Champions League Quarter-Finals: Five Key Highlights to Watch This Week

The Champions League quarter-finals begin this week, with several high-profile ties and storylines. Below are five key highlights to watch this week as Europe’s elite clubs contend for a place in the final.

Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich: a historic rivalry

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich meet for the 28th time in European Cup history. Madrid hold 13 wins, Bayern 11, with four draws.

Their recent knockout history favours Madrid, who have won the last four knockout meetings. Bayern last beat Madrid in a knockout tie in 2011-12.

Bayern sit well in the Bundesliga under coach Vincent Kompany. They scored 97 goals in 27 domestic matches and beat Atalanta 10-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.

Real Madrid needed the Champions League play-off round, where they beat Benfica. They then overcame Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.

Viktor Gyokeres returns to Sporting

Viktor Gyokeres heads back to Lisbon to face his former club Sporting CP. Arsenal signed the 27-year-old from Sporting last summer for €63.5m.

Gyokeres scored 68 league goals in 66 games for Sporting after arriving from Coventry City. At Arsenal he has rotated with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

His Champions League return record stands at four goals in eight appearances. He also scored 11 goals in 29 Premier League games this season.

Gyokeres arrives in high form after a hat-trick against Ukraine and a late winner versus Poland. Those strikes secured Sweden’s World Cup qualification.

Liverpool seek revenge against Paris Saint-Germain

Arne Slot’s Liverpool travel to face the holders, Paris Saint-Germain. Liverpool spent more than £400million in the summer on new signings.

That investment has not produced consistent results. Liverpool sit fifth in the Premier League and lost 4-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup.

PSG eliminated Liverpool on penalties in last season’s round of 16. This season they beat Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.

A win over PSG would salvage some momentum for Liverpool in a difficult campaign.

An all-La Liga quarter-final: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are the only same-country tie in the quarter-finals. They met in La Liga recently, with Barcelona winning 2-1.

Barcelona top La Liga on 76 points. Atletico sit fourth, 19 points adrift of the leaders.

The clubs also clashed in the Copa del Rey semi-final. Atletico won the first leg 4-0, and Barca won the second leg 3-0, falling short on aggregate.

Barcelona’s attacking threats include Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Pedri. Atletico strengthened in January with Ademola Lookman and boast Julian Alvarez up front.

The bracket and the road to Budapest

The bracket is divided unevenly. Winners of PSG vs Liverpool will face either Real Madrid or Bayern in the semi-final.

That side contains multiple favourites, making it the tougher route on paper. The other half should produce Arsenal against Sporting and the Barca/Atletico winner.

Arsenal have never won the Champions League, losing the 2006 final to Barcelona in Paris. Still, they are viewed as favourites from their side, given their league form and defensive strength.

The final is scheduled for May 30 in Budapest.

How to watch

In the United Kingdom, TNT Sports holds rights and has moved to HBO Max from Discovery+. Amazon Prime shows weekly midweek fixtures.

Prime will broadcast Sporting vs Arsenal on April 7 and Liverpool vs PSG on April 14. In the United States, games stream on Paramount+ and DAZN.

Spanish-language coverage is available via TUDN.

For ongoing coverage and match previews, follow Filmogaz.com for the latest updates.