UCL and EL Quarterfinal Draw: United vs Barca the marquee matchup

With four English sides making it through to the Champions League quarterfinals, and two making it into the Europa League quarterfinals, all eyes were on Nyon, Switzerland for the draw.

The odds of an all English affair were high, with half the teams remaining in the Champions League pot hailing from the English Premier League, with Manchester City and Spurs set to lock horns. City won the only meeting the two sides have had in the league this season, albeit by a narrow 1-0 margin.

Spurs’ home leg could also be the first Champions League game that will be played in their new stadium, which has seen numerous delays to its grand opening. Both sides prevailed against German opposition in the Round of 16, with Spurs producing a mature performance against Borussia Dortmund, and City eviscerating Schalke.

Arguably the marquee matchup of the round is Manchester United vs Barcelona. It is two clubs with plenty of history, both against each other and in this competition. Their last two European meeting have come in Champions League finals, with Barca prevailing each time, though United won the last two-legged tie between the clubs back in 2008.

The tie will also feature the return of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to the Nou Camp, the scene of his famous winner against Bayern Munich in 1999. He will be hoping for a repeat of his side’s brave performance against PSG, with Barca the heavy favourites to progress after they dispatched Lyon.

Liverpool, fresh off their commanding 3-1 victory over Bayern, got arguably the easiest draw of the round, as they play Porto, who managed to outlast Roma. The two clubs met in the Round of 16 in 2018, when Liverpool cruised to a 5-0 victory in Portugal to settle the tie after one leg.

The Reds will fancy their chances of moving on to the semi-finals for a second consecutive year, while Porto will be looking for revenge after last season’s debacle.

The draw is rounded off by a mouthwatering clash between Juventus and Ajax, who overcame first leg deficits to see off Atletico and Real Madrid, respectively. The teams’ path to the final has also been set, with the winner of City-Spurs facing the winner of Juventus-Ajax, and the winner of Liverpool-Porto facing the winner of Barca-United.

Europa League draw also set: Arsenal face Napoli

Following on from the Champions League draw, the Europa League quarterfinals were also set, with Arsenal and Chelsea the English teams involved.

Arsenal was handed arguably the toughest assignment they could get and will welcome Italian side Napoli to the Emirates. Napoli is currently second in the Serie A and narrowly failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, after finishing behind Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in a tough group. Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is in charge of the side, and would no doubt love to get one over his former rivals.

Chelsea, on the other hand, was handed an easier task, on paper at least. Slavia Praha is the most inexperienced team left at this stage of the competition, but cannot be underestimated after pulling off a stirring victory to eliminate Sevilla. Maurizio Sarri’s Blues will be heavy favourites after they demolished Dynamo Kyiv, and will fancy their chances of making it to the semi-finals.

The rest of the tournament path was also laid out, and the chance for an all-Premier League final is still there, with Chelsea and Arsenal on opposite sides of the draw. We are getting to the business end of the European competitions, and with several enticing games to look forward to, we cannot wait for the quarterfinals to start across both tournaments!