Real Madrid v Arsenal
There are no easy games come the quarter-finals of the Champions League but Arsenal will raise an eyebrow at getting the kindest route to the final of the three English sides. Madrid are the youngest team in the tournament, Real Tacon having been absorbed into the club as the women’s team in 2020, and they have reached the last eight for the second time. They are second in Liga F, five points behind Barcelona, who beat them 5-0 in the Supercopa final at the end of last month. Madrid added the Brazilian defender Yasmim in January to strengthen their backline. Arsenal, the only English team to have picked up European honours, when they won the title in 2007, are in their 16th quarter-final, a record they share with Lyon. Under Renée Slegers the Gunners have lost only twice this season, to Chelsea in the WSL and against Manchester City in the semi-final of the League Cup on Thursday. The addition of Chloe Kelly, on loan from City, and the USA defender Jenna Nighswonger has added a little depth as they attempt to go one step further than in 2023, when their injury-hit side narrowly missed out on a place in the final to Wolfsburg.
Predicted winners: Arsenal
Bayern Munich v Lyon
Lyon are unbeaten at the top of Ligue 1, seven points clear, but a loss to Stade de Reims on penalties in the Coupe de France round of 32 means only Chelsea have an unblemished record this season of the sides left in the competition. Bayern got off to a thrilling start in the Champions League group stage, a Pernille Harder hat-trick helping them to a 5-2 win at home against Arsenal, but a 1-1 draw with Vålerenga and 3-2 defeat at the Gunners meant they finished second. They have also lost Georgia Stanway to a knee injury that required surgery. Lyon registered a perfect group stage campaign for the first time, Kadidiatou Diani scoring four times to finish as their top scorer. How they fare under Joe Montemurro in his first season as their manager, in the tournament they have won eight times, will be interesting.
Predicted winners: Lyon
