Real Madrid look to have gained most from Champions League draw

Real Madrid are arguably the biggest winners of the Champions League quarter-final draw, even if Bayern Munich will be regarded as having been handed the easiest route to the semi finals.

Bayern are the only team to have shortened in price in the Champions League betting (2/1 to 15/8) after being pulled out against Manchester United and there will be some who believe the defending champions can better their own aggregate win record of 12-1 that they secured against Sporting Lisbon in the 2008/09 campaign.

Man Utd have drifted from 18/1 to 25/1 as a result and how the Red Devils compete in their weak midfield may have the biggest bearing on their chances of progression.

Revenge is on the cards for Real Madrid as they face the Borussia Dortmund side that eliminated them in the semi finals last season.

The home results will largely determine the outcome of this one, as in eight previous meetings, neither team has lost to the other on their own patch.

However, Real have to be favoured for the simple logic that they are the highest scorers of the eight sides left in the competition and face the team to have conceded the most goals.

Also good news for Real Madrid is that their fellow Spanish sides Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have been drawn in opposition in the last-eight, which could have a bearing on the domestic three-way tussle to win La Liga.

One thing that must be guaranteed from this all-Spanish tie is that goals will be at a premium, as the three meetings so far this season have harnessed a total of just two goals, with the last pair ending goalless.

Of the four matches, Atletico look the most appetising of the underdogs to progress at 2/1, with their tournament winner odds drifting from 14/1 to 18/1.

Finally, the betting suggests that there is not even a cat’s whisker between Chelsea and PSG, although the French champions have never even managed to score in previous meetings with the Blues.

Jose Mourinho’s tactical astuteness could be difference here, with both teams 9/10 to progress to the semis.

The one major point to take is that this was widely regarded as the best quarter-final line-up in the history of the Champions League and the four biggest guns have managed to be kept apart, which could result in louder fireworks in the semi finals, in comparison to the sparklers that may be waved after this fairly low-key draw in the circumstances.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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