Arsenal-Madrid, Bayern-Inter... this is how Champions League quarter-finals could look like after this week

The first leg of the Champions League round of 16 has taken place. Eight games, and only one ended in draw, meaning we can already start thinking on how the pairings will look in the quarter-finals. Of course, everything can change next week in the second leg (well, except for PSV, probably), but if they started now, this is how the Champions League quarter-finals would look like...

Arsenal vs. Real Madrid: After thrashing 7-1 to PSV, Arsenal has the best chances of all to be in the quarterfinals. Their rival will be a Madrid team. Real has a one goal lead, but the second leg will be played in Atleti's home, where Simeone's squad becomes much more aggressive. Atleti is probably the most likely team to change their fate after this week, but are still against the odds.

Liverpool - Aston Villa: A full English quarter-final is likely. Aston Villa has a two-goal edge over Club Brugge, which seems unlikely to come back in Birmingham. Liverpool has a tougher battle, as PSG is very powerful, but it seems that the worst part of the storm - by far - has passed, after a full-on assault by PSG... that ended in a 1-0 Liverpool win. And the second leg is at Anfield.

Barcelona - Borussia Dortmund: Barça endured a similar assault: they survived most of the match with 10 players against Benfica and even scored at the end, a very good result to take to the second leg in Barcelona. Their rival will be either Borussia Dortmund or Lille, which ended 1-1 in the first leg. But given the experience of last year's finalist and the fact that the second leg will be played in Dortmund, we believe they will be the most likely candidates.

Bayern - Inter: Probably the most likely prediction: Inter won 2-0 to Feyenoord away, while Bayern will play the second leg against Bayer in Leverkusen. Despite Xabi Alonso's squad well documented resilience, coming back from 3 goals against Bayern is an uphill battle...

Champions League quarter-finals will take place on the week of April 8/9 and April 15/16. In a week's time, we will see if these provisional results become a reality.