Michael Olise has 16 goals and 24 assists to his name from 40 appearances across all competitions this season, averaging a goal involvement every 79 minutes. This has been his most prolific season to date, but the Frenchman doesn’t quite get the plaudits he deserves, playing in the Bundesliga. 

Olise’s return in the Champions League has been as impressive, with three goals and five assists from his nine appearances in the competition, and he scored a brace against Atalanta in the previous round. This upcoming clash against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu promises to be a tough one, but it’s an excellent opportunity for Olise to showcase his talent once more. 

He is averaging 3.74 shots per 90 in the Champions League this campaign, and has landed this selection in six of his nine matches. That includes two shots on target against PSG at the Parc des Princes.

Kylian Mbappe cut a bit of a frustrated figure over the weekend as Real Madrid lost ground in the title race with a 2-1 defeat to Mallorca on the road. Mbappe was very lively in that game, and should have really scored, with six shots overall - seeing three of these attempts find the target. 

Mbappe walked away with a personal xG tally of 0.59, accounting for a large chunk of the 1.28 xG that Real Madrid generated in the game overall. He’s been brilliant in the Champions League this season, netting 13 goals across eight starts from a crazy 46 shots (5.66 per 90). 24 of these efforts have found the target (2.95 per 90) - giving Mbappe really healthy underlying metrics for our selection.

Unsurprisingly, Mbappe is the top scorer in the Champions League this season which remains the case if you look at his open play goals (10). He’s also pitched in with three penalties, which can act as a route to goal for Mbappe if he doesn’t quite get the opportunities to find the target at least twice from open play.

This looks like it’s going to be a really fun tie. Real Madrid lost more ground in the LaLiga title race over the weekend as they lost 2-1 to Mallorca while Barcelona registered a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid. This is important because it leaves the Champions League as the most achievable trophy for Real Madrid, a success which is expected at a club the size of Real Madrid despite the turbulence which has hit the club throughout the season.

Real Madrid have seen BTTS in each of their last four matches across all competitions. This includes victories over the likes of Atletico Madrid and Manchester City, so Real Madrid aren’t struggling massively at the moment but it is clear that their defensive solidity is lacking right now. This has been the case all season with injuries and poor recruitment contributing to a backline which is constantly changing and vulnerable to the attacking talent of Bayern Munich. 

Bayern Munich have seen BTTS in four of their last five matches across all competitions, I’d also say they are a bit of a top heavy side in that their attacking talent far exceeds the quality of their backline. With both sides clearly having incredible attacking quality, it’s hard to see how both sides don’t end up on the scoresheet in the first leg of this quarter final clash.

Dayot Upamecano is averaging 0.81 fouls per 90 in the Bundesliga this season, which is nothing to write home about, but that figure jumps significantly to 1.78 in the Champions League. The Frenchman racked up four fouls against Atalanta in the first leg of the previous round, and was fortunate to escape a booking. He was less lucky against Arsenal during the league phase, as he recorded two infringements, this time worth a booking at the Emirates.

Vincent Komany likes his side to be aggressive in their duels, which is led by their centre backs who squeeze forward in an attempt to sustain pressure. Upamecano can be a bit clumsy at times, which explains his foul numbers, and he was even sent off against Brazil in a friendly during the international break. Upamecano will have his hands full trying to deal with Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe here.

Jonathan Tah will be one of the Bayern players expected to shoulder a massive defensive responsibility, and the centre back was carded against Freiburg at the weekend. The 30-year-old has been no stranger to the referee’s notebook this season, as he has already been booked seven times in 38 appearances across all competitions. Tah is averaging 1.45 fouls per 90 across all competitions, which is already one of the highest values in the Bayern squad, but it rises even further to 2.07 when playing in the Champions League. 

Tah accounted for four of Bayern’s eight infringements in the second leg against Atalanta, highlighting his aggressive approach to duels. He draws a tough matchup here against Kylian Mbappe, and potentially Vinicius Junior if he is fit enough to start. Tah also recorded three fouls against Arsenal, and two against PSG during the league phase. 

Valverde single-handedly got Real Madrid through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, as his first half hat-trick at the Bernabeu in the first leg proved decisive. Prior to that, the Uruguay international had only scored three goals in 76 appearances in the Champions League, but Valverde has been given a more attacking role under Alvaro Arbeloa, and he again came close to scoring in the second leg against Pep Guardiola’s men. Valverde found himself one-on-one in the early minutes but was denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma. 

Bayern will be well aware of Valverde’s threat, but containing a player of his quality is always difficult. Just before the international break, Valverde racked up four shots against Atletico in the Madrid derby - three of those efforts hit the target, and one even found the back of the net before he was sent off after 77 minutes.