Manchester United hero Rio Ferdinand has given his predictions on which sides will reach the Champions League semi-finals after the draw was made on Friday.
The teams to have progressed to the last-eight found out their fates at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon on Friday morning. Premier League contenders Chelsea and Manchester City are set to face Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively.
Reigning Serie A champions AC Milan face an extremely tough test as they take on fellow Italians and current domestic league leaders Napoli. Finally, Inter Milan will take on Portuguese giants Benfica. Ferdinand gave his thoughts over which teams he expects to progress in the aftermath of the draw.
Taking to Twitter with his response, he wrote: “Qualifying….. Real [Madrid], [Man] City, Inter [Milan], Napoli.”
Interestingly, Ferdinand has previously predicted Pep Guardiola’s side to win their debut European title come the end of the season. Should they progress past Bayern, they will face either Real Madrid or Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Speaking last month about his favourites for the competition, he said: "It's just too difficult. I'm gonna go with Manchester City, just because of [Erling] Haaland and Pep [Guardiola]... he's driven to win this.
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“He's been involved with the Premier League for so many years, but the Champions League is where it's at for him. He'll shut many people up if he does get it done with Manchester City."
One of his punditry colleagues - Gary Lineker - has also given his thoughts over who could potentially win the Champions League in a few months’ time. The Match of the Day host recently revealed that he had put money on Napoli adding a European title to their expected Serie A crown.
He said: “Really enjoy watching Napoli. They play such exciting football. Had a very rare bet on them to win the Champions League this season some months ago."
Luciano Spalletti’s men arguably have the better side of the draw should they find a route past AC Milan. They will take on one of Inter Milan or Benfica in the semi-finals.
The quarter-final first-legs will take place on 11-12 April, with the return games on 18-19 April. Meanwhile, the semi-final first legs will be on 9-10 May, and the second legs on 16-17 May.
Elsewhere in Europe, Ferdinand’s former club Man Utd have found out their Europa League fate after finding a route past Real Betis to reach the quarter-finals. The Red Devils will return to Andalucia to take on habitable Europa League winners Sevilla before potentially clashing with Juventus or Sporting Lisbon.
