UCL Round of 16 Draw

The draw for the Round of 16 in the Champions League was held today at Nyon, Switzerland as we are now in the knockout stages of the competition. The 16 teams finally knew who they will face and will now prepare for the tie which will take in February with the second leg in early March. Here are the matches:

AS Roma V FC Porto

The least fancy fixture but still both teams will believe they have a chance of going through. Roma, who have struggled in Serie A this season, will be the happier side as they avoided better teams and are the favourites to go through. Porto will hope for a better showing as they knocked out by Liverpool last season 5-0 on aggregate with all five coming at home turf.

Likely winners: AS Roma

Olympique Lyonnais V FC Barcelona

Barcelona are one of the favourites to win the competition this season and will fancy their chances against Lyon. Barça aren't dominating La Liga but their aim is winning the Champions League with Lionel Messi already on 5 goals plus the supporting cast of Suárez, Coutinho, Dembélé, etc. Lyon have players of their own in Nabil Fekir and Memphis Depay but they have conceded the most goals from the 16 teams remaining which could be their downfall.

Likely winners: FC Barcelona (obviously)

FC Schkale 04 V Manchester City

Manchester City are one of the new school teams that want to make their mark on the Champions League. They have only reached the semifinals once under the Abu Dhabi ownership and will be looking to do better than their quarterfinal exit last season. This is a kind draw for City playing against a Schalke side that are currently 13th in the Bundesliga and are three points off the relegation playoff spot. Unless a shock happens, I don't see anything favouring Schalke 04.

Likely winners: Manchester City (easily)

AFC Ajax V Real Madrid CF

Ajax are back in the Champions League after four years of playing in the Europa League. They impressed in the group stages going the entire group phase unbeaten with summer Dusan Tadić their highest goal scorer with 5. Despite their good fortunes, this could be a jump too big for the Dutch giants as they face the defending champions. Real Madrid haven't been great with a 3-0 home defeat to CSKA Moscow but should advance with the available to them plus the possibility of additions in January.

Likely winners: Real Madrid CF

Manchester United FC V Paris Saint-Germain

Manchester United managed to advance to the Champions League knockout stages but were given a tough draw as they face PSG. The Red Devils who are struggling this season, will have to keep Neymar and Co. quiet. For PSG, they are clear favourites and now is the opportunity for them to justify why they are one of the contenders for the title this season. They haven't reached the semifinals under the Qatari ownership and with Ligue 1 already wrapped up, they should now concentrate on the competition they crave.

Likely winners: Paris Saint-Germain

Atlético Madrid V Juventus

This is game where the attack that shows up win the tie. Both Atlético and Juventus have come close to winning the Champions League over the past five years but fell short in the final twice. Juventus are heavy favourites to win it with Cristiano Ronaldo giving them that X Factor. Atléti will be looking to Antonie Griezmann to see through and hope the other attackers help out. However, this season's UCL is Juve's best chance and they don't want to go out early.

Likely winners: Juventus

Tottenham Hotspur V Borussia Dortmund

This is possibly the most evenly matched tie of the eight games. Tottenham managed to go through having a tough group that had Barcelona and Inter Milan. Dortmund have surprised many, topping their group and kept five clean sheets with a deadly attack. There is an argument for both sides in going to the quarterfinals but I feel Spurs will advance largely due to their experience and the lessons they learned from Juventus last season which they don't want repeated.

Likely winners: Tottenham (just)

Liverpool V FC Bayern München

Another exciting tie. Liverpool and Bayern Munich are some of the most successful teams in the Champions League with 10 titles between them. Last year's finalists went through after a tense 1-0 win against Napoli while Bayern topped their group unbeaten with Robert Lewandowski scoring 8 times. The most from the group stages. This tie slightly goes to Liverpool with Bayern struggling and with their issues in defence with Boateng, Hummels and Süle. It's also a tie for Jürgen Klopp, losing in his first UCL final against Bayern and winning just nine games against the Bavarians

Likely winners: Liverpool (slightly)

We'll have to wait till February to see the outcome.