Champions League Predictions: Semifinals, Leg 2

Just three matches remain until a new champion of Europe is crowned, which scarcely seems believable. But it's true, on tomorrow and Wednesday, two teams will book their tickets to Paris for the Champions League Final on May 28.

If all goes the same way it went in the first leg, we might be headed for our 3rd all-England Final in 4 years. Liverpool won their sixth title over league rivals Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, while Manchester City were denied at the altar by Chelsea last year, but both those sides (who are also in the midst of a photo finish to the Premier League season) appear poised to qualify for the title again after winning the first legs at home. I'm not one to shy away from tooting my own horn, so I will happily point out that I basically nailed my predictions of the first leg. To be fair, I underestimated the sheer level of craziness City's clash with Real Madrid would hold-- never would I have predicted a 4-3 scoreline that could have easily been more like 8-5 --but it was in fact a thrilling, back-and-forth contest that the Mancunians ultimately won by one goal. And in the second semifinal, just as I expected, it took Liverpool a long time of poking and prodding the Villarreal defense before ultimately breaking through for a 2-0 victory.

So who will emerge victorious this week and gear up for a season-ending trip to France? To this week's two semifinals!

Villarreal vs. Liverpool

Former Liverpool great and current correspondent Jamie Carragher summed up Liverpool's 2-0 victory perfectly last week, explaining that it was a weird result in that in many ways, both clubs are happy with it. The Reds of course will be the more thrilled to be taking a multiple goal advantage into the 2nd leg, but this second leg is away from home in front of an inspired, impassioned fanbase, and the fact of the matter is, proceedings really could have and should have been over by now. Liverpool's dominance was so comprehensive that Villarreal did not register a single shot on goal in their match and indeed hardly even possessed the ball at all, let alone in any dangerous attacking position. To only be down two goals at this point is no small accomplishment. Is that margin one they can overcome, though? I've tried taking off my Liverpool fan blinders to make the prediction, but truthfully, I just can't see it. It is by no means impossible, and I'm not saying it can't or won't happen. But I just think the match plays out one of two ways: one, Villarreal from the very start play a much more open match than they are used to in search of the necessary goals, and while doing so yields them some dangerous chances (and perhaps even a goal or two), it also leaves them far more open to being shredded by their opponents' lethal counterattacking ability. Or two, they go the Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester City route, and stick to their stodgy, defensive gameplan for as long as possible to keep the tie alive, and hope to nick a couple goals against a tired Liverpool defense, to no avail. I think the latter is more likely, but either way suits Liverpool just fine.

The Pick: Draw, 0-0 (Liverpool advance on 2-0 aggregate)

Manchester City vs. Real Madrid

Regardless of what happens on Wednesday, it will be very well difficult to top the madness at the Etihad last week. In a match in which Manchester City looked like they could score any time they wanted, they "only" scored 4 times, which to be fair, is still quite a lot. And yet, still wasn't enough to close the door on this tie, as moments of brilliance from (who else?) Karim Benzema and Vinicius saw Madrid put in 3 goals of their own. It seemed like much of the tone of the post-match commentary was centered around how disappointed City must be to only be up one goal, and perhaps taking their lead from that, Benzema and other Madrid players have begun to express confidence that they can make some magic happen in front of their home crowd. And it should be said, Real have been unbelievable in these knockout stages at pulling victories out from the brink of elimination. But I just can't see them doing it yet again. Even before factoring in motivation angles, it's no secret that Manchester City is absurdly good. Like, "deepest and richest team in the World" good. But just as importantly, they have to want this so bad. So many consecutive years now of being mocked for not being able to win in Europe, and coming so achingly close this year, are they going to come this far only to lose a lead to a side that's probably still basking in their La Liga title glory from last weekend? I don't think so. I'm going to be stubborn and stay with the exact same pick I made for Leg 1: City wins this one as well, 2-1.

The Pick: Manchester City, 2-1 (Manchester City advance on 6-4 aggregate)