When the European football season enters February, fans all over the continent look forward to the return of the premier club competition and the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League has the makings of being one of the best yet.
There are so many great Round of 16 ties to look forward to, with some of European football’s top clubs being drawn against each other early in the knockout stages. Defending champions, Real Madrid, have been drawn against Napoli, in what must be the most mouth-watering of the eight ties.
Since the formation of the Champions League, no team has managed to successfully defend the trophy and if Real Madrid are going to come close, they must overcome a dangerous looking Napoli. With the first leg in the Santiago Bernabeu, Napoli can score an away goal and leaving themselves in with a chance for the second leg. Much will depend on how well they defend and if they can keep Cristiano Ronaldo and co at bay, the Italians have a chance. There should be plenty of goals to enjoy in this one.
The tournament favourites, Barcelona, have been drawn against Paris Saint-Germain, a team they have played many times in recent years. The teams have met six times over the last four years and PSG have managed only one victory. As things stand, PSG are not at the same level they were under Laurent Blanc and will find this an extremely difficult tie from which to progress. Barcelona have not been in great form themselves this season but with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar leading the line, they are always going to score goals and this one could be over after the first leg in Paris.
Arsenal, having finally topped their group after many years of trying were very unlucky to have drawn Bayern Munich in the Round of 16. The Gunners met Bayern at this stage of the competition in 2012/13 and 2013/14, losing out on both occasions. However, Bayern have not been dominating the Bundesliga this season and if Arsenal are to finally overcome the Germans and progress beyond this stage of the Champions League, this could be their chance, especially with the second leg in London.
If it is goals you are looking for, the tie between Manchester City and Monaco could be the one for you. Both teams love to play attacking football and with the City defence looking vulnerable all season, Monaco’s electric forward line should cause them all sorts of problems. The question is, are the French capable of keeping the Manchester City attack at bay? This is set to be one of the most entertaining matches in the Champions League Round of 16, with a lot of goalmouth action.
Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund should have enough to come through their matches and make the quarter-finals and it will be interesting to see if Sevilla can match their Europa League triumphs of recent years. We all know about the qualities of Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund have a very exciting group of players, who are sure to entertain in the latter stages of the competition.
Two legends of the game who will be hoping for a lack of goal mouth action in their tie meet as Porto and Juventus lock horns. With Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas playing in goal, this could be a match of few goals but Juventus look very strong and should come through this tie with a bit to spare.
In fact, without the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich not in particularly good form, Juventus make a good outside bet to win the tournament this season.