UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Preview

UEFA Champions League nights are back again with 4 matches lined up across 2 days with two of a cracker games in store. Let’s review the games in general. Here are the fixtures with IST.

1. Paris Saint Germain vs Real Madrid

1^st leg: Real Madrid 3- 1 PSG

Well everyone thought this was the season when Neymar takes PSG to greater heights in the UEFA Champions League. Despite starting brightly against Real Madrid at the Bernebau, PSG faded after scoring an early goal. Instead it was the veteran war-horse Cristiano Ronaldo who scored 2 goals for Real as they won 3-1 comfortably in the end.

To make matters worse for PSG, Neymar injured his foot and underwent a surgery, hence keeping him out for at least a couple of months. The good news however is the return of Kylian Mbappe. In the absence of Neymar, can Mbappe step up and take PSG through to the next round?

PSG will definitely take some inspiration from their last season game against Barcelona where they beat the Catalans 4-0 at home. They need a stellar performance on Tuesday night. Real on the other hand will try to keep things simple and kill off the game by scoring the all-important away goal. Can PSG pull off a highly unlikely upset?

Read Scoops: 2-1 to Real Madrid

2. Liverpool vs Porto

1^st leg: Porto 0 – 5 Liverpool

Liverpool dismantled Porto in the away leg and were just brilliant to watch. Sadio Mane scored a hat-trick with regular scorers Mo Salah & Firminho popping one each. Liverpool have played some great attacking football throughout the tournament and are one of the dark horses.

Porto are lacking in confidence at the moment and even a draw at Anfield can salvage them some pride. The Reds have scored 12 goals in 3 group games at Anfield this season and Porto will be wary of that fact.

Read Scoops: 3-0 to Liverpool

3. Tottenham Hotspurs vs Juventus

1^st leg: Juventus 2 – 2 Spurs

Without a doubt the game of the week. After a great match in Italy where the teams finished 2-2, this promises to be even more exciting. Spurs have the away goal advantage but if Juventus can nick an early goal, the tie can be easily tilted to their favour.

A match where the two of the world’s best centre forwards came up against each other, Gonzalo Higuain of Argentina and Harry Kane of England. It was a game of some great finishes and chances created by both the teams.

If Spurs go through, it will be a statement of their arrival on the big European stage. Juventus need all of their experience to win this one. May the best team win.

Read Scoops: 2-1 to Spurs

4. Manchester City vs Basel

1^st leg: Basel 0 – 4 Man City

Probably the best team in Europe at the moment, Manchester City have an easy job at home here but they’ve been relentless in their pursuit of perfection this season and every match is filled with the same mentality and intensity, week in and out.

Basel did have a couple of opportunities where they could have taken the lead in that match but the overall quality of City was just too much for them. Expecting anything less than a victory for Manchester City would be foolish, it’s just a question of by how many goals.

Read Scoops: 4-0 to Manchester City

Enjoy this round of UCL matches and watch out for this space as we analyse the results later. If you like what you’ve read, check out more stuff:

Cheers!