Champions League: Key battles in all four quarter-finals

Alex Keble
02 April 2018

Liverpool v Man City should be a frantic high-scoring game.

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Alex Keble returns for his Champions League tactical analysis, picking out key battles ahead of the quarter-final first legs...

"The main reason this will lead to a frantic high-scoring contest – rather than a claustrophobic game between two teams squeezing the space – is because Liverpool like to pierce the middle with pace while Man City do the opposite, gradually working towards goal via the left flank."

Sevilla v Bayern Munich (Tue, 19:45)

Rampant Bayern's high press to pick off Banega & Nzonzi

Bayern Munich's stunning 6-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the weekend was a warning shot for Sevilla; Jupp Heynckes is playing very aggressive attacking football that should hurt Sevilla in precisely the way Manchester United weren't able to. Bayern's high pressing, and swarming of bodies in the final third, will likely catch Ever Banega and Steven NZonzi on the ball, leading to several counter-counter goals in this Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Bayern fielded five out-and-out attackers against Dortmund, perhaps in reaction to their timid 2-1 defeat at RB Leipzig the week before when Heynckes was too cautious in his tactical approach. Having watched Sevilla struggle against confrontational opponents this season (and having watched United get knocked out by being too respectful) it is highly likely Bayern will look to pummel Vincenzo Montella's side as they did Dortmund.

Mahmoud Dahoud and Gonzalo Castro were woeful on Saturday, persistently caught in possession and passing the ball straight to a Bayern player when under pressure. Banega is an elegant player who could weave away from the high press, but with Nzonzi alongside him it is more likely the Sevilla central midfielders will be panicked and overwhelmed. Sevilla have a history of softness in the centre.

Juventus v Real Madrid (Tue, 19:45)

Bale & Ronaldo to target Juventus's weak right side

Mattia de Sciglio, Andrea Barzagli, and Stephan Lichsteiner have all looked relatively poor at right-back for Juventus in 2018, in particular struggling over the two legs against Tottenham Hotspur. Lichsteiner was caught out of position to allow Harry Kane to round the goalkeeper and score for Spurs in Turin, while Heung-Min Son was dominant in the return leg. He had six shots from the left of the penalty area, one of which gave Spurs the lead.

This should mean Zinedine Zidane targets that side of the pitch, using Gareth Bale on the left of a 4-4-2 to hurt the hosts on the counter-attack. Bale scored twice at Las Palmas on Saturday having scored from the bench the weekend before; he should get a start, which means trouble for whichever Juventus play starts at right-back.

Spurs were allowed to dominate possession in both legs, which limited space in the final third, although they were most dangerous when a Juventus counter-attack suddenly broke down. A similar pattern is likely to emerge on Tuesday, with Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo (who naturally peels left) hitting the Italian champions on the counter-counter.

Liverpool v Manchester City (Wed, 19:45)

Opposite attacking approaches to give us an end-to-end classic

There is little point picking out an individual key battle for this one. It'll be absolute chaos at Anfield, as it was between these two sides in Liverpool's 4-3 victory over Manchester City in the Premier League back in January.

Both teams have shaky back fours that push high up the pitch and are prone to errors, and in both cases their defence will be outnumbered by the attackers pouring forward. But the main reason this will lead to a frantic high-scoring contest - rather than a claustrophobic game between two teams squeezing the space - is because Liverpool like to pierce the middle with pace while Man City do the opposite, gradually working towards goal via the left flank.

Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah will stay very narrow to get inside the opposition full-backs, hoping to punish City's natural width. Conversely the visitors will use Liverpool's narrow front three to expose gaps left on the flanks. Leroy Sane will hug the left touchline, widening the pitch and probing the huge spaces on that side. Both Liverpool and City are gung-ho attacking teams; the fact they attack (and defend) such different areas of the pitch means a goal fest is definitely on the cards.

Barcelona v Roma (Wed, 19:45)

Barcelona's narrow square to overwhelm Roma midfield

Barcelona might not be the most convincing team in the Champions League, but their narrow midfield formation is very effective at minimising space through the centre of the park - and creating room for Lionel Messi to do the rest. Andres Iniesta will come inside from the right to help control the middle, which should overwhelm a Roma side that are often flaky in the sort of areas Messi best operates.

Roma don't concede very often (24 in 30 Serie A matches) but each of their last three goals conceded came directly through the middle as Radja Nainggolan and Kevin Strootman struggled to maintain a close distance to the back four. Bologna scored from the edge of the area with nobody marking Erick Pulger, and in a 2-0 defeat to AC Milan the visitors twice netted thanks to playmakers being left totally unmarked in the number ten zone.

Roma simply aren't consistent enough in central midfield, then, to track Messi as he walks into pockets of space. With Luis Saurez and Ousmane Dembele pulling Roma wider than they'd like, the Argentine should easily dispatch of Eusebio Di Francesco's side.