Manchester City and Liverpool will learn their fate this morning as the Champions League quarter-final draw takes place in Switzerland.
Despite their woeful domestic form, Liverpool showed their mettle against RB Leipzig in the round of 16, cruising to a 4-0 aggregate victory with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane on target in both legs. However, Jurgen Klopp played down expectations, declaring that a top-four finish in the Premier League is almost impossible and suggesting the club’s torrid streak of injuries will hamper their chances in Europe. “You don’t usually win the Champions League itself in a year with injury worries as big as we have,” he said. “Then in the worst case it will be next year: no Champions League, maybe Europa League, although that is not guaranteed either.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea produced an impressive performance to oust Atletico Madrid, with Thomas Tuchel outwitting Diego Simeone. The Blues won 3-0 on aggregate and are attempting to win the tournament for the first time since 2012.
FOLLOW LIVE: Champions League quarter-final draw
Elsewhere, Man City cruised to victory against a Borussia Monchengladbach side that’s plummeting into a state of crisis and it is no secret that success in Europe would be the crowning achievement of Pep Guardiola’s tenure. “Since the first year I arrived they told me that you have to win the Champions League,” Guardiola said after easing into the final eight. “It is always on our shoulders, but I’m not concerned about that. If you deserve it in football, you go through. If you don’t, you don’t. I’m not thinking to get to the semi-finals. I’m thinking to do a good first game and a good second game.
Holders Bayern Munich breezed into the quarterfinals with a routine victory over Lazio, while Porto, PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid fill the remaining slots.
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Here’s everything we know about the draws and how you can watch it on television and online.
When and where is the draw?
The draw is on Friday 19 March at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland and starts at 11am GMT.
How will the draw work?
As mentioned, there is no seeding, which means clubs from the same country can draw each other.
So the free draw will decide the quarter-finals, before each tie is numbered 1–4 to create a path to the semi-finals.
Then there will be a third draw, to decide who will be the ‘home’ side in the final for administrative reasons.
Any restrictions, for broadcast or logistical reasons, will be announced ahead of the draw.
When will the quarter-final and semi-final ties take place?
Quarter-finals: First legs: 6/7 AprilSecond legs: 13/14 April
Semi-finals: First legs: 27/28 AprilSecond legs: 4/5 May
Who has qualified?
- Borussia Dortmund (GER)
- Liverpool (ENG)
- Manchester City (ENG)
- Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
- Porto (POR)
- Real Madrid (ESP)
- Bayern Munich (GER)
- Chelsea (ENG)
Is the draw on TV and will there be a live stream?
The draw will be streamed live on Uefa’s website, while BT Sport will also broadcast the draw across their channels, as well make a live stream available on the app.
You can also follow the draw live with Independent Football’s live blog here.
Odds
via Betfair
