After a 4-12 start to the prediction season in the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup, we have turned things around pretty well here at WCR Soothsayer Central. We were 6-2 in the round of sixteen in both the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. That leaves us 6-2 in the Champions League, 10-14 in the UEFA Cup and 16-16 overall. Not very good, but again, we’ve hit 12 of our last 16, so grab some butter because we’re on a roll.
This week, we’ll have predictions for the quarterfinals of both the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Up first – Champions League. Like we did the last time, we’ll go down in the order of your confidence on the result, based on your voting on the left hand column of the blog. As always, the WCR Top 25 Rankings are brought to you courtesy of, well, me.
Arsenal (73%) vs. Villarreal
You guys are pretty sure about all of the Champions League quarterfinal matchups. You’re most confident about Arsenal taking out Villarreal. I have to say that I don’t think Arsenal is as good as it has been in recent years, but I still think it will be good enough to take out the Yellow Submarine. Villarreal is, at the moment, sitting in fourth place of the Primera Division. Although Arsenal is only in fourth place in the English Premiership, it has been playing very well recently and appears to have put Aston Villa behind it for the final English Champions League spot. I think Arsenal will be the worst of the semifinalists, but I think it is the best of this particular matchup. Prediction: (7) Arsenal over (19) Villarreal.
Barcelona (72%) vs. Bayern Munich
If this matchup had taken place in December, I would have called it a no-brainer. About a month ago, I’d have had second thoughts, as Barcelona was busy letting Real Madrid back in the Primera Division race and Bayern was destroying Sporting CP by historic margins. At this point in time, Barcelona still isn’t playing at the same level that it was playing in the early part of the season, but Bayern has dropped to fourth in the Bundesliga and is coming off of a 1-5 loss at the hands of Bundesliga-leading Wolfsburg. Either way, you have to think that this star-studded matchup will be fun with Henry, Toni, Messi, Ribery, Eto, Klose, et al. I think it could be close, but I definitely favor Barcelona. Prediction: (2) Barcelona over (10) Bayern Munich.
Manchester United (70%) vs Porto
I’m a little surprised by the voting on this one, but surprised in a pleasant way. I expected people to disrespect Porto and assume that Manchester United would roll through this matchup with ease. While I believe that Manchester United is the best club in the world this season, the times that I have seen Porto this season lead me to believe that it won’t be a completely one-sided matchup and that Porto won’t just roll over. That being said, I think the talent level for the English club is just going to be too great for Porto to overcome. Prediction: (1) Manchester United over (4) Porto.
Liverpool (65%) vs. Chelsea
This is the matchup that was closest in the poll that I took, and even it wasn’t that close, with Liverpool garnering nearly a 2-to-1 advantage. This has been an interesting season. In the first half, I think it is safe to say that Barcelona was the hottest club in the world. More recently, I believe that it is safe to say that the title has been passed to Liverpool, with recent blowout defeats of Real Madrid and Manchester United. On the other hand, Manchester United and Chelsea have been the more consistent clubs. The one big difference, however, is that while Chelsea can be relied upon to beat the clubs that it should beat, it has all kinds of trouble against talented clubs. Liverpool is a very talented club. I think if this is played in January, Chelsea wins. It’s being played in April, though. Prediction: (3) Liverpool over (5) Chelsea.
This week, we’ll have predictions for the quarterfinals of both the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Up first – Champions League. Like we did the last time, we’ll go down in the order of your confidence on the result, based on your voting on the left hand column of the blog. As always, the WCR Top 25 Rankings are brought to you courtesy of, well, me.
Arsenal (73%) vs. Villarreal
You guys are pretty sure about all of the Champions League quarterfinal matchups. You’re most confident about Arsenal taking out Villarreal. I have to say that I don’t think Arsenal is as good as it has been in recent years, but I still think it will be good enough to take out the Yellow Submarine. Villarreal is, at the moment, sitting in fourth place of the Primera Division. Although Arsenal is only in fourth place in the English Premiership, it has been playing very well recently and appears to have put Aston Villa behind it for the final English Champions League spot. I think Arsenal will be the worst of the semifinalists, but I think it is the best of this particular matchup. Prediction: (7) Arsenal over (19) Villarreal.
Barcelona (72%) vs. Bayern Munich
If this matchup had taken place in December, I would have called it a no-brainer. About a month ago, I’d have had second thoughts, as Barcelona was busy letting Real Madrid back in the Primera Division race and Bayern was destroying Sporting CP by historic margins. At this point in time, Barcelona still isn’t playing at the same level that it was playing in the early part of the season, but Bayern has dropped to fourth in the Bundesliga and is coming off of a 1-5 loss at the hands of Bundesliga-leading Wolfsburg. Either way, you have to think that this star-studded matchup will be fun with Henry, Toni, Messi, Ribery, Eto, Klose, et al. I think it could be close, but I definitely favor Barcelona. Prediction: (2) Barcelona over (10) Bayern Munich.
Manchester United (70%) vs Porto
I’m a little surprised by the voting on this one, but surprised in a pleasant way. I expected people to disrespect Porto and assume that Manchester United would roll through this matchup with ease. While I believe that Manchester United is the best club in the world this season, the times that I have seen Porto this season lead me to believe that it won’t be a completely one-sided matchup and that Porto won’t just roll over. That being said, I think the talent level for the English club is just going to be too great for Porto to overcome. Prediction: (1) Manchester United over (4) Porto.
Liverpool (65%) vs. Chelsea
This is the matchup that was closest in the poll that I took, and even it wasn’t that close, with Liverpool garnering nearly a 2-to-1 advantage. This has been an interesting season. In the first half, I think it is safe to say that Barcelona was the hottest club in the world. More recently, I believe that it is safe to say that the title has been passed to Liverpool, with recent blowout defeats of Real Madrid and Manchester United. On the other hand, Manchester United and Chelsea have been the more consistent clubs. The one big difference, however, is that while Chelsea can be relied upon to beat the clubs that it should beat, it has all kinds of trouble against talented clubs. Liverpool is a very talented club. I think if this is played in January, Chelsea wins. It’s being played in April, though. Prediction: (3) Liverpool over (5) Chelsea.
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