The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals are upon us, with the field of 36 down to just eight. The near-certain Premier League champions, Liverpool, have been eliminated, at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, the first European team to clinch their domestic title this season.
The first legs of the quarterfinals will take place tomorrow and Wednesday, with the return legs to be played the following week. There’s a lot on the line: PSG and Arsenal are still searching for their first-ever Champions League title.
DraftKings Sportsbook has plenty of bets available every week for the UCL. In this article, I’m going to run you through my favorites over the next two days, with one from each game.
First, let’s take a look at the full list of fixtures:
Real Madrid at Arsenal, 3 p.m. ET, April 8
Internazionale at Bayern Munich, 3 p.m. ET, April 8
Borussia Dortmund at FC Barcelona, 3 p.m. ET, April 9
Aston Villa at Paris Saint-Germain, 3 p.m. ET, April 9
Arsenal-Real Madrid Tie and O1.5 Goals (+320)
Arguably the most-anticipated matchup of the quarterfinal round is between the winningest team in the history of the competition and one without a title. Plus, both teams have arguably underperformed domestically this season — the Gunners are second in the Premier League, but 12 points behind Liverpool, while Real Madrid trails Barcelona by four points atop La Liga.
Madrid’s defense has been shaky as of late, having given up four goals in a dramatic Copa del Rey semifinal tie against Real Sociedad last week, and they also lost 2-1 to 15th-placed Valencia in the league to drop critical points in the title fight. The Galacticos have given up goals in eight straight games across all competitions, their longest such streak of defensive futility this season, and the health of Thibaut Courtois, who’s expected to make his return from tomorrow from a calf issue that cost him more than two weeks, is a question. Arsenal has had a more solid back line, but just lost starting center back Gabriel for the season with a hamstring tear.
It’s Madrid in the Champions League; they’re going to score. Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, and Federico Valverde is simply too lethal an attacking combination for them not to. And for all the concern about the Gunners’ No. 9, they’ve done well without a world-class striker, scoring the fourth-most goals in the Premier League and the fifth-most in the UCL. Arsenal loses very rarely but is out of the English title fight because it draws too frequently domestically. It’ll pick up another one tomorrow night.
Internazionale Moneyline (+310)
Prior to the international break, this match might’ve been the most anticipated of the quarterfinal. Bayern looks set to reclaim its place atop the German football pyramid, holding a six-point lead over last season’s champions, Bayer Leverkusen, with six games left in the season, while Inter have a four-point lead atop Serie A with seven games remaining, although second-place Napoli has a game in hand. The Nerrazzuri have had the fourth-best defense in Italy and have been a virtual brick wall in the Champions League, conceding just two goals in the competition so far. The Bavarians made a statement by beating Leverkusen 5-0 on aggregate in the Round of 16, while Inter easily dispatched Feyenoord, 4-1.
Especially at the Allianz Arena, it should be close, but given Bayern’s injuries, I’m going to give the edge to the Italian side. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer suffered a torn calf muscle in the first leg of the quarterfinal and will miss at least tomorrow’s match. Then, left back Alphonso Davies suffered a torn ACL while on international duty with Canada. Most recently, attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala tore his hamstring in Bayern’s 3-1 win over Augsburg on Friday.
Their replacements represent huge downgrades from the injured stars. 20-year-old goalkeeper Jonas Urbig did keep a clean sheet in the second leg against Leverkusen, but he’s recorded just a 53.3% save percentage in his four Bundesliga starts, which obviously won’t be good enough to stop Lautaro Martinez. Club legend Thomas Müller will likely replace Musiala in the first XI, and while the 34-year-old is still a solid player, he’s posting by far the worst goals-per-shot figure of his career. Josip Stanišić might be a better pure defender than Davies, but he offers somewhat less dynamism in attack. The margin for error is thin against Inter, even if the Italians are coming off a draw against lowly Parma. Bayern’s injuries give the Nerrazzuri the edge.
Raphinha Anytime Goalscorer (+140)
The Ballon d’Or quest will likely come down to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah or the best player on either Barcelona or PSG if either wins the Champions League. Thus, PSG’s elimination of the Reds means that Raphinha has become arguably the Ballon d’Or front-runner. The 28-year-old Brazilian has broken out this season, recording 13 goals and eight assists in La Liga as the Blaugrana have opened up a four-point lead at the top of the domestic table. His attacking partner, Lamine Yamal, probably hasn’t scored enough to win football’s highest individual honor as a 17-year-old, and Robert Lewandowski hasn’t done enough besides score, leaving the winger as Barcelona’s top candidate. Barcelona, which will face Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, has a realistic shot at its first treble since 2014-15.
Wednesday could be an opportunity for Raphinha to solidify his Ballon d’Or candidacy with a big performance in the Champions League quarterfinal. Dortmund is a relatively kind opponent, as BVB is just eighth in the Bundesliga and has given up the second-most goals of any team remaining in the competition. They have now conceded in six straight games across all competitions, including both legs of their Round of 16 tie against Lille, and Gregor Kobel has posted some of the worst stats of his career, with a 66.3% save percentage that ranks in just the 23rd percentile among goalies in Europe’s top five leagues. Raphinha, meanwhile, netted in both legs of Barcelona’s Round of 16 matchup against Benfica, and he ranks in the top decile in every single attacking category. Plus, Dortmund’s best defender, Nico Schlotterbeck, players in the center and won’t be marking Raphinha on the wing.
Paris Saint-Germain 2+ Goals and 6+ Corners (+110)
The French champions have been good in set pieces this season, drawing the most corners in Ligue 1. PSG has earned a total of 5.67 per match across all competitions — including seven per contest in the Champions League — thanks to drawing 14 corners in the Round of 16 first leg against Liverpool and in a league phase matchup against PSV Eindhoven. The Parisians have drawn six or more corners in exactly half of their UCL matches thus far, including in both legs of the Round of 16, and they also lead the competition in attacks and rank second in shot attempts and shots on goal. Unsurprisingly, they’ve also scored two or more goals in five of their last seven UCL games and 17 of their 23 matches across all competitions in 2025.
Ultimately, PSG’s chances will come down to how much it can challenge two-time Yashin Trophy winner Emiliano Martinez. The Villa shot-stopper is having a down season by his lofty standards, having conceded 1.3 more goals this season than would have been expected based on the quality of the shot after it was struck, and his overall 71.8% save percentage ranks in just the 61st percentile of goalies in Europe’s top five leagues. Martinez is still an above-average shot-stopper overall — especially in the UCL, where he’s posted an 86.0% save percentage so far — but he’ll have to be at his best to avoid conceding corners to PSG’s brilliant attack. To his credit, Villa has allowed the sixth-fewest corners in the Premier League and conceded six or more in just one of its 10 UCL matches so far, but it came in a league phase win over Bayern, the only attack more potent than PSG’s.
