2023 UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals Predictions

Eight teams remain in the 2022-23 Champions League.

Giants have already fallen in the knockouts, with Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain exiting the competition before the upcoming quarterfinal stage.

Reigning and 14-time champion Real Madrid, 2020 winners Bayern Munich and zero-time winners Manchester City rank among the favourites, but a less-fancied pack is stirring. Perhaps it's the year of Chelsea, Milan, Benfica or Inter? Maybe Napoli have what it takes to pull off the most surprising win since Porto in 2004.

Before that, the task is simple: let's predict who will make it into the semifinals and onto the brink of the Istanbul final on June 10.

Benfica vs. Inter

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LISBON, PORTUGAL - MARCH 07: Goncalo Ramos of SL Benfica celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 leg two match between SL Benfica and Club Brugge KV at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on March 07, 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Prediction: Benfica to advance

Benfica recently lost their first game since February against rivals Porto, a team Inter beat 1-0 on aggregate to knock them out of this season's Champions League in the last round.

While Inter were dominant against 10 men in the first leg against Porto, they survived an onslaught away in Portugal—a game that will give Benfica supporters great hope. Let's not forget Benfica has been excellent in the competition this season, topping a group that included PSG and Juventus without losing a game.

Benfica's 7-1 aggregate rout of Club Brugge in the Round of 16 made it very clear that Roger Schmidt's side should not be taken lightly. This is a proper team unit, with quality across the pitch that can win the tie in an instant.

Inter have their hands full against Gonçalo Ramos and Rafa Silva, sure, but they need to shut down João Mário's ability to dictate and Alex Grimaldo's desire to stretch play from full-back. They need to also do this while maintaining an attacking threat that has been lacking in recent weeks.

Inter are without a win in six, having suffered defeats against Bologna, Spezia, Juventus and Fiorentina since beating Porto in the first leg. They've scored just three goals in that time. They will always feel the weight of expectation more than most; such is the size and history of the club. Benfica's freedom and cutting style should prove too much across two legs.

Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates after scoring his fourth and his side's fifth goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 leg two match between Manchester City and RB Leipzig at Etihad Stadium on March 14, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Prediction: Manchester City to advance

It's quite easy to forget Manchester City are in ridiculous form right now. Arsenal's lead atop the Premier League continues to take most of the headlines in England, especially as City are expected to win the division every year under Pep Guardiola.

A quick snapshot to put their preparation into focus: City have scored seven, six and two fours in their past four games. Erling Haaland's five—yes five—in the 7-0 demolition of RB Leipzig reminded everyone that they possess the best goalscorer in the world and are fully focused on winning this trophy for the first time in their history.

Despite leading an extremely tight Bundesliga race, Bayern are not in classic form. The switch from Julian Nagelsmann to Thomas Tuchel hasn't added too much instant momentum. This is a very good team who are having to fight for every result.

Matthijs De Ligt's stunning long-range strike in Saturday's 1-0 win over Freiburg was a memorable way to bounce back after a DFB-Pokal defeat to the same opponents. Bayern tend to show up for the biggest matches, recently showing their class in the 4-2 win over Bundesliga rivals Dortmund and restricting PSG to very little threat during their two-leg Champions League showdown that ended up being surprisingly one-sided.

This is a tough, tough game to call. For me, it comes down to Haaland making the difference—or at least overpowering any weird decisions Pep makes during the two games. We've seen the City boss overcomplicate things in this competition before, and he won't get away with doing so against a Bayern side that possesses pace, goal-scoring nous and danger in buckets.

City to edge it with a big home performance to start.

Real Madrid vs. Chelsea

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MADRID, SPAIN - 2023/03/15: Karim Benzema of Real Madrid celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Champions League, Round of 16, Second Leg between Real Madrid CF and Liverpool FC at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Final score; Real Madrid 1:0 Liverpool. (Photo by Ruben Albarran/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Prediction: Madrid to advance

A few weeks is a long time in football, isn't it?

On March 7, Graham Potter had Stamford Bridge bouncing after securing Chelsea's passage to the quarterfinals with an admirable 2-0 win over Dortmund. It was a battling performance that signaled the potential of a brighter future under a manager who was under intense pressure after a dismal spell of form.

On April 12, when the Blues travel to Real Madrid, ex-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard will be back on the hot seat. Potter's no more after drawing with relegation-threatened Everton and losing to Aston Villa. Lampard lost his first game in charge after a stunning Matheus Nunes goal lifted Wolves beyond his ailing side, so it's fair to say preparation for this incredibly difficult set of games has not been ideal.

Enter Madrid, the competition's undeniable juggernauts. Los Blancos fell 3-2 against Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday, but you almost have to separate their domestic issues from anything they do in the Champions League. Last year's success was built on stomping through difficult moments and never accepting defeat.

Madrid have already crushed one out-of-form English side this campaign, embarrassing Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate. It would take a very brave person to bet against them doing the same to another.

Milan vs. Napoli

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NAPLES, ITALY - APRIL 02: Rafael Leao of AC Milan celebrates after scoring goal 0-3 during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and AC MIlan at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 2, 2023 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)

Prediction: Napoli to advance

Absolutely everything pointed to Napoli being the clear favourites here. They are 22 points ahead of Milan in Serie A and have enjoyed a fantastic season.

However, Milan put on their best performance in a long while to beat the likely Italian champions 4-0 on April 2. Rafael Leão and Brahim Díaz were superb in that game and sparked Milan into life with the quality needed to take down one of Europe's form sides.

Napoli must make sure Leão doesn't enjoy the same uncontested space again. They sat off the rapid forward and were punished for a passiveness that we've rarely seen from Luciano Spalletti's team this season. Díaz's class in tight spaces kept Milan ticking over, and his ability to wriggle away from pressure altered momentum in vital moments.

You wonder if the heavy defeat will give Spalletti and his men a much-needed prod of motivation to get immediate revenge.

Whether top scorer Victor Osimhen starts remains to be seen after he missed a 2-1 win over Lecce on the weekend, but even without their top scorer, this is a formidable Napoli side that will test the best. The surprising result against Milan won't be repeated.