UEFA Champions League

Manchester City (1/3) - Atlético Madrid (9/1)

April 5th 2022 / KO 20:00

• This will be the first ever meeting between Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in European competition, but the fourth between the respective managers of the two clubs – Pep Guardiola (W2) and Diego Simeone (W1).
• Atlético Madrid won 1-0 against Manchester United in March, eliminating the Red Devils from this season’s UEFA Champions League. Should they win this game, it will be the first time they have won on consecutive away trips to face English in European competition.
• Manchester City have won three of their four meetings with Spanish clubs in the UEFA Champions League under Pep Guardiola (L1), with those being the most recent three. Their only meeting with a Spanish side in the knockout stages of the competition under Guardiola came in 2019-20, as they eliminated Real Madrid in the Round of 16 (4-2 on aggregate).
• Atlético Madrid will be the first side to face both Manchester United and Manchester City in the knockout stages of a European competition in a season since Juventus in the 1976-77 UEFA Cup – the Italian side would go on to progress from both of those ties, before winning the competition overall that season. Take your chance on Atletico to qualify for the next round @ odds of 9/1!
• Manchester City have only lost one of their last nine UEFA Champions League games beyond the group stage (W7 D1), with that defeat coming against Chelsea in last season’s final. Indeed, since Pep Guardiola’s first season in 2016-17, the Citizens have the highest win percentage of any team in the competition in non-group stage games (64% - 14/22).
• Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid side eliminated Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League (2-2 on aggregate), progressing on away goals. Across the two legs, Atlético averaged just 27% possession and scored their two goals from 18 shots, while Bayern netted the same number of goals from 53 attempts.
• Kevin De Bruyne could make his 50th UEFA Champions League appearance for Manchester City (currently on 49). Since his first season at the club in 2015-16, he has made more assists than any other player for an English club (17) in the competition.
• Antoine Griezmann is Atlético Madrid’s top scorer in the UEFA Champions League, with 25 goals in 55 appearances. The Frenchman has been directly involved in six goals in his last six games in the competition, scoring four times and providing two assists.
• Only Vinícius Júnior (44) has been directly involved in more shots than Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez (42 – 29 shots, 13 chances created) in the UEFA Champions League this season. Indeed, Mahrez has been directly involved in more goals than any other player for Pep Guardiola’s side (7 – six goals, one assist). Bank on Mahrez to be the first goal scorer @ odds of 22/5!
• Atlético Madrid’s Jan Oblak has kept 30 clean sheets in 67 appearances in the UEFA Champions League – no goalkeeper has made more since the start of the 2014-15 season; Oblak’s first in the competition. Manchester City, meanwhile, have only failed to score in one of their 28 home games in the UEFA Champions League under Pep Guardiola, averaging 2.8 goals per game at the Etihad Stadium (excluding qualifying phase).

Benfica (8/1) – Liverpool (4/11)

April 5th 2022 / KO 20:00

• There have been 10 previous European matches between Benfica and Liverpool; the Portuguese club have only faced Bayern Munich (12) and Manchester United (11) more times in Europe, while the English side have only faced Chelsea (11) more often in European competition.
• Liverpool have lost on each of their last three away trips to face Benfica in European competition, with the most recent of those coming in the UEFA Europa League in 2009-10 (1-2), under Rafa Benítez.
• Benfica have only won one of their last six home games against English sides in European competition (D3 L2), with that lone victory coming against Newcastle in the UEFA Europa League in April 2013. In the UEFA Champions League, they’re winless in their last four home games against English sides (D1 L3), since beating Liverpool in February 2006. Can Benfica cause the upset? Take your chances with Benfica to qualify for the next round @ odds of 9/1!
• Liverpool are unbeaten in their last eight UEFA Champions League matches versus Portuguese opponents (W6 D2), winning each of their last four. All eight of those matches have been against FC Porto, however.
• Benfica have averaged 40% possession in the UEFA Champions League this season; the fourth-lowest in the competition overall this term, and the lowest of the eight remaining sides. Indeed, only Real Madrid (23) have recorded more direct attacks than Benfica (20) among this season’s quarter-finalists.
• Liverpool are looking to win five consecutive away games in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League for only the second time in their history, having last done so between 1983 and 1984 under Joe Fagan. Take Liverpool to score a total number of goals over 2.5 @ odds of 11/8!
• In the last 11 games between Portuguese and English teams in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League(since March 2010), the Portuguese sides have only scored three goals in total between them (W1 D2 L8). The English sides, meanwhile, have netted 26 goals across these games, while progressing on every occasion.
• Mohamed Salah has scored eight goals for Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League this term, and could become the first player to score 10+ goals in multiple seasons for the club in the competition. The only other player to reach double figures for goals in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League campaign on more than one occasion while playing for an English club is Ruud van Nistelrooy (for Manchester United in 2001-02 and 2002-03).
• Darwin Núñez is Benfica’s top scorer in the UEFA Champions League this season, having netted four times so far. He is just one goal shy of equalling Nuno Gomes as the player with the most goals for Benfica in a single UEFA Champions League campaign (five goals in 1998-99).
• Six of Mohamed Salah’s eight goals for Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League this season have been scored away from home. No player has ever scored more than six times away from home for Liverpool in a single season inEuropean competition.

Chelsea (21/20) – Real Madrid (14/5)

April 6th 2022 / KO 20:00

• This is the second consecutive season in which Chelsea and Real Madrid have met in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. The Blues could become the first English team to eliminate them from the knockout stages of the competition on multiple occasions, having beaten them 3-1 on aggregate in last season’s semi-final.
• Real Madrid have faced Chelsea more times without ever winning than they have against any other side in European competition (5), drawing twice and losing three times against the Blues. Can the tournaments most successful club progress? Take Madrid to qualify for the next round @ odds of 26/25!
• Chelsea are unbeaten in their last eight games against Spanish teams in European competition (W4 D4), including in all five that have taken place during Thomas Tuchel’s time in charge (W3 D2). Their last such defeat came in September 2019, losing 0-1 against Valencia under Frank Lampard.
• Real Madrid’s last away win against an English side in the UEFA Champions League was in 2014-15, when they won 3-0 against Liverpool at Anfield. Since then, they are winless in their last five such trips (D2 L3), with the most recent one being a 0-2 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in last season’s semi-final.
• Since Thomas Tuchel’s first UEFA Champions League game in charge of Chelsea in February 2021, the Blues have kept 10 clean sheets in 15 games; the most of any team. They also have the lowest goals conceded per game ratio during this period, with just seven goals conceded (an average of 0.47 per game). Will Chelsea take the competition for a second time? Bank on Chelsea to win UCL 2022 @ odds of 11/1!
• Real Madrid have only lost one of their last eight UEFA Champions League games when facing the previous season’s winners (W5 D2), while they’ve won each of the last three without conceding a goal – all against Bayern Munich (2-0 in 2001-02 and 1-0 and 4-0 in 2013-14).
• Real Madrid’s David Alaba could make his 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League (currently on 99). The Austrian has ended on the winning side in 69 of his 99 games in the competition to date, which will already mark the record for most victories within a player’s first 100 appearances in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (the previous-most was 67, by Robert Lewandowski).
• Karim Benzema has scored eight goals for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League this season, which is already his most in a single campaign in the competition. If he scores in this game, he would set a new season-best for goals by a Frenchman in the UEFA Champions League (currently eight).
• Since Thomas Tuchel took charge of the team, Christian Pulisic has been directly involved in six goals for Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League (three goals, three assists) – no player has contributed more for the Blues in this period. He scored and assisted in the semi-finals against Real Madrid last season, netting away from home in the first leg and assisting Mason Mount in the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
• Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior has generated more shots following carries (moving 5+ metres with the ball) than any other player in the UEFA Champions League this season (20 – 10 shots, 10 chances created). He also leads all players in the competition this term for carries featuring a take-on attempt (28).

Villarreal (24/5) – Bayern Munich (11/20)

April 6th 2022 / KO 20:00

• This will be the second meeting between Villarreal and Bayern Munich after the 2011-12 campaign, when the German side won home (3-1) and away (2-0) in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Can Villarreal over thrown the German giants? Take Villarreal to qualify for the next round @ odds of 6/1!
• After losing five consecutive away games against Spanish opponents in the UEFA Champions League between 2014 and 2017, Bayern Munich have since gone unbeaten in their last four such away games (W2 D2). The most recent of those came earlier this season, in a 3-0 win away to Barcelona in the group stage.
• This is Villarreal’s first game at the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League since April 2009, when they were eliminated over two legs by Arsenal. Overall, they have only won one of their six games in the competition at this stage or later (D2 L3) – 1-0 v Inter Milan in April 2006.
• Bayern Munich are unbeaten in their last five games when playing away from home in the first leg of a knockout stage tie in the UEFA Champions League (W3 D2) - their last such defeat came in the 2015-16 semi-final first leg against Atlético Madrid, when Pep Guardiola’s side were eventually eliminated on away goals.
• Villarreal boss Unai Emery is set to take charge of his 50th game in the UEFA Champions League (W21 D10 L18). This is the first time he has reached the quarter-finals of the competition, while he is looking to record consecutive wins in the knockout stage for the first time as a manager in the UEFA Champions League.
• Bayern Munich have scored 101 goals in the UEFA Champions League since they were last held to a clean sheet (0-0 v Liverpool in February 2019). Across their last 30 games in the competition, they have averaged 3.4 goals per game, while winning 26 of those (D2 L2). Take the safe route and Bayern to qualify for the next round @ odds of 1/10.
• Arnaut Danjuma has netted five goals for Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League this season, more than any other player for the club in a single campaign in the competition. In fact, the Dutchman is already the club’s top scorer in the UEFA Champions League, having overtaken Joseba Llorente (4) with his goal against Juventus last time out.
• Robert Lewandowski has scored 12 goals in eight UEFA Champions League appearances for Bayern Munich this season – only three players have ever netted more in a single campaign in the competition (Lionel Messi in 2011-12 and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2017-18), with one of those being Lewandowski himself in 2019-20 (15).
• Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno has scored two goals and made three assists in just 276 minutes played in the UEFA Champions League this season, recording more direct goal involvements than any other Spanish player in the competition this term.
• Leroy Sané has been directly involved in 12 goals in eight games for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League this season (six goals, six assists). Since 2003-04 (when this data is available), Sané is one of only two players to have scored more than five goals and made more than five assists in a single campaign, along with Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino in 2017-18 (10 goals, seven assists).