One step closer to the Final now, with both the Champions League and the Europa League entering their Semi-Final stages. In the former, Atletico Madrid will face Chelsea while Real Madrid take on holders Bayern Munich for the right to compete in the showpiece event in Lisbon. In the face-off between England's remaining representative Chelsea and Atletico Madrid, the sheer depth of the Madrid bench may out-perform the London side. If the Blues can get the likes of Samuel Eto'o, Andre Schurrle, and Marco Van Ginkel back into the side, they will arguably look much the better team. Atletico meanwhile will be set on getting Diego Costa and Arda Turan back into their side ahead of their first leg encounter in Madrid. Much will depend on Atletico's home performance as Chelsea have consistently under-performed away from home. As far as the defenses are concerned, Chelsea's Peter Cech obviously has the most experience at this level of competition between the two - though I would conjecture that Thibaut Courtois may have the better put together defensive front. If Diego Costa isn't at 100% fitness, I would predict Chelsea getting through by the skin of their teeth. Turning now to the Real Madrid-Bayern Munich match-up, it is curious that the Germans have no back-ups for Manuel Neuer since Tom Starke and Lukas Raeder are both out through injury. All the same, the Germans would be my pick to go through if Cristiano Ronaldo is less than 100% fit and the likes of Sami Khedira, Alvaro Arbeloa, and Marcelo are out. Bayern will doubtless continue to miss the talents of Thiago Alcantara and Xherdan Shaqiri though I think Mario Mandzukic, Arjen Robben, and Thomas Muller alone could get the Germans past the Spaniards. Gareth Bale will remain a menacing option for Real; and Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria, or Isco may have a burst of form. Having said that, the defensive stalwarts for Bayern such as Philipp Lahm, Rafinha, Jerome Boateng, and Dante should keep the heat off of Neuer. I'm actually not sure which way the opener in Madrid will go. Bayern have traveled well in the tournament thus far, though Real have been in terrifying home form so they may well earn themselves a hard-fought lead. That'll just mean the second leg will leave everything to play for!
As for the Europa League, we have a mix of Iberian and Southern European contestants this year with Benfica paired with Juventus and Sevilla poised to take on domestic opponents Valencia. I'll start with the all-Spanish bout with Sevilla the team that I am not-so-secretly rooting for. For one thing, they have the depth of bench to let them compete at this level despite injuries to (arguably nonessential) midfielders Denis Cheryshev and Sebastian Cristoforo. Otherwise, Javier Varas has been as fit as a fiddle with Beto a more than adequate stand-in if circumstances require. As for scoring talent, Kevin Gameiro is an obvious target man for the Valencia defense though Carlos Bacca and Vitolo have proved deadly. Unless Sevilla cement at least a two goal lead (for best results, without allowing any away goals) when they greet Valencia in the series opener, I think Valencia's Paco Alcacer and Fede Cartabia may be enough to push them through. Now for bad news on Valencia: Diego Alves, their top keeper, will likely be out due to injury for at least the first game in Sevilla. Vicente Guaita has been a decent stand-in, I do not expect he will have as easy a time as he did against Basel in the second leg. Rather, Sevilla should be disciplined and I wouldn't be surprised to see a scoreline similar to the one we saw in Basel: 3-0 for Sevilla? Let's see if it happens! Between Juve and Benfica, I have mixed emotions. These are two teams that I have greatly enjoyed watching. Defensively, the two sides have opposite problems. Whereas the Portuguese may be missing their goalkeeper Artur for the first leg, the Italians are without three - yes three! - significant defending talents: Andrea Barzagli, Federico Peluso, and Angelo Ogbonna. Having said that, Bonucci, Caceres, and Chiellini are in as is Gianluigi Buffon. Rubin Amorim is also doubtful for Benfica, though Rodrigo and Lima are the great attacking prongs of the Portuguese side. Oscar Cardozo is always a danger man, while Eduardo Salvio, Lazar Markovic, and Nicolas Gaitan may hit a run of form to propel their team into the Final. As well as being fabulous defenders, Luisao and Ezequiel Garay may surprise by adding to their respective goal tallies as well. Over on the Italian side, the incentive to perform is certainly evident as Juve would be playing at home in Turin if they get through the Portuguese. Pablo Osvaldo will probably be shut down by Benfica, though with names such as Sebastian Giovinco, Carlos Tevez, Fernando Llorente, Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo, and even Paul Pogba on the roster, the Old Ladies can never be written off. With both sides having a phenomenal record thus far in the Europa League, it is honestly a crap-shoot. I might favor Juve to make some magic, but don't expect Benfica to take anything lying down. Jan Oblak has performed admirably in the Eagles' goal, and if he is called to represent the club again, I would expect a performance similar to Benfica's matches against Tottenham Hotspur. Enjoy the games!
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