Champions League Quarterfinals: Key Matchups & Analysis

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00:00You have a quarterfinal matchup coming up next Tuesday and Wednesday.

00:03I see Real Madrid on the schedule here.

00:05So naturally, there's going to be a lot of backers with them in terms of odds,

00:08as there usually are.

00:10Let's break down what the quarterfinals look like, Kyle.

00:13Yeah, there's four really intriguing matchups here, Craig.

00:17And whenever you get to this stage of the season in the Champions League,

00:20it's always going to be fun.

00:22But, you know, you look at all four of these games

00:24and you could make a case for all eight teams advancing.

00:28The most intriguing one, unquestionably, is Arsenal-Real Madrid.

00:31Like you said, you know, Europe's most successful club in Real Madrid,

00:37going up a team in Arsenal that's just had the worst injury luck this season.

00:41This is a very, very good team that's just been decimated by injuries all year.

00:47They got Bukayo Saka, finally comes back just yesterday against Fulham.

00:53And in the same game, they lose their key defender,

00:57Gat Riel, who suffered a hamstring injury

00:59and will almost certainly miss at least this first leg of the quarterfinals

01:03and potentially both legs.

01:05A huge loss for them.

01:07But they get Saka back, so that's a big gain.

01:09It's just been, you know, taking hits left and right.

01:12They're playing a midfielder at striker for the rest of the season

01:15because they've lost all three strikers to injury this year.

01:18It's just been a tough one.

01:20But we saw Real Madrid play yesterday in the Copa del Rey semis,

01:24and they looked awful.

01:25Even though they won, it looks like every time this team –

01:30Real Madrid needs to be losing to play well.

01:33They switch off whenever they're not losing,

01:36and then they concede a goal and go,

01:38ah, I guess we have to try now and then score five minutes later.

01:41So it's just a weird look for them.

01:43That's going to be a really intriguing matchup.

01:46You know, you look at some of the other games.

01:48Bayern Munich at Inter is a really interesting one.

01:51Inter, really well-drilled Bayern, a high-flying team.

01:55That could be fun.

01:57And then PSG Aston Villa, I think it's going to be sneaky good.

02:01PSG, to me, are the second-best team in Europe this year behind Barcelona.

02:06And yet, somehow, they constantly struggle to score goals.

02:10They pour on attacking volume,

02:12and they stink at putting the ball in the net.

02:14It's really weird, and they're going up against an Aston Villa side

02:17who's coached by Unai Emery, who's had a ton of success in Europe,

02:21and their goalkeeper is Emi Martinez,

02:23who's the Argentina goalkeeper just off of World Cup

02:26and one of the biggest big-game players in Europe.

02:29They could have a chance there to spring an upset.

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