UEFA Champions League 2024/25: Quarter-Finals Preview and Predictions

After an exciting Round of 16 in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League where we saw goals, red cards, upsets, and penalty shootout drama, the last eight teams in this year’s edition have been finalised.

This season’s quarter-final draw has some juicy encounters in store for us with a striker-less Arsenal taking on defending champions Real Madrid while Bavarian giants Bayern got the better of league rival Bayer 04 Leverkusen to set up a tie against Italian champions Inter. After shocking Liverpool at Anfield, Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain will take on Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side, and in the last tie its a complete mismatch as dominant Barcelona face a struggling Borussia Dortmund side over two legs. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the preview and predictions for all the quarter-final match-ups.

Fixtures

Arsenal vs Real Madrid

Following their 6-year absence from Europe’s top club competition, the Gunners have now reached the quarter-final stage twice in a row, however, the North London club is still a rookie when compared against a juggernaut in Real Madrid. Even with a fully fit squad, Mikel Arteta’s team would have struggled against this star-studded Real Madrid side, but with no strikers and Mikel Merino up top, where are the goals coming from? Unless Real take inspiration from PSV. 

That being said, it is not going to be as straightforward as many people expect. Despite brushing aside Manchester City in the Knockout Round, Real really struggled against Altético Madrid and on the balance of play were rather fortunate to come away as winners. Moreover, they are also involved in a three-way battle for the La Liga title, which cannot be said about Arsenal, giving Mikel Arteta the edge, in regards to him prioritising this tie over some league fixtures. 

However, having been here and done it so many times, Real don’t have any inferiority complex. Although Arsenal certainty must have taken lessons from their quarter-final exit against Bayern Munich last season, getting the better of the defending champions with a depleted squad is a very tall task. 

Prediction: Real Madrid advance, 3-1 on aggregate 

Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan

This is arguably the closest tie in this season’s quarter-final round. The pool of players available to both clubs, their contrasting footballing philosophies, and the jeopardy in place makes it one mouth-watering clash. 

Bayern are in the middle of a transitional period. Despite leading the Bundesliga title race by eight points over Bayer Leverkusen, whom they knocked out in the Round of 16, Vincent Kompany’s team has been far from their best in the Champions League. They lost against Aston Villa, Barcelona and Feyenoord as well as narrowly scraping through the Knockout Round against Celtic. 

Inter, on the other hand, have by far been the best defensive unit in this season’s Champions League. Although they’ve scored only 15 goals through their campaign, they’ve only conceded two, and have kept eight clean sheets. Looking at both teams and their tactical approaches, it’s going to be a tight contest. If it comes down to both the coaches, Simone Inzaghi should have the upper hand. 

Prediction: Inter Milan advance, 2-1 on aggregate 

Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund

This is perhaps the most one-sided tie of this round. An in-form Barcelona taking on a struggling Borussia Dortmund side. While Barcelona made light work of SL Benfica in the Round of 16, Borussia Dortmund had their work cutout against LOSC Lille, scraping past them based more on experience than performance. 

Hansi Flick’s side have scored more goals in the Champions League this season than any other club. The duo of Lamine Tamal and Raphinha are in red hot form and look unstoppable at the moment. Add to that former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski and a star-studded midfield, this is a side Dortmund will find very difficult to contain. 

Indeed, Dortmund are currently languishing in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table and have been way below their usual standards. Despite spending over a month at the helm, Nico Kova? hasn’t been able to half or reverse Dortmund’s slide. They do possess some skillful and fast attackers out wide and can look to exploit Barcelona in the wider areas, however, many have tried but very few succeeded. 

Prediction: Barcelona advance, 5-2 on aggregate 

Paris Saint-Germain vs Aston Villa

Paris Saint-Germain – since demolishing Manchester City 4-2 at the Parc des Princes in the league phase – have emerged as arguably the best team in Europe. While Aston Villa – lead by former PSG boss Unai Emery – have shown promise in Europe despite inconsistencies domestically. 

Despite struggling early on during the League Phase, Luis Enrique’s young PSG side have staked their claim as one of the favourites after making Liverpool look ordinary over two legs in the Round of 16. The likes of João Neves, Vitinha and Ousmane Dembélé have been pivotal to PSG’s up-turn in performances and will be crucial against Villa. 

That being said, Luis Enrique is a modern-day tactical genius, but he’s also like Icarus: he flies too close to the sun, gets a little too fancy and presto! – he gets dumped on his backside. That’s what Emery — who, let’s face it, is the opposite – is going to try to do, exploiting whatever flaws he spots in this team. He also won’t hesitate to try the long ball time and again to break the press if he has to, or even get a little ugly if it means winning. 

The game at Villa Park will be tight, although it could be all over after the first leg in Paris.

Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain advance, 4-1 on aggregate