UEFA Champions League Predictions: Matchday 4/7

It will be all-action as Sporting take on Arsenal and Real Madrid collide with Bayern.

A big night awaits in Europe’s top club competition. | Kristian Skeie/UEFA/Getty Images, Visionahaus/IMAGO, Getty Images

For what the Champions League round of 16 lacked in competitiveness, it more than made up for in goals.

Defenses were breached a whopping 68 times across 16 games, an average of 4.25 goals scored in each, and those who advanced into the quarterfinals did so in style—for the most part anyway. Now, eight are vying for the most esteemed trophy in European soccer, with those left comprising of established giants, ascending powerhouses and relative novices.

Thus, the next two weeks will inevitably intrigue, and the action gets underway on Tuesday evening. Here’s how Sports Illustrated predicts the opening pair of quarterfinal first legs will play out.

Jump to:

1. Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich
2. Sporting CP vs. Arsenal
3. Matchday 4/7 Predictions

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Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich

Real Madrid have dominated this fixture over the past 15 years. | Visionhaus/Kristian Skeie/UEFA/Getty Images

• Kick-off time: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT

No two teams have met more frequently in the Champions League than Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, who’ll face off for the 29th time on Tuesday.

The most decorated clubs in Spanish and German soccer have combined for 21 European crowns, and Bayern certainly would’ve had a few more in their cabinet hadn’t they been forced to encounter Los Blancos so frequently over the past decade or so.

Madrid have won each of the four previous knockout ties against the Bavarian behemoths, and are unbeaten in nine outings.

Their knack for turning it on in this competition manifested again in the previous round, easing past the favored Manchester City, but Madrid may have to go up a notch to overcome this iteration of Bayern. Vincent Kompany’s Bundesliga leaders scored their 100th league goal of the season at the weekend, and have tasted defeat just once in this competition.

Tuesday’s visitors put 10 past Atalanta over two legs in the Round of16, and will be confident of securing their first win at the Santiago Bernabéu since 2001.

Prediction: Real Madrid 2–1 Bayern Munich

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Sporting CP vs. Arsenal

Arsenal got the upper hand in this fixture last season—handsomely too. | Kristian Skeie/UEFA/Getty Images, Visionhaus/IMAGO

Kick-off time: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT

This encounter certainly lacks the blockbuster feel of its partner on Tuesday evening, with the neutral likely to be far more intrigued by the events in the Spanish capital compared to Lisbon.

It seemed as if Arsenal would be travelling to the Arctic Circle this week after Bodø/Glimt thumped Sporting CP 3–0 in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie. However, the Portuguese side embarked on a rare comeback in the return leg on home soil, matching Bodø’s beatdown in 90 minutes before scoring twice in extra time to send them through.

They’re competing in the quarterfinals of this competition for the first time since its 1992 rebrand, while Arsenal have reached this stage in three successive seasons.

The Gunners seemingly have a rather serene path to the last four, but enter this fixture off the back of consecutive defeats in domestic cup competitions. Thus, they’re no longer vying for an unprecedented quadruple down the stretch, rather a Premier League and Champions League double.

Prediction: Sporting CP 1–1 Arsenal

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Matchday 4/7 Predictions

Kick-Off Time	Fixture	Prediction
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET	Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich	2–1
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET	Sporting CP vs. Arsenal	1–1

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