Soccer Update: Champions League And Europa League Draws

Let us take a look at all the draws for the Champions League and Europa League. The showdown that is possible makes for an exciting few days of gameplay. Juventus could go head to head with Man City, and Bayern Munich is almost certainly going to go against Barcelona, in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals of the Champions League will be a huge spectacle. The draw took place a few days ago, to decide which teams play each other. Atletico Madrid should make it to the semis easily - the team will be playing against the fairly easy RB Leipzig. PSG, the current French champions will play Atalanta from the Serie A, which could go in any way given how Atalanta has an 11-game winning streak. 

Manchester City has a lead on Real Madrid, 2 - 1 after they won the first leg of their clash in the last-16. If City continues to play this way, they will be pitted against Juventus or Lyon, in the quarters. Juventus and Lyon’s first leg ended in a tie, so their second leg will be imperative to decide who goes further in the competition. Bayern Munich is almost confirmed to be in the quarters after their 3-0 victory against Chelsea in their first leg. They will be up against Barcelona or Napoli, and it is hard to pick one because their first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.

Who Will Make it to Portugal?

The Champions League is set to return in August. The last-16 games which were pending since the lockdown in March have to be completed before the last eight teams make their way to Portugal to play the quarters, semis, and the final. The odds of lifting the trophy are currently strongly in favor of Man City and Bayern Munich. But the draw has changed up the odds a little, giving Bayern Munich a headstart as the favorite. The league has a lot of going for it right now because a City v. Juventus and Munich v. Barcelona is a soccer treat for any fan.

The odds also look good for PSG and Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid has been pushed up with odds of +1100 to win the tournament. They have what it takes to breeze past RB Leipzig to the semi-finals, and their unbeaten streak should make them a favorite. Atalanta has been pushed back a little in the odds, since their draw is against PSG, the reigning French champions. But PSG hasn’t played a game since March when the Ligue 1 season was called off. Madrid is looking good if you believe they can make up for their deficit against Man City. Three teams that don’t show trophy potential are RB Leipzig, Napoli, and Lyon.

The few games that remain to be played in the last-16 will be completed on August 7 and 8. The winning teams would then make it to Portugal for the rest of the season. The quarter-finals and semifinals will be one-leg games, i.e. up or out, and not the two-leg format usually played. The final will be held on August 23. 

The Draw for Europa League

The draw for the Europa League was done on the same day as the Champions League draw. Whichever team wins the last-16 game between Wolfsburg and Shakhtar Donetsk will go up against either Eintracht Frankfurt or FC Basel in the quarter-finals, all of this depends on which team wins. The Inter Milan v. Getafe match’s winner will play the Rangers or Bayer Leverkusen, in the quarters. Based on whichever team wins the quarters will progress to the semis to face off each other. This tournament will also see the games being played as one-leg only instead of the usual two-leg. 

The other set of matches includes the winners of  LASK v. Manchester United facing the winners of Istanbul Basaksehir v. FC Copenhagen, in the quarter-finals. The winners of Olympiakos v. Wolves will play the winner of Sevilla v. Roma, in the quarters. Each of these quarters winners will play in the semi-finals against each other. The last 16 games will be held on August 5 and 6, the quarter-finals on August 10 and 11, the semis on August 16 and 17, and the final on August 20. 

There is a clear favorite for the Europa League - Manchester United. They have been in top form since play resumed, and their players Mason Greenwood and Bruno Fernandes have exceeded expectations. They would go against Olympiakos, Wolves, Sevilla, or Roma at the semis, so the odds for these teams will see a change.