We’re just days away from the Champions League Round of 16, and the draw, as always, has thrown up some mouth-watering ties. Four Spanish teams have made it to the knockout stages (the fifth was Sevilla, who qualified via winning the EL, but surprisingly finished bottom of their group), with three each from Germany and Italy.
Round of 16 Draw
FC Porto (POR) v Arsenal (ENG)
Napoli (ITA) v Barca (ESP)
PSG (FRA) v Real Sociedad (ESP)
Inter (ITA) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)
PSV (NED) v Dortmund (GER)
Lazio (ITA) v Bayern (GER)
Copenhagen (DEN) v Man City (ENG)
Leipzig (GER) v Real Madrid (ESP)
The most interesting ties on paper appear to pit Serie A opposition against La Liga ones, with Inter Milan up against Atletico Madrid and Napoli set to square off against Barcelona.
Inter finished second in their UCL group by the narrowest of margins- they were tied on on H2H points, goal difference and goals scored, and were pipped to top spot by Real Sociedad. That has got them a tie against Atleti, which is also an interesting matchup between the two clubs’ respective managers- Simone Inzaghi and Diego Simeone.
Inzaghi’s Inter conceded just five goals in the group stages, and three of them were in a single game against Benfica. They’re also very much in the running for the Serie A title, unlike Napoli, who are the reigning champions of Italy, but are struggling domestically this season.
Barca, one would say, are in a similar situation to Napoli in their own league- they are well behind Girona and arch rivals Real Madrid in the La Liga table. Gone are the days when Barca were feared in Europe- this particular outfit appears very beatable, and Napoli will want to exact revenge for their EL playoff stage exit against the Catalans two seasons ago. Barca will however be bidding adieu to manager Xavi at the end of the season, and that could see them raise their game in Europe as they aim to send off a club legend on a high.
Manchester City came through the group stages with a 100% record, and it comes as no surprise that Pep Guardiola’s men are favourites (6/4 at the time of writing) to defend their crown. They also have a favourable Round of 16 opponent in Copenhagen. The Danish side saw off Man Utd in the group stages, but it would be a massive ask of them to do it against the blue half of Manchester too.
Real Madrid were the other side to win all six of their group stage fixtures, and they’ll be fancied to beat Leipzig, who finished runners up in City’s group.
Real & City 100% in the group stages
RBL’s fellow Bundesliga clubs- Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, will be up against PSV Eindhoven and Lazio respectively. Dortmund won the Group of Death, edging out the likes of PSG, Milan and Newcastle. Bayern topped their group as well, but there has been an air of vulnerability surrounding Thomas Tuchel’s side at times. Nevertheless, they remain a strong side, and in Harry Kane, have one of the best centre-forwards in the modern game.
Four countries have just one representative in the Round of 16- Portugal, France, Denmark and the Netherlands. Portugal’s solitary club is Porto, who have drawn Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in the Round of 16. France’s representative is PSG, who have an intriguing clash against Real Sociedad.