Can the Premier League make it a clean sweep in the UEFA European club competitions?
The English top-flight is the only league with representation in all three UEFA club competitions at the quarter-finals stage.
Arsenal and Manchester City will face Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Liverpool and West Ham will be looking to rule the roost in the Europa League, although they both face tricky quarter-final fixtures.
Liverpool will take on Serie A side Atalanta, while West Ham’s reward for seeing off Freiburg in the last-16 is a tie against another Bundesliga opponent, high-flying Bayer Leverkusen.
Aston Villa complete Premier League representation in all three tiers of UEFA club competitions. The Villans will face French Ligue 1 outfit Lille for a place in the semi-finals against the winner of the tie between Olympiakos and Fenerbahce.
The best league?
Italy has four representatives in the quarter-finals, but none in the Champions League.
Serie A clubs Atalanta, AC Milan and Roma dominate the Europa League quarter-finals line-up, while Fiorentina will be vying for the Europa Conference League trophy.
If fact, with AC Milan and Roma facing each other in the quarter-finals, Italy is guaranteed a representative in the Europa League semi-finals.
The Spanish La Liga has three clubs in the Champions League quarter-finals (Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona), but zero representation in the second and third tier competitions.
Quarter-finals representation in all three UEFA club competitions is an excellent advert for the Premier League as a brand. It will add traction to the claim that the English top-flight is the best, not only in Europe, but in the world.
Invaluable experience
Manager and squad experience is crucial in European club competitions. This is where the Premier League has the edge, boasting arguably the best aggregate managerial experience.
Only Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is yet to guide a club to European glory. Pep Guardiola, David Moyes, Jurgen Klopp and Unai Emery have all been there and done that. The experience should stand their respective clubs in good stead.
Man City are the defending Champions League champions after breaking their duck last season. They have a manager with the know-how and a squad to win back-to-back titles.
David Moyes guided West Ham to Europa Conference League triumph last term, the club’s first European trophy since 1965. Can the Hammers’ European fairytale continue?
Liverpool won the 2019 installment of the Champions League and also reached the finals in 2018 and 2022. The Reds know to negotiate tricky bends in Europe.
Aston Villa are yet to win a European trophy, but in Emery they have a manager with an unmatched European record.
The Spaniard won the 2020-21 edition of the UEFA Europa League with Villarreal to add to three back-to-back titles with Seville. He will be Villa’s key ‘player’ as they chase Europa Conference League glory.
Klopp’s parting gift?
There won’t be a quadruple for Liverpool after they were dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester United.
However, the Reds, who have already won the Carabao League Cup this term, remain in the hunt for the Premier League title and the Europa League trophy.
With Klopp to leave Anfield at the end of the season, could the UEFA Europa League trophy be one of his parting gifts to Liverpool fans?
