Champions League, Europa League & ECL 328/1 to qualify acca

We’re down to the last eight in the Champions League and the first legs of the quarter-finals take place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

We also have the last eight ties of the Europa League and the Europa Conference League to look forward to, and we’ve picked out our best bets to qualify for the semi-finals from each tie across all three competitions.

Together, this 12-fold accumulator pays out at a hefty 328/1 as we’ve mixed a few heavy favourites with a couple of underdogs. Read on to see who we feel will reach next month’s semi-finals.

Champions League

FST stalwart Alex Wrigley has already covered the Champions League as part of our Month in Football accumulator and I’ve borrowed his selections for this accumulator. If you’ve seen that article below is a recap, if not click here to check out all of the selections.

Best bets: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich & Liverpool to qualify

Real Madrid are my pick for their tie with holders Chelsea. The Blues have off-field issues to contend with and last season was the first time they had made it past the quarter-final stage since 2013/14. Real Madrid are nine points clear at the top of La Liga and can put all their concentration into the Champions League, while Karim Benzema is in the form of his life right now.

Atletico Madrid could cause an upset against perennial favourites Manchester City, too. Pep Guardiola’s side may have reached the final last season but prior to that they were eliminated at this stage three seasons in a row, while Atletico Madrid have won five of their last six two-legged ties against English opposition.

Bayern Munich aren’t expected to slip up, though. The Bavarians have made it to the semi-finals in seven of the last ten seasons and have won 26 of their last 29 Champions League games, while Villarreal have only made it past the quarters once in their history.

Liverpool perhaps got the easiest draw in the final eight and failure to progress would be a huge shock. This is Benfica’s first Champions League quarter-final in a decade and they haven’t made the semis since 1990, while Liverpool have won 13 of their last 15 competitive games.

Europa League

Best Bets: Atalanta, Rangers, Barcelona & West Ham to qualify

Atalanta have already knocked out a quality German side in the shape of Bayer Leverkusen, winning both legs of their last 16 tie to claim a 4-2 aggregate victory, and they can see off RB Leipzig in the quarters. Leipzig dropped down from the Champions League then came through a tough tie against Real Sociedad, before a walkover in the last round having been drawn against Spartak Moscow. This looks like an evenly matched tie but I’m edging towards La Dea on the basis that they proved too strong for Leverkusen, who sit one place and three points above Die Rotten Bullen in the Bundesliga standings.

Rangers produced the shock of the tournament by beating Borussia Dortmund in their first knockout tie before overcoming Red Star Belgrade, and they can back up those successes by taking out Portugal’s Braga. The Scottish champions seem locked in to their Europa League campaign, perhaps top the detriment of their domestic aims, and have the advantage of playing at home in the second leg.

Barcelona made hard work of getting past Galatasaray in the previous round but did come through an incredibly tricky draw against Napoli prior to that. There were concerns the Catalan giants may not be fully committed to this competition after their Champions League exit but those fears have proven to be unfounded, and they should be too strong for Germany’s Frankfurt in the last eight.

West Ham stunned serial winners Sevilla in the previous round and now face another tough tie against Lyon. The Hammers do seem to be prioritising this competition as another potential route into the Champions League if they fall short in their bid for a top four finish, and now looks a good time to play Lyon as they have hit a bit of a rough patch. Les Gones have managed just one win in their last four games, while West Ham are in solid form with three wins in their last four.

Europa Conference League

Best Bets: Feyenoord, Roma, Marseille & Leicester to qualify

Feyenoord have been drawn against Slavia Prague in the quarter-finals after the pair both qualified from Group E. The Dutch giants picked up 16 points in the group stages and took four points off Slavia and they remain unbeaten in this competition with six wins and two draws. Slavia may have managed a draw against De club aan de Maas in the group stages but they played against 10 men for nearly an hour in that game in Prague, and based on those previous games the Dutch side look a level above their Czech opponents.

Roma have also been drawn against opponents they faced in the group stages as they take on Norway’s Bodo/Glimt. The Italians were thrashed 6-1 when the pair met in Norway back in October but since then the Giallorossi have improved under the guidance of Jose Mourinho and they can take their revenge by seeing off Bodo over two legs.

Marseille are another team who have dropped down from the Europa League but since entering the ECL they’ve taken the competition seriously, seeing off Qarabag and Basel in the previous rounds by winning all four games. L’OM take on PAOK and they should have too much quality for the Greek outfit, who have lost against the likes of Midtjylland and FC Copenhagen in the earlier rounds.

Leicester take on PSV Eindhoven in an intriguing tie but one I feel the Premier League side can edge. The Foxes are free to focus on this tournament as they are set for a mid-table finish and this is their only chance to claim any silverware, discounting their Community Shield success, while PSV may see this as a distraction as they have a league title fight with Ajax to focus on.