The Champions League Round of 16 - What to expect from the matches?

 The Champions League Round of 16. One of the most awaited gameweeks all season. Every season it’s full of drama, heartbreaks and underdog stories. This year after a slightly different format, we are ready again for the knockout stages. With big clubs like Juventus and Manchester City missing, is this the time for a new club to rise in Europe. Or is it going to be the likes of Real Madrid or Liverpool who become the kings of Europe again? Here’s what to expect from the Round of 16.

 PSV Eindhoven Vs Arsenal 

 PSV are coming into the Round of 16 after stunning Juventus at the Philips Stadion 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. With the likes of Noa Lang, Sergino Dest, Luuk De Jong and the evergreen Ivan Perisic on the wing, it is not going to be easy test for Arsenal. With Bukayo Saka out till late March, Arsenal have lacked firepower in attack. Add to that injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal will struggle to get the goals. But Mikel Arteta is definitely going to have tricks up his sleeve as Arsenal will hope to make it further in Europe this season. Keep an eye on how the Hale End products Miles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri play at the biggest stage as well.

Mikel Arteta will hope that the 17 year old Nwaneri can produce the magic for Arsenal

Real Madrid Vs Atletico Madrid

Madrid Derby in the Champions League again. The fixture has it’s history in the competition and some of the most iconic moments. The La Decima immediately comes to mind when you think of the Madrid derby in the Champions league. Real Madrid blew away Guardiola’s Manchester City in the play-offs. Kylian Mbappe has finally settled in Madrid and looks well at home. With the likes on Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo still balling out on the pitch Real Madrid have the best attack on paper in the world.

Diego Simeone is a master of defensive football though. If there is one manager who can stop this Real Madrid attack through defensive football it’s him. Julian Alvarez and Antonie Griezmann in give them enough firepower to score past a sometimes shaky Real defence. But unless Simeone produces a masterclass or Real have an off day, Real have way too much firepower to beat Atletico across the two legs.

Club Brugge vs Aston Villa 

If someone came up to you and said to you that this will be a Round of 16 tie in the Champions League 5 years ago, you would have laughed on his face. But it is indeed a Round of 16 tie in the Champions league. Unai Emery has done a sensational job at Aston Villa. The Villa faithful have gone from seeing Agbonlahor as the main striker to watching the likes to Watkins, Rashford, Asensio, Rogers and Tielemans on European nights at Villa Park. Brugge have historically struggled against English teams failing to win any of their 14 encounters against them. Villa should be able to control and win the game but the likes of Andreas Skov Olsen and Hans Veneken will not make it easy.

PSG vs Liverpool

Mohammed Salah is having an insane season- even by his standards.

PSG vs Liverpool. Might be the most exciting game of the round and that’s including the Madrid derby. PSG have picked up the pace in Europe and are still unbeaten in the league. Ousmane Dembele is playing at the top of his game and they have added Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to the attack. With youngsters likes Joao Neves and Bradley Barcola impressing and seasoned players like Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos sitting in defence don’t be surprised if they stun Liverpool. But this Liverpool team might be one of the most complete in the world. Arne Slot is getting it right at Anfield and with Mohammed Salah having a Ballon D’Or worthy season, they will go into the game as favourites. The game is going to some great battles like Salah vs Mendes, Dembele vs Van Dijk and Kvaratskhelia vs Robertson. The quality of play is going to be through the roof and this tie just might to down to the wire and be decided by bare margins.

Barcelona vs Benfica

The last game between the teams ended 5-4.

The teams played out a classic in the league stage this season. Barcelona don’t have a great record against Benfica with the H2H being 2-1 in 5 games since 2012. Benfica will hope Angel Di Maria gets fit in time as Bruno Lage will try to stun Hansi Flick’s Catalans. Barcelona look like a rejuvenated team under Flick and the Culers will hope that they perform well in Europe this season- something they haven’t done recently. If the 5-4 game played in Lisbon is an indication for what to expect then we are in for a treat.

 

Borussia Dortmund vs Lille

Dortmund had an amazing run last season in the Champions league reaching the final under Edin Terzic. Fast forward 9 months and they sit 11^th in the Bundesliga, unlikely to play next season’s Champions league. Nuri Sahin has been sacked and the league performances have not improved under Niko Kovac. Lille’s season has been full of inconsistent performances, the latest of which saw them lose at home to Le Harve. Although both teams have been in poor form, the likes of Jonathan David, Angel Gomes, Serhou Guirassy and Marcel Sabitzer will make sure that quality will be on display in the tie.

Niko Kovac will hope he can put a new spark into the Dortmund team.

Bayern Munich Vs Bayer Leverkusen

The battle of the German clubs, Bayern Munich and Leverkusen will face off again this season after playing 2 games in the Bundesliga and 1 game in the DFB-Pokal. It does not sound real but since Xabi Alonso arrived, Leverkusen have not lost to Bayern in any competition across 6 games. The latest game on 15^th Feb saw Leverkusen completely dominate the game with Bayern lucky to escape the Bayer Arena with a point. Vincent Kompany has done a decent job at Bayern so far but these big games are going to define if he becomes successful at the Allianz Arena or goes down the path of managers like Thoma Tuchel, Niko Kovac and Carlo Ancelotti. Leverkusen will be intent of beating Bayern as their title hopes are starting to fade away in the league and Xabi Alonso will hope to make his mark at the biggest stage in Europe. The battle of Granit Xhaka and Joshua Kimmich in midfield will be the one to watch as both will look to impose themselves on the pitch.

Xabi Alonso has not yet lost to Bayern since becoming the Leverkusen manager.

Inter Milan Vs Feyenoord

An interesting tie, Inzaghi’s Inter are one of the most exciting and entertaining teams to watch in Europe. Their fluid movements all over the pitch bamboozle the best teams. The only remaining team from Italy, they have strong chances of making it further into the competition. Feyenoord stunned AC Milan in the play-offs but with new manager Robin Van Persie yet to manage a game, no one knows what to expect from the Dutch outfit. Maybe they can come bursting through the doors under Van Persie but for now Inter will go into the game as favourites. Inter fans will be hoping they can put up a show at the De Kuip and although it’s still too early to say, they are well placed to win atleast one trophy domestically. An European run will make it Inzaghi’s best season in charge as the Italian continues to impress domestically and abroad.

By Parth Gokhale