The UEFA Champions League play-off draw has been announced. (All pics GETTY)
The UEFA Champions League play-off draw has been announced. (All pics GETTY)
A supercomputer has predicted how the likes of Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern Munich would fare after the UEFA Champions League play-off draw was announced earlier this week. Among the aforementioned teams, Madrid and PSG are in the play-offs.
Following a 3-2 home win over Kairat in midweek, the Gunners topped the 36-team standings with a perfect 8/8 record. Meanwhile, Bayern won 2-1 at 10-man PSV Eindhoven to finish second, while Barca hammered Copenhagen 4-1 at home to go fifth.
Fifteen-time champons Real Madrid, though, missed the chance to finish in the top eight and avoid the play-offs after losing 4-2 at Benfica, while holders PSG drew 1-1 at home to Newcastle United to slip into the play-offs.
As per Betting Lounge's Supercomputer (via Bavarian Football Works), both Los Blancos and PSG are expected to emerge from the play-offs unscathed. The Parisians are predicted to beat AS Monaco 3-0 on aggregate, while Madrid could need penalties to see off Benfica after a 5-5 aggregate draw over two legs.
In the Round of 16, though, Los Blancos are predicted to fall to Manchester City (5-1 on aggregate), the same team they had beaten in last season's play-offs. In the last eight, the Gunners, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern are predicted to emerge victorious, with Mikel Arteta's side to beat the Blaugrana and PSG hammering Bayern 7-0 on aggregate.
Finally, the Supercomputer predicted the Gunners to beat holders PSG 2-1 in the final to win their maiden UEFA Champions League title.
How did Arsenal and Real Madrid fare in the UEFA Champions League last season?
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta
Arsenal and Real Madrid met in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals last season. The Gunners had finished third in the newly introduced league phase format, behind Liverpool and Barcelona, while Madrid finished 11th.
Los Blancos beat Manchester City 6-3 on aggregate in the play-offs to move to the Round of 16, where they beat cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate draw. Meanwhile, the Gunners walloped PSV Eindhoven 9-3 on aggregate to seal a last-eight clash with Madrid.
Mikel Arteta's side won the first leg 3-0 at home before winning the return 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu to move into the last four, where they fell 3-1 on aggregate to eventual winners PSG, losing 1-0 at home in the first leg and 2-1 away to bow out.