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The UEFA Champions League returned this week and the quarterfinals got underway with a bang, as a couple of Europe’s top clubs began to make their case as contender to win the continent’s top club prize.

Arsenal who are targeting a trip to the competition’s semifinals for the first time in 19 years jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Real Madrid thanks to two massive goals from Declan Rice. Inter continued their hunt for a treble on a trip to Bayern Munich in a rematch of the 2010 final that the Italian side won. They walked out 2-1 winners, putting themselves firmly in the drivers season head of the return leg at the San Siro.

Rounding things out on Wednesday are Paris Saint-Germain, who have positioned themselves as the most exciting team left after Luis Enrique’s young side eliminated Liverpool, and Aston Villa, who are enjoying a deep run during their first Champions League season in four decades, and then Barcelona taking on a resurgent Borussia Dortmund side looking to repeat last season’s Cinderella run to the final.

Don’t miss any of the Champions League. As always, you can catch all of our coverage across Paramount+, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network all season long.

Here are our expert picks for this matchday:

Champions League quarterfinals

PSG vs. Aston Villa

Player to watch: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – The Georgian’s January acquisition looks to have raised PSG’s Champions League ceiling dramatically, a side that maybe topped out at dark horses now having a compelling case to rank among the two or three favorites to win outright. Kvaratskhelia’s willingness to drift across the frontline has added unpredictability to the PSG attack, when he is in his best left wing position he could be a real test for Matty Cash. — James Benge

Man of the match: Vitinha – The Portuguese midfielder is probably one of the most underrated players of the French team that just clinched the Ligue 1 title over the weekend. When Vitinha is playing well, PSG are usually winning games and showing their best potential. — Francesco Porzio

Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain 2, Aston Villa 1 – With the Ligue 1 title officially in the bag, PSG can now concentrate almost exclusively on their exciting Champions League form. Luis Enrique’s side proved they can compete with Europe’s elites after outplaying and eliminating Liverpool in the last 16. Expect them to live up to the hype against Villa, who have enough firepower to keep things close. — Pardeep Cattry

Best bet: Best bet: Ousmane Dembele to score (+125) — Kicking things off at home, PSG will want to start off quickly and there’s no better way to do that than through the hot form of Dembele. Someone who has been one of the hottest scoring soccer players in the entire world during 2025, the Frenchman will be looked to early and often to make things happen during the game. With so many attackers that can hurt them, Aston Villa will eventually cave allowing Dembele to score. — Chuck Booth

Barcelona vs. Dortmund

Player to watch: Maximilian Beier – One of the form forwards in the Bundesliga with two goals and two assists in his last two games, Beier was also the one to break Lille hearts at the death in the round of 16. In what promises to be a transition-heavy match, he could be a serious threat to the Barcelona backline. — James Benge

Man of the match: Raphinha – The Brazilian winger has been one of the best players around Europe this season, but he recently struggled, as he failed to score in the last La Liga match against Real Betis on Saturday. The former Leeds United player is called to react and there is no better chance to do than on Wednesday against the German team. — Francesco Porzio

Prediction: Barcelona 3, Borussia Dortmund 1 – This feels like the biggest mismatch in the Champions League quarterfinals considering the teams’ contrasting form. Barcelona have more than enough in terms of attacking output thanks to the in-form Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal, but clean sheets have not exactly been a strength of their so expect Dortmund not to come out of the game empty-handed. — Pardeep Cattry

Best bet: Raphinha to have 2+ shots on target (-105) — Champions League is when the best of the best step up to make things happen and that’s just what will happen for Barcelona. Dortmund have been impressive in hanging around in Champions League play but Raphinha will be quite a test to their defense being able to get shots off from anywhere on the pitch. — Chuck Booth

Round of 16 TV schedule

All times U.S./Eastern