A supercomputer has given it’s predictions as to who will win the 2023-24 Champions League, with one club who have endured a rollercoaster season, being tipped to make the final.
Manchester City and Arsenal are the only English clubs left in the tournament, with Newcastle and Manchester United both crashing out at the group stages.
Pep Guardiola’s side welcome Real Madrid to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night after securing a 3-3 draw against the LaLiga giants at the Bernabeu last week.
Arsenal, meanwhile, face the less-than-desirable task of defeating Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena to progress to the semi-finals after Leandro Trossard’s second-half goal secured a 2-2 draw at the Emirates last week.
Opta have now unveiled both sides’ chances of reaching the semi-finals of the European tournament, with the stats agency’s supercomputer tipping Mikel Arteta’s side to fall short against Bayern away from home.
Real Madrid travel to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City in their quarter-final tie
Arsenal and Bayern Munich played out a thrilling 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium last week
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The statistics agency believe Arsenal have a 48 per cent chance of reaching the semi-final, meaning their German opponents are being given a 52 per cent advantage.
But despite being second favourites to win on Wednesday night, Opta claims that Arsenal interestingly have a greater chance of winning the tournament with a probability of 8.3 per cent, compared to Munich’s 7.7 per cent – that’s only if they progress.
Bayern are also in the midst of an injury crisis after Kingsley Coman sustained an adductor muscle issue during Saturday’s 2-0 win against Cologne. In a statement, Bayern revealed that the France international will miss Wednesday’s fixture and will be out of action for several weeks.
‘The injury of Kingsley is extremely bitter with him starting a game today after a very long time,’ Tuchel said. ‘It looked extremely painful on TV and it certainly won’t be enough for Wednesday.
‘In a quarter-final you want to have the choice options. Maybe you need to play 120 minutes. It’s a big blow for us.’
Pep Guardiola’s side are the favourtes to regain their Champions League crown this season
Meanwhile, back in England, City and Madrid will clash in a blockbuster showdown at the Etihad Stadium, with Guardiola’s side being backed to repeat their feats of last season. They have been given a 64.9 per cent chance of besting Real Madrid, having won their last three home games against Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Phil Foden was the star of the show during their previous meeting, with the Man City forward scoring an outstanding long-range effort to help his side pull level with Madrid 2-2, before Josko Gvardiol and Federico Valverde would both scored to make it 3-3.
City are also being backed to repeat their feats of last season and reach the Champions League final this year, but according to Opta, they will likely come up against a surprising opponent in the showpiece event.
Barcelona have endured a rollercoaster of a season. They are currently second in LaLiga, eight points off their rivals Madrid, and by their standards have endured a difficult year, crashing out of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals to Athletic Bilbao, where they suffered a 4-2 defeat. They were also beaten 4-1 by Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup while sustaining large defeats in the league to Girona and Villarreal.
That left many questioning the work of their manager Xavi this season, who announced he would be stepping down as the club’s manager in January.
Barcelona are being backed to reach the final of the Champions League this season by Opta
It comes amid a rollercoaster of a season that saw Xavi announce he’d be leaving the club
Even in light of that, he’s worked wonders in Europe this season, and some have argued that Barcelona have become a different side ever since the former Spain international made the announcement. Amid their mixed form this season, they are surprisingly being backed to reach the final this season, having beaten PSG in their first quarter-final tie 3-2.
Opta believe the Blaugrana will come up against Guardiola’s side in the showpiece, and while Barcelona have an 18.4 per cent chance of winning the coveted title, the stats agency believe Man City have a 31.1 per cent of retaining their title.
Prior to their first leg against PSG, Barcelona were given a 43 per cent chance of making the semi-finals.
They last lifted the title in 2015, which ironically was Xavi’s final game for the club as a player.
But what about their rivals, Real Madrid? Well, the 2022 champions, should they go through, have a 23.4 per cent chance of winning the title.