Champions League Round of 16 – Preview & Top Tips
We waved goodbye to Milan, AS Monaco, Atalanta, Celtic, Sporting Lisbon, Manchester City, Juventus and Brest in the playoff round of the Champions League.
That meant Feyenoord, Benfica, Club Brugge, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Paris St Germain and PSV Eindhoven progressed into the round of 16 to join the eight teams already qualified for this phase of the competition.
The 16 remaining teams now meet in eight two-legged ties over the next two midweek gamedays in order to decide who progresses into the quarterfinals of European football’s premier competition.
We’ve previewed all eight first leg ties below, and given you a tip on how we think each of the ties will pan out over the course of both legs.
Champions League Round of 16 1st Leg
Kick off is 8.00pm unless otherwise stated.
Tuesday 4th March
Club Brugge v Aston Villa (5.45 pm)
Who Progresses?: Club Brugge surprisingly knocked out Atalanta in the last round, but Aston Villa will be confident of coming out on top over the two legs, despite losing 1-0 to the Belgian side in the league stage of the competition in October. I feel the first game will be a draw, with the second leg being a home win for Aston Villa.
Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid
Who Progresses?: A Madrid derby is always a closely fought contest. Both games between the teams have ended in draws. Real have the edge in Champions League games between the teams, but this one may require extra time to decide the winner, with Real Madrid perhaps just doing enough to go through.
PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal
Who Progresses?: PSV stunned Juventus in the last round to progress from the playoffs. They now face Arsenal for the 11th time, having won two, lost four and drawn four of the previous ten. PSV did beat an under-strength Liverpool in their final League Stage game, but against a full-strength Arsenal, I’d expect the Gunners to scrape through with the second leg in London.
Borussia Dortmund v Lille
Who Progresses?: Dortmund eased past Sporting Lisbon in the playoffs but now face a Lille team who have been excellent in the League Stage. Dortmund’s inconsistent form domestically is a worry for the German team here, especially against a Lille side who have had some big results in this tournament this season. I am backing Lille for a surprise win over two-legs here.
Wednesday 5th March
Feyenoord v Inter Milan (5.45pm)
Who Progresses?: Feyenoord’s reward for knocking out AC Milan was to draw their city rivals Inter in the Round of 16. Inter are top of Serie A but face a tough game this weekend against Napoli ahead of this game in Rotterdam. This first leg should be close, but I’d back Inter to come through in the second leg at the San Siro.
Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen
Who Progresses?:These two teams have drawn twice in the Bundesliga this season with Leverkusen knocking Bayern out of the DFB Pokal. Bayern struggled past Celtic to reach this stage and in what is likely to be a very tight game between the Bundesliga’s top two, I think Bayer Leverkusen will edge the tie.
Benfica v Barcelona
Who Progresses?: If their League Stage game is anything to go by, this should be a cracker! Barcelona won that game 5-4 in Lisbon in a game that saw two hat-tricks and a 96th minute winner for Barca. Over two legs, this should be a less frantic affair, but you’d bank on Barcelona making it through.
Paris St Germain v Liverpool
Who Progresses?: PSG showed great quality when beating Manchester City and they will be a tough test for Liverpool. However, the Reds will have had a week to prepare for this game and Arne Slot’s men have been superb all season. I feel this will be a tight game ending in a draw, with Liverpool winning the second leg at Anfield next week.
The second leg of these games will be played next week, with Wednesday 5th March second legs played on Tuesday 11th, and Tuesday 4th March second legs played on Wednesday 12th.
