European Quarter Finals Preview

After the exits of Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal in the Round of 16 in the Champions League and Europa League, we’re left with 4 Premier League teams battling it out for success in the three European competitions this season.
The matches will take place in April, and we’ve got some world class hospitality packages available, for you to take your seat at these huge fixtures.

Champions League Quarter Final Fixtures

Let’s start with the big one – the Champions League. It’s the competition Manchester City are desperate to add to their resumé. The signing of Erling Haaland last summer was intended to be the catalyst for City’s push to achieve European greatness, and boy has he shown his value. In the second leg of the last 16 match against Leipzig he equalled Lionel Messi’s 5-goals-in-asingle-match achievement, and his tally in all competitions this season is already a staggering 42
goals.

Pep’s Return to Bayern

Next up for City is a much sterner test – 6-time European champions (and Pep Guardiola’s former club) Bayern Munich. Bayern have won the Bundesliga 10 times on the bounce, and this game has got all the ingredients to be a classic.
Remarkably, for two heavyweights of the modern era, the sides haven’t played each other many times in competitive matches. They’ve been drawn together in the same Champions League group on three previous occasions, with City winning three times, and Bayern winning three times. Guardiola was in charge of the German side for 4 of these matches, the last of which came in 2014, when Sergio Aguero scored twice at the Etihad in a thrilling 3-2 victory.

An added layer of intrigue this time around is the presence of Joao Cancelo in the Bayern squad. He is of course on loan from City, but will be able to face his parent club. The German side also have Leroy Sane in their squad, a player who won two Premier League titles with City.

City will host the first leg of this fixture on Tuesday April 11th, with the return leg at the Allianz Arena 8 days later. Guardiola’s side are still fighting for silverware on three fronts – the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League; but it’s the latter which is the biggest prize of all, and you won’t want to miss it. Check out the options here, or give us a call on 01454 201210 and we’ll talk you through what’s available.

Tough Draw for Chelsea

Chelsea also face a tough test, as they’ve been drawn against the holders, and 14-time European Champions Real Madrid for a place in the semi finals. They’ve met 7 times before, and you may be surprised to hear that Chelsea have won 4 of these games, Real only 1. The most recent clash came last year, when Madrid took a 3-1 lead back to the Bernabeu, only for Chelsea to lead 3-0 with just ten minutes to go. Rodrygo pulled one back, before Benzema grabbed the decisive second in extra time to win the tie 5-4 on aggregate. If the two meetings this year are half as good
you’ll be in for a treat. Check out the options here.

The Madrid squad features a number of familiar faces to Chelsea fans – goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois spent seven years at Stamford Bridge; Antonio Rudiger left London for Madrid last summer; and then there’s club legend Eden Hazard, whose move to Spain has not turned out well at all, with only 51 appearances and 4 goals during the 4 years he has been there.

Stamford Bridge will be the venue for the second leg on Tuesday April 18th – Chelsea’s disappointing season resting on progress in this competition.

Manchester United Going Strong

Manchester United are the bookies’ favourites to win the Europa League this year, a position bolstered by Arsenal’s defeat against Sporting Lisbon in the last round. United will face their third Spanish team in a row, with Sevilla the opponents in the last 8, after successes against Barcelona and Real Betis in the previous rounds. The Spanish side are
struggling in La Liga this year, sitting in the lower half of the table, but the Europa League seems to be something of a specialist competition for them – they’ve been champions 6 times since 2006.

As with their Manchester neighbours, United have a player out on loan to their opponents, in the shape of Alex Telles, who again will be eligible to play in this match. The teams have met three times in the past, and United are yet to win. The last fixture was the Europa League semi final in 2020, when the Spanish side came from behind to win 2-1. But
United are a more robust side these days, and will be confident of progressing, particularly having beaten two seemingly better Spanish teams over the last few weeks.

It’s going to be a fantastic occasion under the lights at Old Trafford on Thursday April 13th, with the return leg a week later in Seville – the city which is home to Real Betis, where United won last week. A good omen? Maybe… Check out our superb hospitality options at the Theatre of Dreams here.

West Ham’s Europa Conference Journey continues

Finally, like Chelsea, West Ham will be hoping to put their domestic disappointments to one side, as they face Belgian side KAA Gent in the quarter finals of the Europa Conference League. Gent are currently 5th in the Belgian Pro League, twenty points behind leaders Genk… confusing right?? West Ham and Gent have faced each other once before – in a European Cup Winners Cup tie nearly 50 years ago, in 1964.

The Hammers won the first leg 1-0 in Belgium, before sealing their path into the next round with a 1-1 draw at Upton Park. David Moyes will be hoping his side can emulate that great team of the 60s, who went on to lift the Cup Winners Cup that year. The second leg this year will take place at the London Stadium on Thursday April 20th.

If you’ve got any questions about any of the fixtures, we’re always on hand to talk you through the available options, so just give us a shout and we’ll help you create memories that will last a lifetime.

CONTACT THE TEAM

Give Us a call on 01454 201210 or email enquiries@circuithospitality.com to see how we can help you.