Pep Guardiola knows his team is the favorite to win the series against Porto, not only because his team is better, but because his record in Champions League quarter-finals also says so. He
Pep has only lost ten games out of the 71 UCL matches he has coached with Barcelona and Bayern Munich. He has never lost a quarter-final draw. Pep’s teams historically make it at least to the semi-finals.
In his Champions League debut, Guardiola won the tournament with Los Cules
In his first year with Barcelona (2008-2009), he conquered La Orejona by beating Manchester United. The following season, he lost against Inter in the semi-final. Then, he would claim the trophy against the Red Devils and lose to Chelsea in the semi-final the following year.
He would take a year off from coaching and then take over Bayern Munich. The team had just won the UCL in Pep’s year off. The Spanish manager lost to Real Madrid in the semi-final with a 5-0 aggregate in the 2013-2014 season.
It was considered a failure for Guardiola not to win the Champions League last year
Pep's UCL Quarter-Finals record
2008-2009= Barcelona def. Bayern (5-1 aggregate)
2009-2010= Barcelona def. Arsenal (6-3 aggregate)
2010-2011= Barcelona def. Shakhtar Donetsk (6-1 aggragate)
2011-2012= Barcelona def. Milan (3-1 aggregate)
2013-2014= Bayern Munich def. Manchester United (4-1 aggregate)
There is a common trend that has applied to every team that is able to beat Guardiola. Inter, Chelsea and Real Madrid have all gone ahead to win the championship. That is a positive sign for Porto if they want to win it all.
Bayern Munich is literally hurt ahead of the first leg against Porto. In their last Bundesliga match, they only had three players waiting on the bench. Arjen Robben. Franck Ribery, David Alaba are just some of the key elements ruled out for Wednesday’s game.
Despite those unfortunate injuries, Pep beilieves they still have what it takes to beat Porto. A big win in the cup and one in the Bundesliga have the shorthanded group confident of moving on to the next stage, but don’t expect it to be easy.
Pep Guardiola always seems to know how to win a quarter-final stage
History favors Pep, but the underdogs are always ready to attack. Julen Lopetgui knows Guardiola from their days together in Catalonia, so he may know which is his opponents' major weakness.
