MX23RW : Friday, January 24 03:30:55| >> :120:10920:10920:

Milner hoping to avoid all-English clash in Champions League quarter-finals

Milner hoping to avoid all-English clash in Champions League quarter-finals
© Reuters
Premier League clubs make up half of the last eight for the first time in a decade.

James Milner wants Liverpool to avoid English opponents in the Champions League quarter-final draw on Friday.

Liverpool joined Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham in the last eight of the competition by beating Bayern Munich 3-1 in Germany on Wednesday.

Ajax, Barcelona, Juventus and Porto complete the quarter-final line-up, and Milner hopes as many English teams as possible make the last four.

"To have four teams in the last eight is great for England," Liverpool midfielder Milner said.

"I don't want to play any of the others, to be honest. We want as many (as possible) going forward.

"In previous years, we have always had the belief that the Premier League is the best in the world. But it has been a top league and there haven't been that many teams (in the latter stages) of this one."

This is the first time England has had four teams in the quarter-finals since Liverpool and United were joined by Arsenal and Chelsea in the 2008-09 campaign.

Liverpool reached the final of the Champions League last season before losing 3-1 to Real Madrid in Kiev.

But England, whose teams dominated the old European Cup between 1976 and 1984 with seven wins, has not supplied a champion since Chelsea in 2012.

"Every team left in the competition is a good side," Milner said.

"We know that. People will look at Porto and Ajax (as weaker), but they are young teams and they are flying.

"They deserve to be there and we know they will be tough teams."

Pep Guardiola's free-scoring City are the favourites with the bookmakers after their 10-2 aggregate thrashing of German club Schalke in the last 16.

Barcelona and Juventus come next in the betting ahead of Liverpool, United and Spurs, with Ajax and Porto the two big outsiders.

United great Ryan Giggs believes his former club enter the draw as potential winners after upsetting fancied Paris St Germain to make the quarter-finals.

"I don't see why not when he's gone to PSG with the team he's got and won," Giggs said, when asked if his former team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could land European football's biggest prize while in caretaker charge at Old Trafford.

"There are worse teams that have done well and got to finals. They have undoubtedly got the quality and the confidence at the moment.

"But there are still some big teams in there. It will be difficult, but not impossible.

"They are playing brilliantly and the results have been amazing."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Phil Blanche, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '74c82b1b-8616-4c58-b4c0-50fb59307860');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Milner hoping to avoid all-English clash in Champions League quarter-finals'});

ID:353436: cacheID:353436:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5448:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring for Juventus against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on March 12, 2019.
Read Next:
Champions League: The eight teams left battling for glory
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool21155150203050
2Arsenal22128243212244
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest22135433221144
4Chelsea22117444271740
5Manchester CityMan City22115644291538
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle22115638261238
7Bournemouth22107536261037
8Aston Villa2210663334-136
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2281043530534
10Fulham228953430433
11Brentford2284104039128
12Crystal Palace226972528-327
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd2275102732-526
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2275102743-1626
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs22731245351024
16Everton214891828-1020
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2244143251-1916
18Ipswich TownIpswich2237122043-2316
19Leicester CityLeicester2235142348-2514
20Southampton2213181550-356


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!