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We have entered the crunch stage of the 2018/2019 UEFA Champions League season, as what started with 32 teams in September of last year has been reduced to just the final eight clubs.
While pre-tournament favourites like Barcelona, Juventus and Manchester City have expectedly made it to the latter stages, there are quite a few surprises left in the hat.
The aforementioned trio alongside Manchester United, Ajax, Porto, Liverpool and Tottenham would battle it out for a spot in the semi-finals, with all clubs knowing their opponents in the next round when the draws are made on Friday.
Even though it might be tempting to say that all clubs have equal chances of progression, as football is a game of surprises played by 11 men apiece (nowhere was this more evident than in the last round), the truth is that the teams left are not on equal standing, with some having more chances of progression than others by virtue of their superior firepower.
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In this piece - starting from the lowest, we shall be ranking the final eight clubs based on their chances of lifting the UCL come May.
Also see : Womens World Cup Bracket, Copa America Standings, Gold Cup Standings
#8 Ajax
Player to watch - Hakim Ziyech
Perhaps the revelation of the season thus far, Ajax pulled off one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history when they overturned a 2-1 first leg home deficit by winning the second leg 4-1 at none other than the home of three times consecutive defending champions Real Madrid.
Once an indisputable superpower, the glory days of Cruyff in the early 1970's and Van Gaal in the mid 1990's are long gone and Ajax have fallen on hard times in recent years (at least on the continent).
The Amsterdam outfit had overachieved in itself by getting that far, as this was the first season that they made it out of the group stage since 2005, while their elimination of Real Madrid meant they qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time since 1996 (where they made it all the way to the final).
Led by an impressive array of young talented players including Golden Boy winner Mattijs de Ligt, the Barcelona bound Frenkie de Jong and the highly rated Hakim Ziyech among others, Ajax fans are daring to dream and there is no limit to where they have set their sights.
Even though suggesting that Ajax could make it past this stage could seem a tad wishful thinking, naysayers would do well to remember that the four-time winners of this competition have held their own this season against two heavyweights in Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, hence it would be foolhardy to write them off.
#7 FC Porto
Player to watch - Moussa Marega
The Portuguese giants have triumphed in this competition on two occasions (1987 and 2004), but since that unlikely victory under Mourinho, they have huffed and puffed, regularly qualifying for the knockout rounds without really making an impact by progressing to the latter stages.
The 'Dragons' impressively topped their group also containing the likes of Galatasaray, Schalke 04 and Lokomotiv Moscow but they are very much swimming in deeper waters among bigger fish right now.
Porto can however count on the services of Malian striker Moussa Marega who has been in red-hot form in the competition this season, scoring six goals in his seven UCL matches this season including becoming the sixth player to score in six consecutive UCL matches.
#6 Tottenham
Player to watch - Harry Kane
The Lilywhites of Tottenham have firmly established themselves as one of the top teams in the Premier League over the last few years with Mauricio Pochetino utilizing a core of unheralded players and moulding them into world beaters.
This would be their second appearance at this stage, having reached the last eight in their debut campaign back in the 2010/2011 season.
This term, they impressively navigated their way from a group also containing Barcelona and Inter despite starting very poorly, while they totally decimated Borussia Dortmund in the last round by an aggregate score of 4-0.
To get to the semi-finals for the first time in their history, they would be banking on the scoring boots of Harry Kane.
#5 Manchester United
Player to watch - Paul Pogba
What a difference three months can make in he course of a club's history, as The Red Devils have been totally reborn since the appointment of Ole Gunner Solksjaer.
Under previous manager Jose Mourinho, United were in danger of sliding into mediocrity as the club was beguiled by player-manager clashes as well as an overall air of negativity.
Their renaissance has been sparked by an upturn in performance levels of a number of players, while attacking football has been returned to Old Trafford.
In the last round, a Romelu Lukaku inspired display saw United come back from a 2-0 first leg home deficit to eliminate French moneybags PSG with a 3-1 victory and with such belief, there might be no limit to what the legendary United can achieve.
#4 Liverpool
Player to watch - Sadio Mane
Liverpool have made undeniable progress since Jurgen Klopp arrived at Anfield, growing from the mediocrity of the start of this decade into genuine title contenders.
The Reds have entertained with their exhilarating attacking brand of football and made their fans start believing in the club once more.
The addition of Virgil Van Dijk has helped turn Liverpool's defense into a fortress, which in addition to the displays of the ever threatening trio of Mo Salah, Bobby Firmino and Sadio Mane means that Liverpool would fancy their chances against anyone
Having reached the final last season, Klopp would be eager to take his team one step further and who knows, this time around, they could just go all the way.
#3 Manchester City
Player to watch - Sergio Aguero
Ever since their takeover in 2008 by multibillionaire Sheik Mansour, Manchester City have seen their fortunes massively transformed.
Billions of pounds have been spent on player recruitment to forge the club into domestic and European contenders and while the former has largely been achieved, it is in the latter where they continue to struggle.
With the players in place, it was believed that the club only lacked the services of a genuine world class coach to take them to that next step and plans were made for the arrival of Pep Guardiola.
When it comes to pedigree, there are not many coaches throughout history who have it more than the Catalan, as the 48-year-old has forged a reputation of being arguably the best coach in the world over the last decade.
Under his guidance, City trumped all before them last season in the Premier League to win the title at a banter, but they fell once again at the quarterfinal hurdle in the UCL.
Guardiola has not won the Champions League since 2011 and this is a blight he would want to amend at City.
The Cityzens are yet to make it beyond the semifinal of the UCL, but currently boast arguably the largest squad depth in all of Europe and as such, they would very much fancy their chances.
#2 Barcelona
Player to watch - Lionel Messi
Barcelona became arguably the best club team in history following their exploits between 2008 and 2012, where they won 14 out of 18 trophies available to them, including an unprecedented six trophies in 2009, but they have fallen some way off those lofty heights (even though a second treble was won in 2015).
They have massively faltered on the continent in recent years, failing to get past the quarter-final stage in each of the last three seasons, with last term's elimination to AS Roma being the nadir.
To make matters unbearable, each of the last three editions of the UCL has been won by arch rivals Real Madrid and the Blaugrana are desperate to get their hands back on the 'Big Ears'.
Though the team might have undergone some massive overhaul from those golden years under Guardiola, one man still remains - Lionel Messi, who despite his UCL struggles in recent seasons remains one of the greatest ever to grace a football field.
The Barcelona talisman stated at the start of the season that he is eager to lead Barcelona to Champions League glory and his performances so far this campaign suggests that he is on a one-man mission to fulfil his quest and with Messi in beast mode, there just might be no stopping the Catalans.
#1 Juventus
Player to watch - Cristiano Ronaldo
The Bianconeri are one of the most legendary teams in Europe, having won a plethora of titles throughout their history.
They have totally conquered the domestic game in Italy, as they are perennial winners of the Serie A, winning the Scudetto in each of the last seven seasons (make that eight), while they have also won the league and cup double in each of the last four seasons.
However, for all of their domestic dominance, they have always fallen painfully shot on the continent and are desperate to get their hands on the Champions League.
The Old Lady of Turin are two time winners of this competition, but have not triumphed in it since 1997, losing four finals in the tournament since then.
This is an anomaly that they are eager to correct, which led to them breaking the bank to sign 'you know who' in the summer.
The 34-year-old has established himself as unarguably the greatest player in the history of this competition and was at his imperial best in the last round when he almost single-handedly eliminated Atletico Madrid with a stunning hat-trick at the Juventus stadium to overturn the first leg 2-0 deficit.
There is a reason he is called 'Mr Champions League' and with him in their ranks, an already strong Juventus can fancy their chances of going all the way.
