Following a scintillating group stage phase, the Champions League round of sixteen draws has been finalised with teams set to do battle in quest for a place in the quarterfinals.
Bayern Munich and Liverpool, both five-times European champions, will meet in one of three England vs Germany clashes, while poor performing Manchester United that recently parted ways with Jose Mourinho will face French leaders, PSG, following the draw made at UEFA headquarters on Monday.
Premier league champions Manchester City will take on Schalke 04 and Tottenham Hotspur will face Borussia Dortmund in the other clashes between the Premier League and the Bundesliga.
Holders Real Madrid will face four-times winners Ajax Amsterdam, which has reached the knockout stages for the first time since 2005-06.
In other ties, Serie A champions Juventus face Europa League winners Atletico Madrid and Barcelona take on Olympique Lyonnais, while AS Roma face Porto.
Here, we do a team-by-team analysis of the round of sixteen draw held on Monday, December 17th at UEFA headquarters.
Manchester United vs PSG
Ligue 1 leaders, PSG would be excited to be up against a deflated Manchester United side that has lost form under Jose Mourinho’s management.
The sack of the ‘Special One’ by the Old Trafford hierarchy and the appointment of former striker, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, might be a turning point for the Red Devils when they play PSG.
Solskjaer will be faced with a task of turning the fortunes of Manchester United side with averagely talented, but misfiring squad.
Solskjaer will certainly have his work cut out as he prepares Manchester United on how to deal with star-studded PSG side that parade the likes of Neymar, Mbappe and Edinson Cavani.
Borussia Dortmund vs Tottenham
Arguably the most even pairing of the eight and a tie that really could go either way in terms of who progresses to the next stage, especially as two of Europe’s most exciting sides look set to do battle once more.
Last season, the two sides were paired together in the group stages and Tottenham came out on top on both occasions. Those results saw the North London outfit top their mini-league before eventually being knocked out by Juventus in the round of 16.
This season, Mauricio Pochettino’s men had to make do with a second place finish in the group stage and will be wary of a Borussia Dortmund side that has definitely improved since that pair of losses last season.
They are unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season and have already managed to get the better of archrivals Bayern Munich in their first league clash of this campaign.
There are many similarities between Tottenham and Dortmund, not just in the way they play, but also their preference to promote youth football than spending big money.
Liverpool vs Bayern Munich
The second of three Premier League vs Bundesliga clashes in this stage of the Champions League as last season’s losing finalists are paired with a side that is going through something of a transition at present.
The once mighty Bayern Munich are struggling to keep up with Borussia Dortmund and are undoubtedly feeling the after effects of a change in managerial personnel. There was always going to be huge shoes to fill when Jupp Heynckes left and Niko Kovac is the man who is trying his best to do so.
Unfortunately for him, he is yet to get the better replacements for the likes of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery for as good as they have been for the Bavarian giants they simply cannot last forever.
Bayern are not a team that can be written off and will be a big test for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side that has rediscovered form with Salah, Sadio Mane inspiring the team to victory.
Again, Jurgen Klopp will be hoping to relish his coaching pedigree as he gets the opportunity to go up against an old foe.
The recent scoring form of Egyptian striker Mo Salah could wreck havoc for Bayern’s defence.
Manchester City vs Schalke 04
Manchester City tie against Schalka 04 makes up the English contingent in the third of the Premier League vs Bundesliga Round of 16 battles, and soccer pundits say they have the easiest pairing of them all.
Arguably the competition minnows, Schalke will be looking to set up the biggest upset of the round by progressing to the last eight and moving one step closer to replicating their final four appearances in 2011.
For Manchester City, this presents the perfect opportunity to assert their European dominance as Pep Guardiola looks to be the man to lead the club to their first ever success in the Champions League, while also ending his eight-year trophy drought in the competition.
Real Madrid vs Ajax Amsterdam
It will be a disaster for any team to write off Real Madrid despite their dip in form this season. The Champions League is a competition they have dominated in the last five years, winning four of the five trophies.
Real boast of the richest pedigree of all in this tournament and will be confident that they can dust themselves out after an early-season blip to extend their winning streak to four years in a row.
Real are without the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo who swapped Madrid for Turin back in the summer and also the managerial mastermind of Zinedine Zidane who bowed out after Los Blancos success over Liverpool back in May, 2018.
This tie could well prove to be the shock of the round should Ajax get the better of Real Madrid.
Juventus vs Atletico Madrid
The two best defensive outfits in Europe currently go head to head in the Round of 16. A dogged Atletico Madrid team led by former Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone will face a daunting task against Italian champions that parades the all-time top scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo in the competition history, who moved from Real Madrid to Juventus in the summer transfer.
The presence of phenomenal Cristiano Ronaldo could be that signing that turns Juventus to outright winners.
Also, the two clubs know all about falling short at the final hurdle with both of them being tormented by a Real Madrid side that included Ronaldo. For Atletico, it was defeat in 2014 and 2016, while for Juventus it was in 2017. Juventus were losing finalists back in 2015 at the hands of Barcelona.
This could be the year Juventus end their Champions league jinx.
Barcelona vs Lyon
2015 Uefa Champions League victory was the last time last time that the Catalan giants have won the Champions League, for a club of their pedigree. That is a wait that has gone on far too long.
What is probably all the more galling is the fact that they have had to watch Real Madrid go on and win the last three editions of the competition, something that has undoubtedly rubbed salt in their proverbial wounds.
The Round of 16 draw presents a realistic hope of reaching the last eight as they are paired with a Lyon side who in fairness did manage to get the better of Manchester City in the group stage of the competition.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde cannot afford to take the Ligue 1 opponents too lightly as they will be duly punished.
AS Roma vs FC Porto
Arguably the two clubs that a lot of the bigger names would have preferred to face in the Round of 16. The fact that they have been paired with each other will undoubtedly be good news for both Porto and Roma.
The current Portuguese league leaders topped what was the weakest group of the opening phase and did so with relative ease as they picked up 16 out of the 18 points that were on offer.
They go up against an Italian side, Roma, that finished second in a group that had Real Madrid and it is fair to say that their European exploits have been a welcome distraction after what has been a forgettable domestic season.
Regarding the poor season of AS Roma in the Serie A, they will have to fight hard on a domestic plan to take part in the Champions League next season. That might be a priority for them, and they may lose a lot of strength in their Championship, contrary to FC Porto.
Anthony Nlebem
