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We’re down to eight teams left in the chase for the UEFA Champions League title. The English Premier League has two teams left, as do the Bundesliga and La Liga, with Ligue 1 and Serie A left with a side apiece.
The first leg of the quarterfinals is set for this Tuesday and Wednesday, with the second legs coming a week later.
The Cinderella teams that made it through, such as Lille, Club Brugge, and PSV Eindhoven, have largely been eliminated, although the fact that Aston Villa are still standing tall is definitely an accomplishment.
There haven’t been any easy outs in this bracket for a while, but now things get real. Let’s break down the first leg and look at updated sports betting odds to hoist the trophy at the competition’s end.
Betting UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals, Leg 1 Schedule with Top Picks
Bayern Munich (-105) vs Inter Milan (+275) (Draw +242)
When: Tuesday, April 8, 3:00 pm ET
UCL Pick: Bayern to win
Inter and Parma faced off recently, with Inter squandering a two-goal lead in a Serie A match, ultimately drawing. Despite sitting at the top of the table, Inter struggles include uncertainties surrounding Alessandro Bastoni’s availability and the absence of Denzel Dumfries. Inter performed impressively with a 6-1-1 record in the league phase, advancing easily to the round of 16 by defeating Feyenoord 4-1 on aggregate. Lautaro Martinez leads the team with six goals in the Champions League and impressive stats in Serie A. Notably, Inter’s defense has excelled, conceding just two goals across all matches, highlighting their overall quality despite some current challenges.
Bayern went 5-0-3 in league play and ended up with Celtic in the round of 32. They got all they wanted from Celtic before escaping to the round of 16, winning 3-2 on aggregate. That led them into a round of 16 with Bayer Leverkusen, but Bayern took their Bundesliga rivals to the woodshed, rolling, 5-0 on aggregate. Bayern have won four of the previous meetings with Inter in Champions League play, while Inter have won two and one has ended in a draw. In Bundesliga action, he has 22 goals and eight assists. In 12 UCL matches, they have allowed just 14 goals this season. At home, they have played at home six times, allowing just four goals in the process and posting three clean sheets.
^Arsenal (+133) vs Real Madrid (+197) (Draw +228)
When: Tuesday, April 8, 3:00 pm ET
UCL Pick: Real Madrid to win
It’s been more than a decade since we saw the Gunners hanging around this far into a Champions League bracket, while Real Madrid head to London as the defending champion. Arsenal are not likely at all to hoist the English Premier League trophy, as Liverpool appear to have the hammerlock on the title.
Real Madrid usually starts to lock down on the Champions League by this round, but they won’t have Gabriel Magalhaes on the back line – and defense is one of the few areas where Real Madrid lack some depth. However, Los Blancos have so much talent up front that the team could permit a goal or two and still head back to Spain with a win.
^Barcelona (-285) vs Borussia Dortmund (+600) (Draw +440)
When: Wednesday, April 9, 3:00 pm ET
UCL Pick: Barcelona to win
Barcelona enjoyed a successful league season, finishing with a 6-1-1 record and advancing to the round of 16 after a solid tie with Benfica, winning 1-0 away and 3-1 at home. Their offense has been prolific, with goals in 44 of 46 matches, averaging over three goals per game. In the Champions League, they have scored 32 goals in ten matches, led by Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, who has nine UCL goals and 25 in La Liga. Defensively, they allowed just four goals in four home UCL games, securing two clean sheets.
Dortmund went 5-0-3 in the league phase and ended up dealing with Sporting CP in the first round. They have scored goals in all six of their away Champions League fixtures, totaling 14 goals. Serhou Guirassy has ten goals with four assists in UCL action, as well as 14 goals and an assist in Bundesliga fixtures. On defense, they have three clean sheets on the road in UCL play. While they have given up eight away goals in the competition, five of them came on an awful day at Real Madrid.
^Paris Saint-Germain (-260) vs Aston Villa (+600) (Draw +390)
When: Wednesday, April 9, 3:00 pm ET
UCL Pick: PSG to win
In the UEFA Champions League (UCL), PSG has scored in nine out of 12 matches, netting a total of 25 goals. At home, they have only been shut out once, tallying 14 goals across six games. Ousmane Dembélé has been notable, contributing seven goals and one assist in UCL, while also having 21 goals and five assists in Ligue 1. On defense, PSG has conceded just ten goals in 12 UCL matches, achieving five clean sheets. They’ve recently beaten strong teams like Liverpool and Manchester City, while Aston Villa averages 1.5 goals scored and conceded per game on the road.
Aston Villa, have found the back of the net 75 times in 46 matches across all competitions. They have scored in seven of their ten UCL fixtures, putting up 19 goals in those matches. They have scored in three of their five UCL away fixtures. Ollie Watkins has been Aston Villa’s top scorer in Premier League play with 13 goals and six assists, but he has only scored once in Champions League play. Because of Aston Villa’s struggles away from home in UCL play, it’s hard to pick them here.
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Betting UEFA Champions League Odds to Win
- Barcelona +300
- Paris Saint-Germain +330
- Real Madrid +350
- Bayern Munich +500
- Arsenal +700
- Inter Milan +1000
- Aston Villa +2800
- Borussia Dortmund +4100
Barcelona
They have scoring depth that some other teams would love to match. In addition to Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, they also have Lamine Yamal as a third option. Getting Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals gives Barcelona one of the easier quarterfinal matches. One problem that Barcelona have had in years past is some difficulty on the back line, leading to backbreaking goal concessions at just the wrong time. Now that Barcelona are playing with elite attention to defense as well, they are the favorites for a reason.
^PSG
It hasn’t been that long ago that we were wondering whether french team would even make it into the knockout round playoff, let alone the round of 16. Bringing in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia allowed the side to move Ousmane Dembélé into the middle, and that has opened him up as a scorer. While PSG had a difficult time finishing chances before that move, their offense has now become lethal.
^You can’t rule out Real Madrid until they walk off the field as losers. They have a bunch of UCL trophies in their display case, and they are the defending champions. They know how to turn their game up a gear or two as this bracket gets smaller and smaller. Furthermore, they used penalty kicks to get by Atletico Madrid in the round of 16, but it doesn’t matter how you advance, so long as you advance. They are matched up against an Arsenal team that just may blink in the bright lights of the attention that getting to the quarterfinal brings them.
^Bayern Munich
Which Munich team will show up? The ones who demolished Leverkusen? Harry Kane is definitely here to play, but like we’ve been saying all season, Vincent Kompany’s system is not easy to play in, but this team has found ways to win. Their date with Inter in the quarterfinals will force them to get goals against an elite defense, and they also will have to avoid damaging mistakes in the rear.
^Inter Milan
Inter have impressed all observers by allowing just two goals through the whole competition at this point. They didn’t have Federico Dimarco out wide against Feyenoord, but they were still able to roll over that surprising side. Bayern Munich will be tougher, but Inter have Thurman and Martinez both rolling on offense. Inter lost to Man City in the 2023 UCL final, but this version of Inter might be even better.
^Arsenal
Yes, the English team dropped nine goals on PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 as Declan Rice just took over the tie. However, they still don’t have a true striker. Meeting Real Madrid will provide a much tougher test of their offensive capabilities than seeing PSV did.
^Dortmund
Borussia has played much better in the Champions League than they have in the Bundesliga for the past two seasons. They made the UCL final last year while scuffling in the Bundesliga, and they are looking similar this year as well. Serhou Guirassy is just one goal away from tying as the highest-scoring African player in anyone Champions League season.
^Aston Villa
They got Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford in the winter transfer window, and both have contributed significantly. Unai Emery would like nothing better than to eliminate his former club, but Aston Villa will have to play solid ball at both ends of the pitch just to get through this leg without a daunting deficit.
^This week #UCL pic.twitter.com/tmbf1qIM6O
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 7, 2025
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