ucl 2022-23 predicted winner quarter finalists footbalyticsucl 2022-23 predicted winner quarter finalists footbalytics

Real Madrid and Manchester City, the top contenders as we look at the predicted quarter-finalists winner from the round of 16 of UCL 2022-23.

The Champions League round of 16 draws have been announced, and we cannot control our excitement. We have very exciting mouthwatering fixtures coming up after the biggest carnival of world football ‘The FIFA World Cup’. 

Right after the draws were announced, fans of different clubs all over the world started speculating about the results and chances of their team qualifying in the quarterfinals. So let’s analyze the matches, and look at the predicted 8 quarter-finalists winner of UCL 2022-23. 

Round of 16 – Predicted Winners

#1: AC Milan vs Spurs

AC Milan, the current Serie A champions are looking to bring back the glory days of the 2000s when they were the team to beat. They have been part of so many famous European nights. Will they come better off Antonio Conte’s Spurs? It depends on the likes of Oliver Giroud, Rafael Leão, and Brahim Diaz.

Tottenham Hotspurs are almost regular in the Champions League knockout stage in the last decade or so. Most of their players have experience on the big stage having played finals in 2019 where they lost 2-0 to their English counterpart, Liverpool. The competition would be neck-and-neck, but Spurs may just snatch the win from AC Milan. 

Predicted Winner: Tottenham Hotspur 

#2: PSG vs Bayern Munich

This is one of the most exciting ties of the round of 16 after Real Madrid vs Liverpool.
Will PSG pay the price of finishing 2nd in their group? Well, PSG and Bayern Munich are evenly matched in terms of attacking options. PSG have a trio of Mbappe, Messi, and Neymar in their ranks. Whereas Bayern have Mane, Gnabry, Muller, and Sane to match up.

But if the overall balance of the team and past knockout performances are taken into consideration, Bayern Munich have a slight upper hand. So, in the Bayern Munich vs PSG clash, we expect Bayern Munich to move to the next round of this fixture.

Predicted Winner: Bayern Munich 

#3: Club Brugge vs Benfica

Benfica are currently playing some top-class football which is truly reflected by their top-of-the-table standing in Liga Portugal. They are currently unbeaten in this year’s Champions League with 4 wins and 2 draws with a scoreline of 1-1 against PSG. They outclassed Juventus in both away and home fixtures.

Whereas Club Brugge rose to the occasion in Champions League this year with some heroics from their Keeper Simon Mignolet. He has kept 5 clean sheets in 6 CL matches so far. Still, if Benfica plays at top of their game then it will be difficult for Club Brugge to edge past them.

Predicted Winner: Benfica 

#4: Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea

Chelsea have been hot and cold this season. They changed the management after just a few games into the season and Graham Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel as a coach. It’s too early to say whether the team has improved significantly under the new coach or not. A lot will depend on the January transfer window which will be the first of the new Chelsea coach.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund came out of a somewhat difficult group where they finished 2nd by outshining Sevilla. They are peaking at the right time after a shaky start to the season. Their best player so far this season is the young exciting star in the making, Jude Bellingham.

Based on the current it will be a close call between these two teams. But our prediction is Chelsea to go through the quarter-finals. We hope Chelsea will be better off under Grahan Potter in a couple of months’ time, and that changes their winning prediction. 

Predicted Winner: Chelsea 

#5: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli

Napoli are in red-hot form and at the top of the Serie A table with 11 wins and 2 draws. They topped their Champions League group with 5 wins. Their solitary loss across all competitions this season came against Liverpool on matchday 6 of CL.

The good thing about this Napoli team is that they do not depend on one or two individuals. They have a number of players in the likes of Giacomo Raspadori, Giovanni Simeone, Piotr Zielinski, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia stepping up on different occasions.

Group D has seen all the theatrical drama on the last group-stage matchday where group standings were not clear till the last minutes. Eintracht Frankfurt secured their last 16 berths by winning their last group-stage match against Sporting CP. It was a closely fought match with a score-line 1-2.

Predicted Winner: Napoli 

#6: Liverpool vs Real Madrid

Undoubtedly a Blockbuster clash with the two top European teams with rich Champions League history taking on each other. The recent history between the two teams makes this fixture more interesting. Last time finalists will see each other in the round of 16 this time all because Liverpool finished second in their respective group.

Based on recent form, Real Madrid look marginally ahead. They are placed 2nd in La Liga and finished their Champions League group stage on high with a 5-1 victory over Celtic. But it will be foolish to write off Liverpool. Most of their injured stars like Jota, Diaz, and Matip are expected to be back by the time fixtures will be played.

The fixture will be played in two legs making it more evenly poised. If we have to bet on this fixture then we better put our money in our pocket only. So Los Blancos or Reds? Well, right now our vote goes to Real Madrid, the current champions.

Predicted Winners: Real Madrid  

#7: RB Leipzig vs Manchester City

RB Leipzig turned the tides after losing the first two encounters of the group stage against Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid respectively. They finished the group stage at 12 points with 4 straight wins, including the 3-2 win against group toppers and current champions Real Madrid.

Though RB Leipzig have finished the group stage on the high, the current Manchester City team looks like too much to handle for them. Manchester City are unbeaten in the group stage with 4 wins and 2 draws. RB Leipzig stars Andre Sliva, Christopher Nkunku, and Mohamed Simaken. All will have to put their best foot forward if they want to stand a chance against the star-studded Manchester City side.

Predicted Winners: Manchester City 

#8: Inter Milan vs Porto

Inter Milan came into the round of 16 through the group of death where they were placed with heavyweights Bayern Munich and Barcelona. Sadly for Barcelona fans, they were not up to the mark in Champions League this season and finished 3rd in the group.

Right now both Porto and Inter Milan fans will be happy with their round of 16 ties. As Porto avoided big European teams like Liverpool and PSG, whereas Inter Milan avoided giants Real Madrid and Manchester City. We expect Inter Milan to move to the next round from this fixture.  

Predicted Winner: Inter Milan 

Thanks for reading! Which are your predicted 8 quarter-finalists winner of UCL 2022-23? Please email your thoughts to footbalyticsofficial@gmail.com


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By Akshay

Akshay is an author at Footbalytics. His love for football started way back in 1998 when Ronaldo (Not Cristiano) was his first football hero, and the list keeps getting longer ever since. Though Akshay is a Teacher by profession, he firmly believes that there is no better classroom than the Sports field and no better Teacher than Sports.