Liverpool, Man City, Real Madrid: Carragher, Henry & Richards predict Champions League winner

We’re at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League and all eight clubs will be dreaming of winning the biggest prize in club football.

Okay, both Benfica and Villarreal will be delighted to just have reached this stage and the chances of them being in Paris come May 28 appear unlikely.

But who will win the Champions League this season? Will Manchester City finally do it? Will Chelsea retain their title? Will Bayern Munich do it for the second time in three seasons? Will Real Madrid lift the trophy for a record 14th time? Will Liverpool make it seven European triumphs?

Well, that question was asked on CBS Sports ahead of the first of the quarter-finals.

Among those predicting the rest of the Champions League knockouts were Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards, Guillem Balague and Peter Schmeichel.

They not only had to predict who would win the four quarter-finals but then speculate who would win the respective semis and then, ultimately, the final.

Let’s take a look at who they went for:

Quarter-finalsChelsea vs Real Madrid – REAL MADRIDManchester City vs Atletico Madrid – MANCHESTER CITYBayern Munich vs Villarreal – BAYERN MUNICHBenfica vs Liverpool – LIVERPOOL

Semi-finalsReal Madrid vs Manchester City – MANCHESTER CITYBayern Munich vs Liverpool – LIVERPOOL

FinalManchester City vs Liverpool – MANCHESTER CITY

Henry certainly won’t be alone in predicting a Man City vs Liverpool final. In possibly the most difficult quarter-final to predict, Henry has opted for Real Madrid over Chelsea. In Paris, Henry is backing City to beat Liverpool.

Quarter-finalsChelsea vs Real Madrid – CHELSEAManchester City vs Atletico Madrid – MANCHESTER CITYBayern Munich vs Villarreal – BAYERN MUNICHBenfica vs Liverpool – LIVERPOOL