"The big football returns to the blue screens. On Tuesday evening, the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals kick off, promising exceptional matches. The first four clubs to enter the battle - in Italy, Turin's "Juventus" will clash with "Barcelona", while in Germany, Dortmund's "Borussia" will host the relentlessly playing "Monaco" team. "Juventus" - "Barcelona" Undoubtedly, this is perhaps the most attention-grabbing quarter-final pair of the Champions League. The last time these teams met in this tournament was in 2015, when the Catalan team defeated the "Old Lady" with a score of 3-1 in the final. "Bianconeri" seek revenge, but "Barca", who created a miracle in the round of sixteen, is not prepared to give up a spot in the semifinals easily. "Juventus" started their journey in this Champions League season from Group H. In the group, they had to compete against "Lyon," "Sevilla," and Zagreb's "Dinamo" teams to advance to the next stage. "Juventus," with four wins and two draws, remained at the top of the group with 14 points. In the next stage - the round of sixteen - "Juventus" faced the challenge of "Porto." Massimiliano Allegri's team confidently dealt with the Portuguese and advanced with an overall score of 3-0. On the other hand, "Barcelona" started their journey from Group C, where they also faced "Manchester City," Glasgow's "Celtic," and Mönchengladbach's "Borussia." Luis Enrique's team had no major difficulties in this group and secured the top spot with five wins and one draw. In the round of sixteen, "Barça" faced Paris Saint-Germain. Football fans will long remember this match - the Catalans created a real miracle. In the first match, the French sent the Catalans into a tailspin in front of their own fans with a stunning 4-0 victory. It seemed that L. Enrique's team's journey in the round of sixteen would end, but in the return leg, "Barca" achieved a sensational victory - scoring three goals in the final minutes and leaving PSG behind with a final score of 6-1. In their domestic leagues, the clubs are experiencing different fortunes. "Juventus" comfortably leads the Italian championship with 77 points, while "Barcelona" occupies second place in Spain, with a 3-point gap from Real Madrid. The last match for the Catalans should not be encouraging either - a 0-2 loss to "Malaga." "Juventus" does not have major losses before these matches - only the Croatian Marko Pjaca is unavailable due to injury. On the other hand, "Barcelona" has some painful absences - due to suspension, Sergio Busquets will not play in Turin, and injuries will keep Arda Turan, Rafinha, and Aleix Vidal on the sidelines. Predicted starting line-ups: "Juventus": Buffon; Dani Alves, Bonucci, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Pjanić, Khedira; Cuadrado, Dybala, Mandžukić; Higuaín. "Barcelona": Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Jordi Alba; Rakitić, Mascherano, Iniesta; Messi, Luis Suárez, Neymar. Dortmund's "Borussia" - "Monaco" This may not be the most famous match between world clubs, but what attracts the eye of football fans is the talent. Undoubtedly, these two teams can be considered the most talented teams in this tournament. Just mentioning a few names: Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Christian Pulisic, Benjamin Mendy, Bernardo Silva, Julian Weigl, and others. Dortmund's "Borussia" started their Champions League journey from Group F, where they competed with Real Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, and Warsaw's Legia. The "Yellow-Blacks" surprised everyone in the first stage by defeating the defending champions and securing the top spot with four wins and two draws. In the round of sixteen, "Borussia" faced a fairly favorable opponent - Lisbon's "Benfica." Thomas Tuchel's team unexpectedly lost the first match in Portugal 0-1, but retaliated in front of their own fans with a score of 4-0. Monaco started their Champions League journey from Group E. In the group, the French had to compete with Leverkusen's "Bayer," London's "Tottenham," and Moscow's CSKA. In this group, the Monaco team had no easy matches, but three wins and two draws guaranteed them the top spot and a place in the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, Monaco faced Pep Guardiola's "Manchester City" team. This round of sixteen match was at least as impressive as the one between PSG and Barca. The first match in Manchester ended with a goal-filled victory for the hosts with a score of 5-3, but everyone knew that nothing was decided yet. Monaco managed to turn the tables at home and secured a 3-1 victory, opening the doors to the quarter-finals. In the German league, Dortmund is no longer fighting for the title this season - their goal is to secure at least third place. After losing to Munich's Bayern 4-1 over the weekend, "Yellow-Blacks" increased their gap from the leaders to 18 points. Meanwhile, Monaco is seriously aiming for the "Ligue 1" title this season - with 74 points, they are in the first position and have a 3-point advantage over PSG. Both teams will be missing key players at least in the first match. BVB will be without Mario Gotze, Andre Schurrle, and Erik Durm, and there are doubts about Marco Reus' participation. Monaco also arrived in Germany with an incomplete squad - due to disqualification, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Djibril Sidibe will not play due to appendicitis surgery, and due to injuries, Gabriel Boschill and Guido Carrillo will also be absent. Predicted starting line-ups: "Borussia": Burki; Piszczek, Papastathopoulos, Bartra, Schmelzer; Weigl; Dembélé, Kagawa, Pulisic, Guerreiro; Aubameyang. "Monaco": Subasic; Fabinho, Raggi, Glik, Mendy; Moutinho, Bernardo Silva, Lemar; Mbappé, Falcao, Germain.
