- Champions League quarterfinals begin this week across Europe
- CBS experts have predicted what the rest of the knockout phase will look like.
- DailyMail.com provides the latest international sports news.
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CBS Sports’ Champions League panel has predicted how this season’s competition will play out by selecting its groups for the remaining seven qualifiers.
The quarterfinals of European soccer’s elite club tournament are underway, with Arsenal hosting Bayern Munich and Manchester City visiting Real Madrid in the first two first legs on Tuesday.
Atlético Madrid will then face Borussia Dortmund, while Barcelona visit Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, before all eight teams play their return matches next week.
It promises to be a gripping end to the Champions League campaign, and before the quarter-finals began, the CBS team tried their hand at predicting how it will play out.
Former City defender Micah Richards was the first to take the lead, and it was no surprise that he picked his former club to defeat Real and Arsenal before conquering Europe for the second consecutive season.
CBS’ Champions League panel has predicted how this season’s competition will play out
The first two first legs of the tournament’s quarterfinals began Tuesday night.
Micah Richards, of course, is backing former club Manchester City to go all the way again.
Jamie Carragher hopes City can repeat last season’s feat after defeating PSG in the final
Along the way, however, Richards tipped Atlético to beat Dortmund and Barcelona on their way to their first final in eight years.
CBS presenter Kate Abdo opted for much the same, only to choose Barcelona as a finalist alongside eventual winner City.
Jamie Carragher also backed Pep Guardiola’s side to win again, but the Liverpool legend produced one of the surprise quarter-final picks after picking Bayern as winners against Arsenal.
Despite their miserable Bundesliga campaign, Carragher believes the German team’s “experience” will be too much for Mikel Arteta and co.
They concluded their group by picking PSG to beat Barça in the semi-finals and then suffer a defeat against City at Wembley Stadium.
Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel fears for England’s remaining teams in the Champions League after backing Bayern and Real to reach the quarter-finals.
After semi-final victories for Carlo Ancelotti’s men and their Clasico rival Barça, Schmeichel hopes Madrid will claim their 15th European crown.
Finally, it was up to Arsenal great Thierry Henry to give his opinion on the commercial aspect of this season’s Champions League.
Thierry Henry wasted no time and chose his beloved Arsenal as this season’s winner.
However, unlike his colleagues, he wasted no time in selecting his champion from the start.
“I only care about Arsenal because it’s in there,” he said. “So I’m going straight to the champions…Arsenal.”
Arsenal reached their first and only Champions League final with Henry in their ranks, when they suffered an agonizing extra-time defeat against Barcelona in 2006.
Along with Dortmund, PSG and Atlético, they have not yet managed to win the big-eared trophy.
