With this season’s Champions League group stages now behind us, the focus shifts to the knockout phase and with the Round of 16 draw now being made, talk of who can go all the way to the final is picking up pace.
The eight pairings that will entertain us in the New Year have now been made and with that in mind, it is time to see just who has the best chance of moving onto the Quarterfinals and one step closer to the showpiece event in Istanbul.
Round of 16 Draw:
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Manchester City
Borussia Mönchengladbach have been handed one of the most difficult draws, as they face Manchester City and although Pep Guardiola’s men have been misfiring in the Premier League, this has not been the case in Europe.
The Etihad outfit are currently the second favourites in terms of the outright market, and they will look to make light work of a team that could be saying goodbye to their manager at the end of the season, as Marco Rose has been linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund.
Lazio vs Bayern Munich
While if Borussia Mönchengladbach have been handed a tough pairing, then Lazio have the toughest of all and with holders Bayern Munich lying in wait, it is arguably the one club that manager Simone Inzaghi would have wanted to avoid. According to the odds by SBR, Bayern are currently the favourites to win this season’s Champions League and with the form they have showed thus far, it is incredibly difficult to argue against such an eventuality.
Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea
The draw has not been particularly kind to Chelsea either and although Frank Lampard will be cursing his luck at the hand that has been dealt, he will be grateful that a few potential banana skins have been avoided.
Then again, with the way that the Blues topped their group, they should not necessarily fear Diego Simeone’s men and when comparing the two sides, this has the potential to be one of the tighter clashes of the round.
RB Leipzig vs Liverpool
While when it comes to tight, there’s not much difference between RB Leipzig and Liverpool, as last season’s Semi-finalists take on the side that won the 2019 edition of the competition and will be keen land the trophy for a seventh time in their history.
For RB Leipzig, they have already managed to dump out English opposition, as Manchester United fell by the wayside in the group stage. While for Liverpool, it will mean a return to Germany for manager Jurgen Klopp
Porto vs Juventus
Considered to be one of, if not the rank outsiders at this stage of the competition, Porto will certainly have it all to do against Juventus and although the Italian giants will be the overwhelming favourites, they will not be able to take things for granted either.
Porto go up against a Juventus side who secured top spot in their group, after getting the better of Barcelona in Matchday Six and after such an impressive performance, this draw can be considered just reward for Andrea Pirlo and his players.
Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain
Without doubt this is the glamour tie of the round, as Barcelona and Paris-Saint Germain square off once more and although this will take top billing across the continent, it is fair to say that both outfits are struggling to reach their usual heights.
For Barcelona, it is a case of transition for new manager Ronald Koeman, as he looks to pick up a club that are arguably still reeling from the 8-2 defeat that they suffered to Bayern Munich last season and for PSG, they are still fatigued from losing in the final to the same German giant.
Sevilla vs Borussia Dortmund
It almost feels strange writing about Sevilla at this point of the tournament, as they usually find themselves plotting another attempt at winning the Europa League. However, this season, they will look to find success in Europe’s premier club competition.
To do so, they will need to first get the better of a Borussia Dortmund side, who have just said goodbye to Lucien Favre after some indifferent domestic form and now, their interim management team will have to hope for better fortunes on the continent.
Atalanta vs Real Madrid
On paper, you may think that Atalanta have been handed a relatively tough draw and to a certain degree you would be right. With that said, upcoming opponents Real Madrid have shown that they can be got at this season, after an indifferent showing in the group stages.
Which will give the Italian outfit cause for optimism and after reaching the last eight of the competition in 2020, they will look to repeat that feat this time around. While for Real Madrid, there is always a sense of win or bust for whoever is the man brave enough to earn the job of manager.
