The UEFA Champions League is quickly coming to its end. With the quarterfinal round set to take place in the coming weeks, here are some of the most intriguing stories to watch for.

A Meeting of European Giants

The latter stages of the UEFA Champions League always offer up some blockbuster ties, but it doesn’t get much bigger than European royalty Real Madrid and Bayern Munich meeting in this season’s quarterfinals. Madrid, powered by Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham, has won the Champions League/European Cup a record 15 times. Bayern Munich, led by prolific forward Harry Kane and dazzling wingers Michael Olise and Luis Diaz, is tied with Liverpool for the third-most wins with six.

The first leg is set to be played at the Estadio Bernabeu in Madrid, with the return leg taking place a week later at Bayern’s Allianz Arena. Real Madrid has had a season of ups and downs. The club fired manager Xabi Alonso in January after only eight months in charge and promoted Castilla academy coach Alvaro Arbeloa to take his place until the end of the season. After finishing outside the top eight spots in the group stage, Madrid then had to go through a two-legged playoff against Benfica to earn a place in the last 16, where they saw off Manchester City with a 5-1 aggregate win.

Meanwhile, Bayern rolled through the group stage, finishing in second behind Arsenal. Under second-year manager Vincent Kompany, the club is also strolling its way to a record 34th Bundesliga title. Madrid’s struggles have led many to consider Bayern the favorites in the tie. However, you can’t underestimate Real’s European pedigree and the club’s ability to turn it on when it matters most in the Champions League. One thing is for sure—this is a tie you definitely don’t want to miss.

PSG’s Quest for Back-to-Back Titles

Paris Saint-Germain is searching to become only the second team in the modern Champions League era to win the competition in back-to-back years. The only previous team to do so was Real Madrid, which won three consecutive titles from 2016 to 2018. Led by 2025 Ballon D’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and boasting a scary cast of forwards in Desire Doue, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola, PSG has the talent to put any team to the sword. This is evidenced by them crushing two-time winners Chelsea 8-3 on aggregate in the previous round.

One concern is that the team hasn’t been as productive in front of goal this season, managing only 2.08 goals per game compared to 2.71 last year. There are also still lingering questions about the club’s decision to part ways with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma last summer. The Italian keeper made numerous hugely important saves in last year’s Champions League and was a major part of why PSG won the title.

Donnarumma’s replacement, Lucas Chevalier, has looked shaky at times and made several high-profile errors. Chevalier conceded a sloppy late goal in January’s 2-1 group stage loss to Benfica. That error led manager Luis Enrique to drop him for the final group stage match against Newcastle.

PSG face Liverpool in the quarterfinals. If they win, they’ll then have the unenviable task of facing either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich for a place in the final.

Arsenal Out to Prove It’s the Best Team in the World

After breezing through the group stage, winning all eight games to finish at the top of the table, many were ready to declare Arsenal the best team in Europe and the world. The club also looks set to win its first Premier League title in over 20 years, although Manchester City may still have something to say about that.

The problem is that, for all of the incredible talent and depth Arsenal now possess, they’ve repeatedly wilted under pressure in recent seasons when things really started to matter. This has led many people to question whether they have what it takes to win major trophies. Kai Havertz is the only current squad member to have tasted Champions League success, winning with Chelsea in 2020/2021 against Manchester City and scoring the only goal of the match.

There is no doubt that Arsenal has one of the most talented squads in Europe. Whether the team has the mentality to get over the line and finally win the club its first Champions League trophy is still up in the air. The good news is that they have likely the easiest tie of the quarterfinals against Sporting CP. A win will then set up a semifinal showdown against either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid.

Liverpool Looking to Save Their Season (and Possibly Slot’s Job)

After replacing club legend Jurgen Klopp with Arne Slot, Liverpool cruised to the Premier League title last year. They also made it to the round of 16 in the Champions League, losing to PSG on penalties. This season has been a completely different story. The team has been guilty of underperforming at various times. This is in spite of the club spending a record of over $600 million on new signings in the summer. The struggles have led some to question whether Slot is the right man for the job. There is speculation that Liverpool could part ways with the manager in the summer should the team fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League or win it this year.

Liverpool are out of the Premier League title race and both domestic cups. The only shot at a successful season is winning the Champions League. Mohamed Salah has already announced that he’s leaving the club at the end of the season. Sending him off with a second Champions League medal would be a fitting end to his legendary Liverpool career.

The problem with Liverpool this season is that it’s impossible to know which team will show up. They’ve played stunning football at times. Other times, the team has looked extremely disjointed and lost matches they really should’ve won. After losing the first leg 1-0 to Galatasaray in the previous round, Liverpool roared back with a 4-0 home win to book their place in the quarterfinals. The next step is for the team to show that it has what it takes to overcome a much bigger challenge in the form of PSG. They go into the tie with hopes of rescuing their season and potentially keeping Arne Slot in his job.