UEFA Champions League - Last 16 - Preview

After a break from the competition over the winter, things start back with a bang as we approach the business end of the season and there are plenty of tasty encounters to look forward to over the next 2 matchdays.

All the rounds from this one on are straight knockout format. Both sides play each other home and away with the team that has the bigger aggregate score going through. Let's run down the matches...

Inter Milan vs Manchester United
The reigning European champions have to travel to Italy in what is arguably one of the ties of the round. Both teams are top of their respective league tables going into this clash and are odds-on to win their titles this year. This also gives the opportunity for managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho to lock horns once again, although it is a bit of a concern that Mourinho has a far superior record over his rival. United also have bad defensive injuries going into the first leg.

But I'd take a score draw in the first leg as we should be able to beat Inter once we get them over to Old Trafford in a couple of weeks time.

Real Madrid vs Liverpool
Onto the other big game and oh how the fortunes have been reversed since the draw was made in mid-December. Madrid were in all sorts of trouble but brought in Juande Ramos as the new manager until the end of the season and he has changed things around with 9 wins in his 10 matches including a 6-1 victory at the weekend. Liverpool meanwhile were cruising at the top of the Premier League until their manager Rafael Benetiz lost the plot with his now famous 'Rafa's Rant' and they have been on a horrid run of form as of late.

So everything points to a comfortable win for Madrid then? Well, not exactly. Benetiz knows how to play in Europe and it was incredible the way he guided them to 2 finals in 3 years a few season back and he will have knowledge of the Spanish game given it is his nationality. It's a coin-flip who will go through.

Chelsea vs Juventus
Another fascinating tie as current Juventus manger Claudio Ranieri gets to return to Chelsea. Both teams have realistically very little hope in winning the league so they will probably be going all out here. Juventus are still are very good side; they beat Real Madrid both home and away in the group stages. However, Chelsea probably have that bit more strength in depth and will perhaps shade this game but on the whole it looks like another close call.

Arsenal vs Roma
These two sides have not had the best of seasons as they are well off the pace in their respective leagues, so they may as well be throwing everything they have got into this competition. It should be an open, attacking game as both sides like to get forward. Arsenal's main concern is that they have problems scoring coming off the back of three consecutive 0-0 draws, but if they can build up a good lead in the first leg at home, they might be grand.

Lyon vs Barcelona
Lyon have dominated the French league for years and are a very handy team, with a number of quality players. But this game looks a step too far for them. Barcelona have just been oozing class this season and are well ahead in the Spanish league. Okay, they lost their match at the weekend which was at home to their city rivals (Espanyol), but they have been averaging 3 goals a match this season. This should be an entertaining match and Lyon will make a good nuisance of themselves at home, but over the two legs Barca should be too strong.

Sporting Lisbon vs Bayern Munich
Some bad news was dealt to Sporting as one of their star players, striker Helder Postiga, was ruled out for both legs. Bayern were always going to be favourites and Sporting are facing a huge uphill task now. On the whole, this should be a comfortable enough win for the German side.

Atletcio Madrid vs Porto
Porto surprised everybody by winning the competition (with Jose Mourinho as their manager) a good few years ago but they are nowhere near as good as they were then. They are the top team in Portugal, but that isn't exactly the strongest of the league. Atletico can give a decent account of themselves and boast the very highly-rated striker Sergio Aguero in their ranks. This though is a tie that could go either way.

Villarreal vs Panathinaikos
The Greek side were the surprise package of the group stages as they ended up coming top of a group that contained Inter Milan, even beating them in Italy. Though I think Villarreal will be a bit too much about them; they can attack when they want to, but they can also defend and grind out resutls when is needed and four 0-0 draws against Manchester United in recent times is proof of that.

Predictions To Go Through To The Next Round
Manchester United
Real Madrid
Chelsea
Roma
Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid
Villarreal