold them back, he is the great equalizer who can single-handedly change the tide against Barcelona.
Prediction
Barcelona will destroy PSG beyond repair. This will be a statement-making game for the Blaugrana.
Atlético Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
Atlético Madrid’s Best Player
Antoine Griezmann is simply on a different level from anyone else on Atlético Madrid or anyone else on Borussia Dortmund for that matter.
A living legend of the game, Griezy has scored a whopping six goals in the Champions League thus far and has helped lead Los Rojiblancos to a final before.
The playmaker extraordinaire has finishing chops, experience, and a whole lot of heart. If anything, he’s been getting better with age because of his leadership and increased importance to Diego Simeone’s machine.
Dortmund’s Best Player
For a club usually known for its attacking prowess, it feels like another sign of a fall from grace that their best player right now is a goalkeeper. However, that is no slight against Gregor Kobel, who is already one of the best on the planet.
Signed from Stuttgart, Kobel joined Bellingham as one of BVB’s most important players in the 2022/23 season, and, now, he is clearly the best man at the Signal Iduna Park.
Why Atlético Madrid Will Win
Atlético Madrid have the experience, the superior defense, the superior coach, Antoine Griezmann, and an actual midfield spine that is fitting a Champions League knockout side.
On paper, there is no question that Los Rojiblancos are the favorites. They check off all the boxes of a top UCL side that Dortmund do not.
Why Dortmund Will Win
Dortmund do have one X-Factor to give them a chance, and that is the loan acquisition of Manchester United man Jadon Sancho, who was once the best player in the German top flight.
The electric winger could make a big difference for BVB in this Champions League knockout tie, especially if some of his teammates can step up to join him, such as new striker Niclas Füllkrug.
Prediction
Atlético Madrid will prove their superiority and reach another UCL semifinal in their storied recent history under Simeone.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.