At 11am, or shortly afterwards following the usual homilies, we shall find out the draw for the 2017 Champions League semi-finals. In the final four we have the 11-times winners Real Madrid, Juventus, who have won it twice and been runners-up, the last time in 2015, a record six times, Atletico Madrid, runners-up three times and twice in the past three years, and Monaco, runners-up in 2004 under Didier Deschamps.

Who's your fancy? Anyone but Real Madrid? I must say I have an inkling for Atletico, solely because of Diego Simeone's comments at the start of this year's campaign. In 1999 Sir Alex Ferguson told his players at half time in Camp Nou: "The cup is only six feet away from you at the end of this day. If you lose, you can't even touch it."

Simeone channels the anguish of losing in extra-time in 2014 and on penalties in 2016 thus: "“Every time we play that competition and hear the anthem, the music brings pain. That’s our motivation.”

Just because it means so much to them does not mean they will prevail. That's the beauty of the Champions League and I think we could all do without another Madrid final so the ideal scenario may be a Madrid semi-final.