After several months of pause, one of the most important soccer tournaments in the world, the UEFA Champions League, is back in action. And what better way to return than with the Round of 16 matches, where fewer teams are still fighting for the coveted championship trophy?
There is no doubt that we will have sixteen heart-stopping matches. However, every one of them has its additional ingredients, and looking at the matches, we can be sure that they will be some great games.
There are several candidates to win the trophy, but of the 16 teams, there is no doubt that PSG, Napoli, Manchester City, Bayern, and Real Madrid are the ones that have the label of favorites on their names. And no wonder they are having a phenomenal season and are ranked among the top two teams in their respective leagues.
However, other teams, such as Milan, Tottenham, Inter, and Liverpool, can surprise in this tournament. While some are not having a good season, the Champions League is an entirely different tournament and can calm the waters after all that has happened.
Round of 16 of the Champions League matches:
- PSG vs. Bayern Munich
- Milan vs. Tottenham
- Club Brugge vs. Benfica
- Borussia Dortmund vs. Chelsea
- Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Napoli
- RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City
- Inter vs. Porto
The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 action kicks off next Tuesday, February 14, 2023, in Milan (AC Milan vs. Tottenham Hotspur) and Paris (PSG vs. Bayern).
PSG
There is no doubt that if we talk about names in the squad, PSG is the clear favorite to take the crown in this edition of the UEFA Champions League. Led by Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé (currently injured), this team has stars like Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Verratti, Sergio Ramos, and many more. So now we understand why this team is a strong candidate to advance to the next phase.
PSG finished the Group Stage in second place in Group H behind Benfica, with 16 goals scored and seven conceded in the six matches played. Every year this team sets its sights on the top. However, the first big obstacle they must overcome will be the mighty Bayern Munich, which might be a little too much right now without Mbappé.
Manchester City
The team led by Pep Guardiola is always a favorite in every edition of the Champions League, and it is no wonder. They also have a squad full of spectacular players such as Kevin De Buyne, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, and others, and this season, they have added the figure of the Martian, Erling Haaland, who has crushed each of the rivals he has faced.
Manchester City led Group G with four wins and two defeats, with an incredible record of 14 goals scored and only two conceded.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich comes into this Round of 16 with many doubts, as they have not been playing their best in the Bundesliga, and their place at the top is in danger. This is the first time this has happened in many years, and, without a doubt, the lack of Robert Lewandowski in the team’s forward line has been very noticeable. Furthermore, with Sadio Mané injured and other important casualties, the team does not have the expected dynamic.
Real Madrid
You can never underestimate the champion. Real Madrid may have a terrible season (by their standards) in LaLiga Santander, but they can still crush you in any game in international competitions. This team thrives in moments of anguish and will always be a candidate to take home the championship trophy.
Right now, they are not in their best form, but there is no doubt that this team is completely different in the Champions League.
Napoli
Undoubtedly, Napoli is the team with the best current form in all European leagues. They are 13 points ahead of their closest pursuers in the overall Serie A standings, and with each passing matchday, they are much more infamous for their pursuit of victories.
With the Nigerian star Victor Osimhen, they will try to get victories to fulfill a dream of being European champions.
Liverpool
One of the greatest teams in Europe and the world, Liverpool, is in a highly complicated situation at this moment of the season. They are ranked tenth in the table, and the level of play and performance is decreasing with every matchday.
The team is sinking lower and lower, and it seems that Jürgen Klopp has lost the book of strategies that kept Liverpool at the top of world soccer in the last few seasons.
Chelsea
Like Liverpool, Chelsea also has one of the worst seasons in their Premier League history. They are in ninth place on the table, and their performance is not improving despite incorporating different pieces in the winter market. However, although they will not be able to count on their new addition, the Portuguese João Felix, for the rest of the Champions League, since let’s remember that he already played the group stage matches with Atlético Madrid, this team seems to have the necessary pieces to go far in the tournament.
They must make a 180° turnaround in their attitude toward the Champions League if they want to advance to the next phase.
Benfica
Benfica arrives with a lot of illusion to these Round of 16 after leading an extremely complicated group that they shared with PSG and Juventus. However, the Portuguese side did not let their foot off the accelerator throughout the group stage and managed to beat Juventus on two occasions and draw with PSG on two occasions.
With Julian Draxler and Gonçalo Ramos, this team is ready to surprise and take advantage of the fact that they will play against the modest Club Brugge in this Round of 16.
Tottenham
Tottenham has always been very irregular, especially in European competitions. But this does not mean we can’t count them out, as the team is playing in great form in the Premier League, and their captain, the powerful striker Harry Kane, is playing at a significant level.
Tottenham’s first obstacle is AC Milan in this Round of 16, and they must take advantage of the fact that the Italians are not going through an excellent moment to advance to the next stage of the tournament.
Inter Milan
Inter has had an excellent season, no doubt about it. However, this team is used to faltering at the most critical moments in European competitions since their impressive treble at the hands of Mourinho more than a decade ago. Hopefully, that will not happen, but it has been the trend in recent seasons for this team.
Inter is second in Serie A, ahead of José Mourinho’s Roma and AC Milan, among others. They finished second in their Champions League group, knocking FC Barcelona out of the competition with a 1-0 win at home and a wild 3-3 draw away from home. They are in the semifinals of the COPPA Italia and crushed AC Milan to win the Supercoppa Italiana.
If they translate that level of play to these rounds of 16, they can have a lot of chances, no doubt about it.
Porto
Porto has been playing at an excellent level of form in recent weeks. Even we can put them on par with Benfica. But since the 1-0 loss to Benfica in October, they seem to have been more than that. Sergio Conceicao’s side has dropped just two points in their last eight league games.
On the other hand, they won their last four Champions League group stage matches by a combined 11-1 goal average.
If Porto continues at this level, they can surprise Inter and advance to the quarterfinals.
RB Leipzig
Leipzig has one of the most challenging tasks among all the teams. They have to face Pep Guardiola and Erling Haaland’s Manchester City. However, if they can get a positive result in the first leg at home, they could have a good chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.
Since the resumption of the Bundesliga after the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Leipzig is unbeaten in five matches, including a 1-1 draw with Bayern.
The veteran attacking duo of Andre Silva and Timo Werner has found a lovely rhythm. Likewise, the midfield duo of Dominik Szoboszlai and Konrad Laimer have been at their creative best.
Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund has a dream squad full of young and experienced talent, but they always lack something to lead them to victory. The team is always good but never lives up to long-term expectations. However, right now, the team is in great form, with their players at their peak competitive level, and they have shown this so far in 2023, as they have won all five of their games and have a goal differential of +9, coming from 15 goals for and six goals against.
Bellingham, his young teammates Karim Adeyemi and Gio Reyna, and veterans Julian Brandt and Raphael Guerreiro have been incredible. Still, they must have better harmony to get past Chelsea in the Round of 16.
AC Milan
The reigning Serie A champions have had an up-and-down season, without a doubt. After starting very strong and standing up to Napoli in the first part of the tournament, the team has been losing its luster, and now, with each passing matchday, its performance is dropping abysmally.
They are currently sixth in the Serie A standings and are a massive 18 points behind Napoli at the top.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is proving this season that winning the Europa League last season was no coincidence. They are in the Bundesliga hot seat, in fifth place in the table, just two points behind Dortmund. They have also gone 11 consecutive matches without defeat, including friendlies, the Champions League, and DFB Pokal.
However, their mission is practically impossible, as they have to face the mighty Napoli in the Round of 16.
Club Brugge
Finally, we have Club Brugge, a team that we do not understand how they managed to get to this point of the tournament, but we can’t take away their merits, neither more nor less. Club Brugge finished in second place in Group B, which it shared with great teams like Porto, Bayer Leverkusen, and Atlético Madrid.
This is undoubtedly a real achievement for this team, and they may have some chances to advance to the next stage of the tournament, as their Round of 16 series is against Benfica, a massive rival, but not the hardest one at this stage.
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