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| Round of 16 draw |
The UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw was made today and Real Madrid and Bayern Munich managed to avoid the big teams.Chelsea and Manchester City are drawn against PSG and Barcelona respectively.
As usual, teams from the same country could not be drawn together in the round of 16, nor can teams from the same group be drawn together. For example, Chelsea cannot be drawn against Arsenal, Manchester City or Schalke 04. Starting in the quarterfinals, draw restrictions are removed and any team can be drawn against any other team.
Round of 16 ties will begin on February 17 and conclude on March 18.
Chelsea vs PSG
Paris Saint-Germain met Chelsea in the quarterfinals of last season's Champions League, and this time around, they'll collide in the Round of 16. PSG managed to win the first leg 3-1, but Demba Ba scored in the 87th minute in the second leg, giving Chelsea a 2-0 victory and putting them through on away goals.
What wonders await us this year?
Chelsea led by Mourinho are exceptional this season and among the favorites to win the Title behind Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.The Concerns for the Blues is it will get tight during that time of the Year.Clubs from Manchester are rising at the table and pose a genuine challenge.Capital One Cup FA Cup fixtures will follow too.
PSG played impressive football during group stage and are quality side.David Luiz, Thiago Silva Zlatan, Cavani enough quality to halt Chelsea Progress.
Manchester City vs Barcelona
After the win at Roma Zabaleta said it will be Barcelona and oh boy didnt it turn out to be true.Manchester City will Catalans second season on a row.Manchester City defense which looks little exposed with Kompany not playing well and injury issue, Mangala inexperience and Zabaleta is attack minded defender.They will have to come up against Messi, Neymar and Suarez.I hope we have a good set of games considering Barcelona ran away winner last season.
Basel vs Porto
Both of the side will be happy with this draw,however Porto goes in as favorite to come out as winner.Basel recovered well after defeats to Madrid and Ludogorets to qualify.Porto who were the winners a decade ago under Mourinho would like to repeat the feat.
Real Madrid vs Schalke 04
Real Madrid will be the team to beat in champions League.The champions are playing like champions and their talisman Ronaldo looks even more unstoppable.When you consider the quality available(Benzema, Bale, Modric ) for disposal, Ancelloti would have been happy facing any side.
Schalke have had a tough start to the Bundesliga season, but since bringing Roberto Di Matteo on board, they've climbed back to the European positions. It's awfully crowded up there, though, and Schalke may decide that it's not worth troubling with Real Madrid, and focusing on the domestic campaign instead.
Arsenal vs Monaco
With a high probability of another Munich clash,Gunners must be pleased to face Monaco instead.A second place finish at group stage turned into a blessing considering Monaco is least intimidating side of the other group winners.Arsenal will go as favorite to win this tie and progress to Quarter finals.
Monaco attack looks little blunt after James Rodriguez and Falcao departed.However the defense looks solid.Monaco conceded just a single goal away to Benfica during the group stage.At any given time, five or six of the players on the pitch for Monaco will be 22 years old or younger. That youth paired with the experience of players like Dimitar Berbatov, Joao Moutinho and Ricardo Carvalho makes them a lot of fun to watch, and a team capable of pulling a huge upset, even if Arsenal are thrilled to be drawn against them.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid
Last year finalist face Germans Bayer Leverkusen during round of 16 in a hope to go one step better this season. Diego Costa, Thibaut Courtois and Filipe Luis are gone, but Atletico reloaded in the off season with the addition of Mario Mandzukic, Antoine Griezmann, Miguel Ángel Moyà and others.
The new faces took some time to gel and it led to a slow start to the season for Atletico, including an uncharacteristic 3-2 loss in their opening group stage match against Olympiakos. Once the new players settled into Simeone's system, things started to click for Atlletico and they went on to four of their last five group stages matches, finishing up with a scoreless draw against Juventus that secured first place.
Bayer Leverkusen side is young and under tactician mastermind Roger Schmidt plays attractive football.You can never take a German Side lightly Never..!!!
Borussia Dortmund vs Juventus
The two sides have not met each other after since champions league final 1997.Dortmund started the champions league campaign well as compared to their league performance,In Marco Reus absence
Dortmund lost to Arsenal and played out a draw against Anderlecht. January window might see Reus joining a new team in Spain or England.
Juventus were knocked out last season during group stage hence would like to make up for that disappointment.Vidal will be the key man.Signs of a slow decline from Andrea Pirlo haven't helped either, but on the plus side Paul Pogba has been very very good and Carlos Tevez has arguably been the best striker in Italy, and not just for his Serie A leading goal tally.
Bayern Munich vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Bayern had little trouble in the group of death and qualified easily.The next round fixture looks more favorable to The Bavarians.
Shakhtar currently make their home in Lviv, and they've adjusted pretty well, qualifying comfortably for the knockout stages of this competition. They're also doing just fine domestically, and currently sit second in Ukraine behind Dynamo Kiev.
Despite rumors of a mass exodus over the summer, Shakhtar did not get bullied into selling the farm and managed to hold on to most of their key players. The Brazilians they're known for have performed well even though they threatened to never return to Ukraine in the first place. Having a fabulously wealthy owner certainly has its perks.
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