After a week, the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal battles return to the screens of viewers. This week, four clubs will clarify, which will come closer to the title. On Tuesday, the first two tickets to the semifinals will be distributed. Barcelona will seek to prove its advantage against Manchester United in front of its fans, while Juventus with Cristiano Ronaldo at the forefront will try to defeat the ambitious Ajax team in Turin. Both matches will start at 22:00. Here is their overview: Barcelona - Manchester United Nothing miraculous, but nothing bad - this is probably the best way to describe Barcelona's performance at Old Trafford stadium. Manchester United defenders did not have major problems in defense, but their attacking performance was very poor - the "Red Devils" did not even manage to shoot on target. Barcelona, who had taken an early lead, decided not to take risks in these matches and did not give any opportunities for the home team to score. The only and winning goal of the match came after a header from Luis Suarez, although the goal was registered as an own goal by Luke Shaw, who had nowhere to go. Over the weekend, both teams played in their domestic leagues. Barcelona had the advantage - they could rest their leaders, while Man Utd fought for important points against West Ham. The Catalans played against the league's outsider, Huesca. Ernesto Valverde allowed less active players to shine, while Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, and others could rest. Barcelona did not score any goals, but the draw against Huesca did not cause them any worry - they have a 9-point advantage over the closest opponents. Man Utd played against West Ham on Saturday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team did not shine in these matches and could even suffer a defeat, but two penalties, accurately converted by Paul Pogba, determined the victory with a score of 2:1. In these matches, unlike the match against Barcelona, United made a lot of mistakes in their defensive side. Both teams know what it means to fight for a place in the semifinals, but not as perfectly as to secure victories. Barcelona, who becomes the favorite of the tournament every year, has been struggling to reach the semifinals for the last three years - they finish their Champions League campaign at the quarterfinal stage. Last season was marked by the famous "Manolo return", and before that, they lost to clubs like Juventus and Atletico. Things are even worse for the Man Utd team, who, after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, cannot achieve anything significant in the Champions League anymore. The last time they played in the semifinals and reached the final was in 2011. At that time, the tournament final was marked by a defeat to the same Barcelona team. Reaching the semifinals this time will not be easy, although the situation is not fundamentally bad. Man Utd's team is satisfied with victories with a one-goal difference in these matches. Barcelona will have the strongest lineup in these matches. Ernesto Valverde confirmed in a press conference that Ousmane Dembele is ready to play from the first minutes. United's young squad does not have such luxury, and players like Eric Bailly, Ander Herrera, Antonio Valencia, and suspended Luke Shaw will certainly not help the team. Predicted lineups: Barcelona: (4-3-3) Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Arthur; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele. Man Utd: (4-3-3) David De Gea; Diogo Dalot, Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof, Ashley Young; Scott McTominay, Fred Paul Pogba; Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial. Juventus - Ajax Turin Juventus will not have to create another "magical" Champions League night - the first leg in Amsterdam ended in a 1:1 draw, so both teams have fairly equal chances, unlike before the return leg in the quarterfinals. Both teams were in roles of the underdogs after the first leg of the quarterfinals, but they both won the return matches with a three-goal margin. As if that were not enough, both of them eliminated Madrid teams, who had the opportunity to play the final in their city. A fierce battle took place in Amsterdam between these teams. Cristiano Ronaldo had put Juventus ahead, but Ajax found an answer to their opponents' attack early in the second half. Ajax dominated in these matches, but they could not convert their overall advantage into goals, lacking precision in the penalty area. Over the weekend, Ajax and Juventus had completely different performances in their domestic leagues - one won convincingly, while the other suffered a failure. Juventus, who are one step away from the Serie A champions title, unexpectedly lost 1:2 to the SPAL team in their away match, but this failure was not surprising - Massimiliano Allegri allowed his leaders to relax. Ajax, still fiercely fighting for the Dutch champion title, could not afford such luxury. However, the Amsterdam team, playing not at the highest gear level, managed to crush Excelsior, who fell with a score of 2:6. The fight for a place in the semifinals is well known to Juventus - last season, they fell to Real Madrid after a dramatic battle. However, in the 2016-17 season, they made it to the final, where they also lost to the same club from the Spanish capital. Playing in the semifinals is a long-forgotten experience for Ajax - the last time this team overcame the quarterfinal hurdle was in 1996, when they advanced to the final of that season and only lost on penalties to the same Juventus team. The fact that Ajax has not been in the European elite for a long time is evidenced by the fact that the last time this club was in the semifinals, three years remained until the birth of the current team captain Matthijs de Ligt. Juventus still cannot count on Martin Caceres and Mattia Perin due to injuries, and there are doubts about Emre Can and Giorgio Chiellini, who did not play in the first leg. The absence of Mario Mandzukic is considered a significant loss, and Allegri announced his injury after the last press conference. Ajax will once again have to play without Nicolo Tagliafico, who crossed the yellow card limit in the first leg. Frenkie de Jong was substituted due to injury over the weekend, but he traveled to Turin with the team and will most likely be ready to play from the first minutes. Predicted lineups: Juventus: (4-3-3) Wojciech Szczesny; Joao Cancelo, Danele Rugani, Leonardo Bonucci; Alex Sandro; Miralem Pjanic, Emre Can, Blaise Matuidi; Federico Bernardeschi, Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo. Ajax: (4-3-3) Andre Onana; Joel Veltman, Matthijs de Ligt, Daley Blind, Noussair Mazraoui; Donny van de Beek, Frenkie de Jong, Lasse Schone; Hakim Ziyech, Dusan Tadic, David Neres.
