UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16 PREVIEW



We take a look at the various match up after the draw at Uefa Headquarters, despite an initial glitch in the process, these 8 ties were later confirmed after the completion of the process, with several mouth watering ties to look forward to in 2022.



LILLE VS CHELSEA

Thomas Tuchel Chelsea tie with Ligue 1 champions Lille will be an interesting fixture.

Lille is certainly not the same team that conquered france last season and going by their league form retaining their title will certainly be difficult.

But they are a team chelsea should be careful with, as on their day they are capable of causing an upset, but we believe the reigning champions will do more than enough to go through over the two legs to the next stage.





BENFICA VS AJAX

This fixture is another intriguing tie which we are looking forward to, as the dutch giants were among the only few teams to have won all their 6 games throughout the group stages.

Portuguese side Benfica piped fc barcelona to the runners up spot in the group, although they had to rely on Bayern to beat barcelona, but they still had to win their home match against Ukrainian champions Dynamo kiev, which they did Comfortanly, and they will be hoping to go further than this stage this season.

However, with the kind of exciting brand of football produced by the Dutch side during the group stages, we believe they will go through over both legs comfortably.



INTER MILAN VS LIVERPOOL


Inter milan will be playing host to English side liverpool in the round of 16 knock out stage of this season's uefa champions league. Liverpool will fancy their chances and will also hope to continue from where the left off in the group stage, as they were among only three teams during the group stages to have won all their six games.

They will certainly face a stern test from italian giants inter milan, as Simone inzaghi's side will be ready to give them a run for their money, when they visit the giuseppe meazza stadium.

Meanwhile, some vulnerabilities of this inter side were exposed during their games against real madrid during the group stages, which jurgen klopp and his team will look to exploit once more.



MAN UNITED VS ATLETICO MADRID

Diego Simeone Side will be first happy to have qualified for this stage, after their rollercoaster performances during their group stage, where they had some poor results.

Manchester United meanwhile, have also had their fair share of criticism and crisis in recent times over their poor displays, and we feel both sides really have a point to prove when they lock horns together.

Diego simeone certainly has some experience in this stage more than his United Counterpart and will be hoping that his sides never say die attitude and approach to such fixtures will manifest itself again.

Interestingly, a certain Cristiano ronaldo will be visiting his former rivals and as they were a team he always seemed to love playing against during his time at Real Madrid.




PSG VS REAL MADRID

Psg will host Real Madrid in the first leg in the round of 16 of this season's Uefa Champions League, after both sides were drawn against each other at Uefa Headquarters.

It promises to really be an intriguing tie, as several psg players will also be returning to their old stumping ground, while this will be an opportunity for this Psg side to make a huge statement by knocking out one of the big sides in their bid to win their first Uefa Champions League title.

It is worthy to note that, majority of Psg's performances both in the champions league and french ligue 1 has so far been disjointed and underwhelming, with several of their key players failing to live up to expectations.

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti's team seem to be getting better and better, and they cant be ruled out completely, as some key players from the Zidane Era still remains and with the right blend have so far been performing more well as a team.



SALZBUG VS BAYERN MUNICH

Austrian league champions Salzburg pratically got the worst draw in the round of 16 by being drawn agianst German bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Although Salzburg have already exceeded expectations this season by qualifying for this stage of the competition, but the might and power of Bayern Munich might be too much for them to handle over both legs.

Bayern Munich under the tutilege of Nagelsmann have certainly had their ups and down in the German league, but they tend to put on a different approach during the champions league games, and this actually led to them winning their 6 games during the group stages.





SPORTING LISBON VS MAN CITY


Pep Guadiola's men will be travelling to Portugal for thier round of 16 clash against Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon.

The English side reward for topping thier group was been paired against the lisbon club, while Sporting lisbon narrowly qualified and will be hoping for a much better performance, even though they have been really flying high in thier league.

Manchester City will be hoping to continue thier good form in the champions league, as you can only beat teams that are pit in front of you.

it will certainly be an interesting match up but due to the English Side's offensive power which they possess, we believe they might go through over both legs a bit comfortably.


VILLARREAL VS JUVENTUS

This tie promises to be a mouth watering clash, with Unai Emery's Villarreal meeting Italian giants Juventus whose form in the uefa champions league have been a complete contrast to their form in the Seria A where they have been playing catch up.

Allegri's Juventus were able to beat the reigning champions Chelsea to top spot and will certainly fancy thier chances against the spanish side, if their form in the champions league is anything to go by.

However, Unai Emery is someone who has some experience in knock out ties, especially when you take into account his time at Sevilla, so we should expect a close match up.