Just hours after the draw for the Champions League quarter-finals, projections from sports statistics giant Opta show that PSG’s chances of winning the competition have increased significantly. So much so that the capital club are now second in the ranking of favourites, behind Manchester City.
John Obi Mikel’s draw this Friday afternoon reserved the preferred opponent for PSG in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Inheriting Barca, it is vivid memories of the last clash between the two teams on the European scene that are invoked. And the double match on April 10 (at the Parc des Princes) and April 16 (in Barcelona) already promises the best.
Paris on the “good side” of the table in this final stage of C1
If the debates are already raging as to whether this is a “good draw” for the Parisians – the truth on the ground will quickly establish it in a few weeks – it still remains in terms of the predictions of Luis Enrique’s chances of success. Men in competition, it varies a bit. Opta Analyst’s prediction tool put Paris outside the top 3 favourites, before the former Chelsea midfielder drew the ball deciding different posters. City (32.3%), Real Madrid (16.87%) and Arsenal (13.09%) were ahead of the only French representatives running in C1.
But now that the full quarter-final table is known, as well as the route to the semi-finals and final, PSG’s chances of lifting the big-eared cup have increased significantly. Kylian Mbappé and his partners have also become number 2 favorites behind City.
Apart from the quarter-final draw alone, it is also the route to Wembley – the justice of the peace for this 2023-2024 edition – that is taken into account. In the event of qualifying against Barca, Paris will face the winner of Atletico-Dortmund in the semi-finals and avoid the behemoths that eliminated themselves from the other half of the table (Arsenal-Bayern and Real Madrid-City).
