BFW Roundtable: Who do we want Bayern Munich to face and avoid in the Champions League quarterfinals?

The UEFA Champions League is now ready to progress to the quarterfinals, after what was a very eventful round of 16. Bayern Munich dispatched their opponents Lazio with relative ease, and find themselves in deeper waters, albeit familiar territory. No side has qualified to the quarterfinals of Europe’s top competition more often than the Bavarian giants, who find themselves in their 19th (!!) quarterfinal.

Nice.

This season’s edition sees a top 8 featuring some really top teams. All of them are strong, and none of them would be pushovers. Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Liverpool, Real Madrid, PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City round off a superb lineup. One thing’s for sure: Bayern will have their work cut out for them, regardless of the opponent. However, if anyone can get the job done, it’s Flick-Bayern.

Here’s who we’d like Bayern Munich to face and avoid in the quarterfinals:

Samrin Hasib

Preferred draw: Borussia Dortmund

There is something about domestic rivalries being taken on to the continental stage. Whenever Real played Barca in the Champions League and whenever Atletico played Real, the draws seemed to have additional flavor to them. The best Champions League final I have ever watched is between Bayern and Dortmund in 2013; for comparison, the first Champions League final I have memories of is Arsenal vs Barcelona in 2006. I wish Arsenal was in the draw; I love it when my two teams are drawn together but the Gunners might not even be participating in the Europa League next season; so, that is out of the question. While the pundits and the media will not care about an all-German tie, for me, it is the tie I would want to see the most.

Draw to avoid: Real Madrid

I have had too many bad nights due to Real Madrid and I don’t want to be reminded of Ronaldo’s offside goals, Sven Ulreich’s one mistake in an otherwise impeccable season which cost us against them, red cards for Arturo Vidal and Javi Martinez (both in games we were leading if I remember correctly), a missed penalty by Vidal and I could go on. At one point, after Roy Makaay had scored the fastest goal in Champions League history against Real, it was fun to face them. But, right now, even if Real Madrid Castilla show up instead of the first team, I would still rather play someone else.

Schnitzel01

Preferred draw: Real Madrid

There are many reasons why Real Madrid would be an appealing option in the quarterfinals: They haven’t been great domestically, are struggling with consistency and have been unable to find a winning rhythm, we’d have the return leg in Munich (unlike when facing an English side) but most importantly, WE GET REVENGE. Simply put, I would love to watch Bayern bathe Madrid in red. Real Madrid have been the cause of a few painful exits (with the help of poor refereeing) and I think a thrashing is long overdue. Flick Bayern might be the team best equipped to do just that, and facing Real will just give Bayern players additional motivation. There will be blood.

Draw to avoid: Manchester City

I simply don’t think Bayern vs City is a quarterfinal matchup. This would be too early a meet, and Bayern could do without the added pressure of facing the only other side in Europe that comes close to being a UCL favourite. The Bundesliga title race is heating up, and a few slip ups will be all clubs like Leipzig would need to leapfrog Bayern to first place. This has all the makings of a very tantalizing tie in the future, but the QFs come too soon. Plus, who knows? City could get knocked out in the next round, if history chooses to repeat itself.

Photo by Peter Zador/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

RuneKingThor

Preferred draw: Liverpool

A rematch of Bayern’s last defeat in the Champions League. Riddled with Injury problems, poor run of form, Liverpool, however, still remain tough cookies that won’t be walkovers despite their problems. This is probably the best time for Bayern to face the English Champions with the odds in their favour in recent times. The bitter taste still lingers around from the defeat to Liverpool under Kovac and the time is ripe to cleanse the Bavarians’ palate with a resounding victory.

Draw to avoid: Manchester City

This is a no-brainer. I don’t want to use the word fragile, but City have a certain streak in the Champions League which tends to add a factor of unpredictability in their games whoever their opponents are. Be that as it may, City are right now pressing as well if not better than Bayern, defending better than Bayern and are probably the most threatening team to Bayern’s chances of defending their title. Don’t get me wrong, Bayern have nothing to fear against City but just that this game deserves to be played in the semis or the finals.

Fergus25

Preferred draw: Real Madrid

I would like for Bayern to draw Real Madrid. The opportunity for revenge would be sweet and I think there would be a high chance of a Bayern win with this tie — this Madrid team is a shell of what it once was and will be ripe for a beating from Bayern’s ferocious high press. I also want Man City in our side of the bracket, this Bayern team would overwhelm them over two legs and what a fantastical footballing spectacle this match would be, potentially the highest quality match of football seen in years.

Draw to avoid: Borussia Dortmund

I wouldn’t want to draw Dortmund. I think this Dortmund team can surprise people and make it to the next round — it would be nice to see two Bundesliga sides at the semi finals again... And, it’s not like Dortmund would be pushovers either, with one of the best players in the world in Erling Haaland. They could easily knock Bayern out on their day.

Logan Chugg

Preferred draw: Porto

Although Porto has been very impressive in this Champions League campaign, I think it would be best case for Bayern to draw them now. Since Bayern is still in a much too close title race in the Bundesliga, it would be nice to not have to play one of Europe’s juggernauts in this round. This way, Bayern could take care of things on the home front and then move their focus to Europe once they have hopefully distanced themselves from Leipzig. These would obviously all be best case scenarios.

Draw to avoid: Manchester City

I would not like to see Bayern play Manchester City. Similar to why I would like to see Bayern play Porto, playing City at this stage would be a strain on Bayern while their focus is also still needed to finish atop the Bundesliga table. Also, many believe that Bayern and City are the two best teams in the world right now. If this matchup were “wasted” on anything but the Champions League final, it would be a shame.

So that was us with our preferences. What do you think? Who would you like to see Bayern face, and who do you want Bayern to avoid at all costs? Let us know in the comments!