Champions League draw 2018 live stream: Start time and how to watch quarterfinals announcement online
The Champions League quarterfinal draw has a lot of fascinating possibilities.
The Champions League quarterfinal draw is here, the round many fans look forward to as the one where we start seeing a lot of high-powered matchups between European titans and get some absolutely phenomenal ties of football to watch.
But first, the draw. The eight remaining teams will be put into a single pot to be drawn — there will be no protection from playing teams in your own country any more, nor against teams that you’ve already played earlier in the Champions League. One team gets drawn, then the next, then the tie is made. Simple, sweet, and oh so packed with the potential for great matches.
The teams in the draw
Barcelona (Spain)
Bayern Munich (Germany)
Juventus (Italy)
Liverpool (England)
Manchester City (England)
Real Madrid (Spain)
AS Roma (Italy)
Sevilla (Spain)
Spain’s La Liga has the most representation remaining in the Champions League with three teams, including defending champions Real Madrid, their arch-rivals Barcelona, and the surprising presence of Sevilla after they shocked Manchester United in the round of 16. Italy and England have two teams apiece, while Bayern Munich is the lone German representative.
A few familiar names and neutral-fan favorites are missing, having been eliminated in the round of 16 to varying degrees of surprise — Paris Saint-Germain virtually imploded against Real Madrid, Chelsea fell apart badly against Barcelona, and Tottenham Hotspur suffered a late meltdown against Juventus to crash out hard. That’s left us with a hardened field filled with top-notch attacks and elite defenses, as well as 29 Champions League titles between the eight teams.
The ties we want to see
There’s no guarantee of who is going to play who, but there’s a couple of potential ties that would be surefire classics that every fan should want to see.
The obvious opponent for Real Madrid would be Barcelona, because El Clasico is always a treat, especially with such high stakes on the line. But the opponent we really want to see for Real Madrid is Manchester City — not only do they have a former great Barca manager in Pep Guardiola, but City are one of the potential great teams on the rise, dominating the Premier League and hoping to finally make their mark in the Champions League. What better what to make that mark than to beat the defending champs en route to the semifinals?
There’s another manager with a potential chance to go head-to-head with an old rival, with Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp still holding the possibility of being drawn against German juggernauts Bayern Munich. He went toe-to-toe with them frequently when he was in charge of Borussia Dortmund, and he crafted a few eye-popping results against them along the way. Now with Liverpool’s high-octane attack at his beck and call, can Klopp work some magic again and sent his old enemy Jupp Heynckes packing, or will Heynckes and Bayern get the better of him like in the 2013 Champions League final?
Watch the draw
When: Friday, 7 a.m. ET, 12 p.m. local
Where: Nyon, Switzerland
TV: Fox Sports 2 (U.S.), Sky Sport 1 (Germany), Italia 1 (Italy), beIN Sports (Spain), BT Sport 3 (U.K.)
Online: fuboTV, Fox Soccer Match Pass, Fox Sports Go (U.S.), Sky Go Deutschland (Germany), Premium Play (Italy), beIN Sports Connect España (Spain), BT Sport Live (U.K.)
