Champions League : Part 3

Omar Mahmoud

Ok, guys, so it has been a while. But that is fine because not much has changed in the Champions League.


You know, only the draw for the round of 16. Nothing much : )

Match-Ups


Alright, actually though it is really exciting.


Let me just give you the matchups and then we can delve deeper into them : 



The 8 winners qualify for the quarter finals. We still have no idea who will play who there, as a new separate draw is held for the quarter finals and upwards. That makes a total of 3 draws : Group Stage, Round of 16, Quarter Finals and up.


There are rules for the Round of 16 Draw. These are : 


Quarter finals have no such rules and it's where things get interesting with derbies and big clashes. There aren’t many big matchups this time, so nothing really to comment on, but we will make some predictions.






As usual, Manchester City got an easy Round of 16 draw. Manchester City easily goes through here. Nothing much to say.



RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid


Now, Real Madrid is on fire, they have Jude Bellingham, and they always go far in this tournament. However, I see people underestimating RB Leipzig. They are doing amazing for themselves in the Bundesliga, and have their own young prodigy: Xavi Simons. It will not be easy for Real Madrid, especially since they have a pretty bad record against this specific team. However, I still have Real Madrid going through.



PSG vs Real Sociedad


PSG have a very weird record and are a chaotic team to say the least. Real Sociedad is doing decent, but really, PSG is the clear favourite to go through.



PSV vs Dortmund


Here is where I don’t have a prediction to give, sorry. Dortmund crazily topped the Group of Death and beat all of Newcastle, PSG and Milan. They are going crazy in the Champions League. However, PSV have the league advantage and remain the team with the most possible points of any league. They have only drawn once and remain unbeaten in the league. Therefore, I will not make a prediction.


Lazio vs Bayern


Although generally people tend to say Bayern are clear favourites and are easily going through. I doubt so personally. Not that they will go through, but easily. I would not be surprised if they drew or even lost away from home. Italian away games are crazy hard. No matter the form. Italian fans are a different beast. However, I still have Bayern Munich going through.



Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid


Another difficult one. This is probably the hardest prediction I have to actually make. I can’t just not give 2 uncertainties. Inter Milan are top of their league, and are going in second place only because of goal difference, but they had the same exact points as Real Sociedad. Atletico Madrid, however, are also doing amazingly well in their league. It might not show in their ranking, but they are playing extremely well. Their attack is the 7th best in Domestic leagues, and they scored 17 goals in 6 UCL games! That is more than twice the 8 of Inter in the UCL. Inter’s defense is much better though. My final verdict is that Atletico Madrid go through. 


Porto vs Arsenal


Nothing much to say again. With all due respect to Porto and Arsenal’s somewhat dip in form, Arsenal are still favorites to go through. Again with Bayern's case, they might lose or draw away from home, but they sure will win at home. Arsenal goes through for me.


Napoli vs Barcelona


The final matchup, and by only looking at the names this may looks like one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, to call. It is one of those big ones I said that there weren’t many of. But, if you look on paper, both teams quite frankly suck. Both are the title holders of their domestic leagues, but both are now doing horribly. Napoli sit 9th in the Serie A, and are very inconsistent in terms of results. They have scored 30 goals, but conceded 25. Barcelona is, well, not being Barcelona. They have conceded 4 + goals in so many games, and their nickname in the football community is “Fourcelona”. You might have said, “Oh, but their home record is decent”, but they just lost 3-5 to Villareal. At home. It is not looking good for either team. Personally, based on current form, I will have to go with Barcelona advancing, but by barely anything honestly. I would expect either team to be out in the Quarters.



So, there you have it. My eight predicted are : 



Now, generally you could pick the best 4 of these teams and immediately call them semi finalists, but honestly, you do not know. Bayern could get Man City or something like that and everything gets flipped upside down. And also those eight are not even set in stone. But…that is for the next article in March when we see the quarter finals draw. That’s where the road to Wembley really starts heating up. 

See you then. 

Make sure to check out my first 2 articles in this series if you have not done so.

References

Page layout by Omar Mahmoud