The English Premier League have all their four representatives in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2009, and the quartet of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will fancy their chances of going all the way to the final.
Of the four sides, the Red Devils impressed the most in the round-of-16, overturning a 2-0 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain to book a place in the last-8 after securing a 3-1 win in France.
Liverpool and Bayern Munich played a goalless draw during the first-leg at Anfield, but the Reds showed what they are capable of doing on their day, putting the German giants to the sword at the Allianz Arena with a 3-1 win.
City and Spurs won both legs against Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund respectively, winning 10-2 (3-2 and 7-0) and 4-0 (3-0 and 1-0) on aggregate, but Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer believes all four EPL sides will be hoping they avoid Barcelona and Juventus during Friday’s draw.
“Any one of the four English clubs can go on to win it as we know on their day, they are capable,” the legendary striker told Coral.
“Barcelona and Juventus are obviously huge threats as they have Messi and Ronaldo in their teams. It’s such an open competition this year and it is brilliant to watch.
“All four teams will be hoping they avoid Barcelona and Juventus. If they could choose their opponents it would be either Ajax or Porto. There is every chance two of the English teams will draw each other which will make for a tasty contest.”
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo inspired their sides to victories against Lyon and Atletico Madrid respectively, and both will be looking to prove themselves again on the big stage.
The Argentine grabbed two goals and two assists as Barcelona thrashed the French side 5-1 in the second-leg following a goalless first-leg, while the Portuguese scored a hat-trick as the Old Lady overturned a 2-0 first-leg loss at the hands of the La Liga giants to book a spot in the quarterfinals.
While the two sides are a threat to anyone due to the presence of Messi and Ronaldo, Liverpool, City, United and Spurs will relish their chances of facing them, although they will prefer to draw Ajax or Porto on Friday.
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