Champions League forecast: Upsets look to menace convention

Flawlessly predicting Champions League results is akin to sticking your hand into a rubbish bin hoping to find gold.

It's a fool's errand, and despite the fact that Europe's top-tier tournament of late has favoured the continent's marquee clubs, this season's installment has offered a few welcomed surprises.

Leicester City has overcome all the odds amid a dismal domestic campaign, while heavyweights Bayern Munich and Barcelona have both suffered unlikely defeats at the hands of Rostov and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, showing that even the most predictable of competitions can also dabble in the uncertain.

Related: Bayern gets Real Madrid, Barca meets Juve in heavyweight quarter-final tilts

With that in mind, here's an unconventional glance at some predictions for the quarter-final stage:

Monaco vs. Borussia Dortmund

Proving Aristotle's point that, "Good habits formed at youth make all the difference," both Monaco and Borussia Dortmund have benefitted from employing budding squads rife with potential.

This amounts to free-flowing attacks, often at breakneck speeds, where French teens Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele profit from the service of emerging studs like Thomas Lemar, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Christian Pulisic, and Julian Weigl.

Leo Jardim's and Thomas Tuchel's sides have combined for 46 Champions League goals this campaign while conceding 26 times, with Dortmund's 8-4 victory against Legia Warsaw and the Monegasques 5-3 loss at Manchester City ideal examples of both the virtues and weaknesses of the two teams.

Prediction: Monaco (8-6 on aggregate)

Barcelona vs. Juventus

After the Catalans stormed back to top PSG with a potent cocktail of timely trips and ghastly French defending, at first glance, Barcelona appears the favourite against Scudetto-holder Juventus.

And while the majority - if not all - pundits will peg Luis Enrique's lot to see out the remaining months of his decorated tenure with a Champions League trophy, you won't find a similar opinion here.

A dearth of full-backs has forced Enrique to switch to a 3-4-3 formation that clearly is not the best setup for Lionel Messi's virtues, while Andres Iniesta appears almost human this season and Andre Gomes is a worse option than ordering the baked potato. Sergio Busquets will also miss the first leg, and it's unlikely that Samuel Umtiti will be able to replicate his stellar outing in the second leg against PSG.

For Barca, the 4-0 defeat at PSG was a major red flag, while not enough credence is being given to Max Allegri's dependable backline and the soaring stock of left-back Alex Sandro. Pair that with a versatile three-prong attack featuring Paulo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic, and Gonzalo Higuain, and the Old Lady could eke out a narrow victory over two legs. The window is closing on this Juve squad's chances of winning the Champions League. As the only side not to concede in the last 16, and with the Serie A title all but guaranteed, counting out I Bianconeri would be a daft determination.

Prediction: Juventus (4-3 on aggregate)

Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich

Both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich sit atop their respective domestic leagues, and with the former boasting six semi-final spots on the trot to the latter's five, this is a battle of behemoths in which both sides have subtle frailties lying in wait.

Real's midfield doesn't quite look right and the backline's errors have been repeatedly glossed over by Sergio Ramos' penchant for late winners at the other end of the pitch. Gareth Bale's ankle injury also looms large ahead of the first leg at the Allianz on April 12, and after Cristiano Ronaldo's five Champions League goals, Dani Carvajal is second with three. That's a problem.

For Bayern, the 10-2 aggregate drubbing of Arsenal is more indicative of the north London lot's drab form than the Bavarian's stellar standing, and while the club has already lost more times this season than last, Carlo Ancelotti and Co. haven't tasted defeat since the surprise loss at Rostov in November.

By the narrowest of margins, Ancelotti lifts a fourth Champions League trophy.

Prediction: Bayern (3-3 on penalties)

Leicester City vs. Atletico Madrid

After seeing off one well-organised La Liga side bossed by a live wire of a manager in Sevilla, it's hard to blame Leicester City for thinking it can replicate the feat in the quarter-finals.

Atletico Madrid and Leicester form a tie made in heaven in terms of similarities: two sides happy to cede possession who have both upset the formulaic spell of title-winners in their respective domestic leagues. The problem with this resemblance is that the Foxes are better suited to play a side who hog the ball and not one content to let the other team do the work.

When it comes to these two sides, throw all code out the window. This is just Leicester's fourth knockout tie on the continent, but its third against Atleti, and there's no way of knowing what kind of form the Foxes will be in come the second week of April.

That said, betting against the East Midlands darling has proved to be a dance with disaster, and with that in mind, expect Leicester to nick a deciding late winner at the King Power while Jamie Vardy and Diego Simeone fight to the death on the touchline.

Prediction: Leicester (2-1 on aggregate)

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)