Madrid, Spain

The Champions League quarterfinal ties are all set for a grand kickoff as eight teams start their journey to conquer European football’s biggest prize on Tuesday (April 9). The first leg ties will see now traditional rivals Real Madrid host Manchester City while Bayern Munich face Harry Kane’s former North London rivals Arsenal in mouth-watering games on Tuesday. Both ties will have a huge bearing on who will make it to the Wembley Stadium for the final in May.

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Real Madrid host Manchester City

For the third consecutive season, Real Madrid and Manchester City will lock horns in the knockout stage, with both clubs winning one tie each in the last two seasons. Having met in the semifinal stage in the last two seasons, this year they meet at the quarterfinal stage. Both teams are still doing good in the domestic league with City standing an opportunity to win back-to-back trebles. Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in their last 12 away matches in the Champions League while Real are unbeaten in their last 25 matches at home in all competitions.

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The eyes will be cast on big-name players on the night, particularly on the English pair of Jude Bellingham who is having a season of his life with Real. On the other hand, Phil Foden is also in red-hot form having scored a hat-trick against Aston Villa last midweek. He will have fresh legs considering he was rested for the side’s 4-2 away win over Crystal Palace.

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Bayern travel to Arsenal

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In what will be Arsenal’s first quarterfinal appearance in the Champions League since 2010, Arsenal will face Bayern Munich and Harry Kane. The Bundesliga side’s only chance of winning silverware comes in the Champions League as they have already surrendered the domestic title to Bayer Leverkusen. Harry Kane will be visiting a well-known territory having played for Tottenham Hotspur in the past. Bayern have won all their last three meetings against Arsenal with a score line of 5-1 and will look to repeat the same.

Arsenal though are in great form and are top of the Premier League with 71 points, they will look to erase the poor memories of their last few matches against the Bavarian giants.

Out Prediction:

Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City

Arsenal 1-2 Bayern Munich