The stage is set for this season’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 fixtures after fans witnessed some upsets in the playoffs stage last month.
The Round of 16 begins this week when several European top clubs will compete for a spot in the Champions League quarter-final.
The first leg fixtures will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday while the return leg fixtures are next week Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
There are 16 teams – Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge, Benfica, Bayern Munich, Feyenoord, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Lille, Atletico Madrid, Aston Villa, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen – that will play in the last-16.
DAILY POST reports that only eight clubs out of the 16 will qualify for the quarter-final stage.
Here are the fixtures for the Champions League Round of 16 first leg:
Tuesday’s fixtures:
Club Brugge vs Aston Villa: Club Brugge is in good form in the competition. They won three home games at Jan Breydelstadion. Aston Villa is in mixed form in the competition and they won two away games. Club Brugge has never lost to Aston Villa in their past one meeting.
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid: Atletico have won 14 times in their past 66 meetings with Real Madrid. Atletico heads to the Champions League Round of 16 after beating Athletic Club 1-0 in their last game in the La Liga while Real were defeated 2-1 against Real Betis.
PSV vs Arsenal: PSV is in mixed form in the Champions League this term and they won three home games at Philips Stadion. Arsenal is in good form and they won two away games. PSV won two times in their past eight meetings with Arsenal.
Borussia Dortmund vs Lille: Dortmund is in mixed form in the Champions League and they won three home games at Signal Iduna Park. Lille is in good form and they won two away games. Both teams have met twice in the past and the games ended in draws, with Dortmund progressing to the next round on away goals.
Wednesday’s fixtures:
Inter Milan vs Feyenoord: Milan is in good form in the Champions League so far this season and they won three home games at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Feyenoord is also in good form and they won two away games. Milan has never won against Feyenoord in their past two meetings.
Bayern vs Leverkusen: Bayern Munich is in good form in the Champions League this season and they won four home games at Allianz Arena. Leverkusen is also in good form and they won one away game. Bayern have won 25 times in their past 45 meetings with Leverkusen.
PSG vs Liverpool: PSG are in good form in the competition and they have won their last five matches and also won three home games at Parc des Princes. Liverpool is also in good form and they won three away games. PSG won one in their past two meetings with Liverpool.
Benfica vs Barcelona: Benfica is in mixed form in competition this season and they won one home game at Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica. Barcelona is in good form and they won three away games. Benfica won one time in their past 9 meetings with Barcelona.
Speaking with DAILY POST ahead of the first leg of the Round of 16 fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday, respected journalist Femi Fabunmi gave his view about this stage of the competition.
Fabunmi also predicted the eight teams he feels would eventually qualify for the quarter-final stage.
What do you think about this last-16 stage, because in the past after the group stage, we head straight to the last-16, but this season’s edition of the Champions League we head to the last-16 after the knockout phase playoffs?
Fabunmi said, “UEFA has changed the format and some teams have to go through Playoff to be able to play in the round of 16.
“It’s a new format but it produced good teams; ordinarily the teams would have crashed to the Europa League and made that one more interesting and competitive but that is no more.”
Are we expecting to see any shock result like we saw in the playoffs when Feyenoord eliminated Milan and Club Brugge eliminated Atalanta?
Fabunmi added, “Some good teams emerged; PSG, PSV, Real Madrid, Bayern, and Dortmund.
“The Round of 16 will be very interesting, crunchy with a lot of goals and dribbles.
“Will UEFA continue with this format I do not think so but we wait and see.”
Which eight teams among the 16 teams do you think will eventually advance to the quarter-final?
Fabunmi said, “I’m predicting Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Dortmund, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Barcelona to qualify for the last-8.”
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