Eight teams remain in the battle for Europe’s top prize.
The 2022-23 UEFA Champions League enters the quarter-final stage with four exciting games set to take center stage across Tuesday and Wednesday.
The first two of those will kick off simultaneously on Tuesday in Manchester and Lisbon.
At the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City continues their quest for a maiden title as Pep Guardiola continues his first with the club when they welcome the Spaniard’s former employers, Bayern Munich — a club he also could not win the competition with.
The city was rampant against their last German opposition – after defeating RasenBallsport Leipzig 8-1 on aggregate – with star poacher Erling Haaland netting a record-equalling five in one game.
The Citizens will once again rely on the exploits of their Norwegian hitman — who is the top scorer in the competition with 10 goals — against the Bavarians after he netted twice against Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.
The records are equally balanced between both sides on the European stage. Both sides are locked on three wins against each other and no draws in six games.
Bayern will enter the quarter-final stage of the competition with a 100% record but the big change is at the dugout.
Julian Nagelsmann was sacked weeks ago and the record Bundesliga champions moved swiftly to acquire the services of Champions League-winning coach, Thomas Tuchel.
The former Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, and Chelsea gaffer will renew his touchline rivalry with Guardiola, however, he does not have the upper hand – winning just three of their 10 meetings and drawing one.
The last time both sides met was in pre-season with the English side winning by a lone goal but their last Champions League meeting was on November 25, 2014, with City also winning 3-2.
Portuguese giants Benfica welcome Inter Milan to Estadio da Luz as both sides aim to punch above their weight into the semi-final.
Inter are winless in their last five games in all competitions and the last time they visited Portugal for a Champions League game was in the just-concluded round of 16 games, in which they narrowly survived FC Porto, playing out a stalemate.
Benfica has been extremely impressive, coming out of a group that had PSG and Juventus and also convincingly defeating Club Brugge in the last 16.
Florentino Luis has been a revelation in the heart of midfield. The 23-year-old has started all eight games and has the most interceptions per game in the competition with 3.3. The Portuguese have 67.8 touches per game, 3.1 tackles per game, and 48.8 accurate passes per game (98%).
On Wednesday, two Italian giants will square off as AC Milan welcome Napoli to the famous Giuseppe Meaza.
Shockwaves were sent across Italy when Milan defeated the runaway Serie A league leaders 4-0 at the start of the month – in what was seen as maybe a dress rehearsal for the European clash.
Napoli has been superb this season, as they look to unseat their opponents for the Italian crown – they are 16 points clear at the summit of the standings with nine games left.
Luciano Spaletti’s side will now turn their serious attention to a first Champions League title, with their Scudetto drought seemingly coming to an end.
With bright stars like Victor Osimhen and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia leading the for the Naples outfit and Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud spearheading the line of the seven-time champions, a cracker should be expected.
Defending champions, Real Madrid welcome Chelsea to the Santiago Bernabeu.
En route to winning their 13th crown last season, Los Blancos survived the Blues, with Karim Benzema netting in extra time for them to progress.
Now, everything looks different, with Chelsea sitting 11th in the Premier League standings, they will visit the Bernabeu with their fourth manager of the season – Frank Lampard.
The English legend took over from Bruno Saltor following the sacking of Graham Potter and he could not buy a win in his first game, losing 0-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday in the Premier League.
Madrid’s last English opposition was in the last 16 as they defeated Liverpool, winning both legs with a 6-2 aggregate scoreline and with Karim Benzema and co. firing, the prospect of facing a poor Chelsea team, under the bright European lights seems fascinating.
Quarter Final fixtures in full
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Manchester City vs Bayern Munich – 8:00 pm
Benfica vs Inter – 8:00 pm
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Milan vs Napoli – 8:00 pm
Real Madrid vs Chelsea – 8:00 pm
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