Champions League quarter-finals: Power rankings and team profiles

Carlo Ancelotti is putting something together that Pep Guardiola couldn’t: peaking in April/May, not in the autumn. With the 5-1 win against Arsenal in the first leg of their last-16 tie, Bayern turned on the power switch for this season, playing efficiently and dominantly. They are unbeaten now for 18 games. The key is the use of an old system (4-2-3-1, remember Jupp Heynckes) with two holding defensive midfielders (mostly Alonso/Vidal) which gives them more balance against the good teams. Plus: Thiago is emancipated from Guardiola, Lewandowski scores more than ever and Hummels is on his way to Beckenbauer-esque glory. On the minus side: key players like Alonso (35), Lahm (33), Ribery (33) and Robben (33) are over their peak and Muller has lost his mojo.

Despite having been without Gareth Bale due to injury for three months, they lead La Liga by two points, with a game in hand, and have won a lot of matches. Maybe they are not as powerful as in other seasons (neither are Barca or Atletico), but Real Madrid and the Champions League are historically good friends. And when they are in trouble, they have a magical solution: Sergio Ramos after the 85th minute… In terms of weaknesses, they do not have an impressive defence with their opponents scoring at least one goal in 13 of their past 15 last games.

You probably already know Juventus' numbers: the winning streak in home league matches (31); just one defeat in all the European clashes played at Juventus Stadium; the best defence in the Champions League. Numbers aside, there’s the strength of a team that, while less entertaining than in recent seasons, are adaptable to any tactical solution: three midfielders, two midfielders and the ‘Four Stars’ (Cuadrado, Dybala, Mandzukic, Higuain) and so on. This is also probably the last year of the legendary defence with Buffon, Barzagli and Chiellini, and Gonzalo Higuain has brought to the team the ‘pure striker’ that Juventus have been missing since David Trezeguet. So everything seems to be working perfectly with the Bianconeri, who finally look like a team with the necessary confidence to have their say in Europe, as well as Italy.

Luis Enrique will leave Barcelona after this season and nobody knows how the story will unfold over the next three months. Barca’s presence in the quarter-finals is an unexpected gift after the miracle against PSG. This game could change their mentality and make them more powerful. As a weakness, despite the fact Neymar, Suarez and Messi are always at a top level, Barca’s midfield is not the draw it once was. Xavi has left, Iniesta is 32 and Busquets is having maybe his worst season. Furthermore, new players as Andre Gomes, Arda Turan, Paco Alcacer and Denis Suarez have not improved the team.

Leonardo Jardim’s side are having an incredible season. They pushed it to another level after kicking Manchester City out of the Champions League thanks to an impressive victory at the Louis-II on Wednesday to reach the last eight, just like two years ago. They have more weapons though this season and every team must be wary of the best attack in Europe among the top five leagues - especially because they have other assets. It’s a strong collective and a quality group with complete players and great individuals such as Bernardo Silva, Kylian Mbappe, Radamel Falcao and Fabinho, among others. They have shown their team spirit all season and their mental strength compensated for their lack of experience against City. They deserve to be in the last eight, and maybe more…

This is probably the worst season Atleti have had since Diego Simeone was appointed in 2012. They are fighting with Sevilla and Real Sociedad for third and fourth position in la Liga and they may have to expend a lot more energy in order to get into the Champions League again next season. But, be careful with them. Simeone’s team are experts in two-legged encounters and they have qualified in Europe in 12 of the last 14 knockout ties. In terms of weaknesses, they don’t have a top quality striker (Griezmann helps a lot, but he is not that kind of player) and big players like Godin, Gabi or Koke are not playing like they were in 2014 or 2016, when they reached the Champions League final.

BVB are not where they were back in 2013 – period. After the loss of Lewandowski, Gundogan, Hummels and Mkhitaryan they are lacking experience and individual class at this high level. But, as there’s always a but, you can say this in favour of Dortmund: filled with talent, and with a mastermind as coach in Thomas Tuchel, they are ready to orchestrate a huge upset of one of the favourites. Christian Pulisic is a star in the making, Julian Weigl a small Pirlo, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang born for the big stage and Marco Reus wants to prove himself (if he can stay healthy). Keep in mind that they finished first in the group stage in front of Real Madrid without losing. And the stadium formerly known (and loved) as Westfalenstadion is a tricky place to play. There will be goals. For sure.

For Europe this season, read the Premier League last season. Leicester are the complete no-hopers who just keep going, against all expectations. They have been revitalised since the sacking of Claudio Ranieri with three wins in three and new manager Craig Shakespeare has restored almost the whole team which won the title last season, minus N’Golo Kante, allowing Leicester to rediscover what made them so great last year. Their counter-attacking style is perfectly suited to playing bigger clubs and if teams don’t give them their due respect then it’s not out of the question they could cause another shock or two. But let’s be serious: Leicester are by far the worst team left in the competition.