Several intriguing matchups have emerged from the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals draws.Pep Guardiola’s current team, Manchester City, will meet his previous club, Bayern, while Carlo Ancelotti’s former clubs, Chelsea, and Real Madrid, will square off. The semis willpit the victors of those matches against one another.
A matchup between seven-time European winners and defending Italian championsMilan,and current Serie A leaders Napoli may be found on the other side of the draw, which has a very Italian flavor. Whoever wins that matchup might potentially face Inter in the quarterfinals, should the Nerazzurri get pastBenfica.
While all three Italian clubs are on the same half of the draw, only one may represent Italy in the Champions League final in 2022-23. The Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, where Liverpool won the 2005 championship with a dramatic comeback win against Milan, will host the event on Saturday, June 10, 2023.
Supercomputer picks severalunexpected teams to go through toChampions League Semifinals
In preparation for theQuarter-Finals clashes, the much-loved supercomputer is once again here with some intriguing calculations.FiveThirtyEight‘s analysts predict that Napoli will defeat Milan in one of the four matches, giving the Partenopei a 72% probability of advancing to the semifinals (the highest of all clubs),whilethe Rossoneri only have a 28%chance to go through.
With a 63% chance of moving forward, Real Madrid arealsoconsidered a virtual guarantee to join Napoli in the following round. In contrast, Chelseahavea 37% chance of doing so. Nonetheless, the algorithm favors Manchester City over Bayern, giving them a 57% probability of winning compared to Bayern’s 43%.But, the best is saved for last: Benfica really has a tiny advantage over Inter (56% against44%).
The first legs of the Quarterfinals will take place on April 11 and 12, with the second legs set for April 18 and 19. The first legs of the Semi-Finals will then take place on May 9 and 10, with the second legs scheduled for May 16 and 17. The final showdown between the two surviving teams will take place on June 10 in Istanbul, Turkey.
FiveThirtyEight’s UCL Quarterfinals predictions. (fivethirtyeight.com)
