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

Hiddink In At Chelsea

A few days ago, Chelsea appointed Guus Hiddink as their manager until the end of the season. This is a very sound decision. Hiddink has a proven track record of success and is indeed a great manager with a lot of tactical know-how and he has been very good at man-mangaging players in the past. Which should come in useful as there is apparantly a rift in the dressing room. Hiddink has also come out on the offensive in saying that Chelsea can still win the Premier League title. You can't fault him for saying this as he had to instill a bit of optimism into the club, team and fans; but really it does look unlikely.

One potential problem is that Hiddink is also currently manager of the Russian national team and so is performing two tasks at once. Although this should not be a major problem as Russia only have 2 World Cup Qualifiers between now and the end of the season, and they are playing teams they should beat quite comfortably. Plus Hiddink has been in this situation before, with PSV Eindhoven and Australia, so he knows how to handle things.

Like I said, on paper it looks a good appointment and Hiddink is a manager I really like and it will be intersting to get a closer look at his tactics and managerial techniques. But of course I am hoping he does not do too well and knock Manchester United off the top of the league or even in the Champions League, if they meet there.

Axe Falls at Chelsea & Portsmouth

I woke up to hear and then read the news this morning that Tony Adams had been sacked as the manager of Portsmouth after only 22 games in charge. Not a massive shock, but a mild one I felt. Sure they have been doing poorly recently and are sitting above the relegation zone. But they have had some terrible luck recently and his hands were tied during the Winter transfer window as the club had to sell, yet he couldn't use any of the money that was brought in. It just seems to be an unfortunate case that he came to a top job too soon and perhaps still had more to learn. He possibly had too much on his plate too. When he was mainly a defensive coach earlier on in the season, Portsmouth's defence was solid enough, but some of the displays recently have been absolutely shocking, so there must have been some neglect of those duties. The worrying thing for the fans is that they will now be on their 3rd manager this season and it will need to be a good appointment as surely survival is the only objective at this stage.

So I go out to class with that on my mind and what a difference a few hours make, because when I return home to hear news that is shocking.

This afternoon, Chelsea also sacked their boss as it was decided by their Russian owner that Luiz Felipe Scolari, someone who won the World Cup with Brazil, was deemed surplus to requirements after only 7 months in the job. Now Chelsea have had a fairly poor season, particularly their home form, but the board have ideas above their station if they think that a new guy can come in and thrust them up to the top spot in the league. They still have the Champions League to play for and honestly, they should be throwing all their eggs in that basket. If Scolari had of won that trophey then he might have got some stay of execution. Why not wait until the end of the season and evaluate things then?

Various names have been touted as replacements such as current West Ham boss & Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola (still a bit unproven), Avram Grant (a guy they sacked in the summer he led them to a whisker of a domestic and European Cup double; great decision that was to let him go then) and Guus Hiddink (a very good boss, but current manager of Russia). It is simply a sensational turn of events.

It all reminds me of that now famously laughable quote by that useless turncoat of a current Chief Executive Peter Kenyon when he stated that 'in a few years Chelsea will be the best team in the world'. He was a guy that left Manchester United (my team of choice) for Chelsea a few years back when the rich Russian billionairre entered town. I'll hold back my chuckles for a moment while we just compare things on the very slim chance Kenyon comes across this...

Last 2 Seasons - Trophies Won
Manchester United - 2 League Titles (with another very likely), 1 European Cup, 1 World Club Championship
Chelsea - 0