Michael Owen’s Champions League Predictions

This should be a good tie for Liverpool. Benfica are a decent side, and that was a brilliant result for them in the last round, knocking out Ajax. They’ve got experience at the back in Vertonghen and Otamendi and striker Darwin Nunez looks a threat. This should be routine for Liverpool though, they’ve had a lot of joy in Portugal in the last couple of years and beat Porto 5-1 earlier this season.  I don’t think it will be quite that much, I’m going for a 3-1 win!

I’m looking forward to this one, talk about a clash of styles! City are obviously desperate to win this competition and all things considered, this should be a decent draw for them. We all know what we’ll see from Atletico, and they’ll try and stay in this game for as long as possible. I don’t think we’ll see a classic at the Etihad that’s for sure, but City should have too much for them. I’m going for 2-0.

Another interesting tie, particularly with these two having met in last year’s semi-final. Chelsea won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in that tie, but it could have been four or five. Real looked slow and leggy in that tie, and I don’t see huge improvement in them. Benzema and Vinicius have been brilliant this season and they will be a threat. I’m going for Chelsea though. 3-1.

Villarreal have done brilliantly to make it this far. They completely deserved the win over Juventus in the last round. Emery is renowned for his nous in European competitions, and I would never write his side off.  Bayern struggled away from home in the last round against Salzburg, and I can see another draw here. I’m going for 1-1.