Everyone knows that the Champions League only kicks into gear when the knock-out stages are in full flow. We are very excited about the impending last 16 draw today so we have taken a look at the possible match ups and games we’d like to see.
The three English clubs await their fate and with only Chelsea winning their group, both Manchester City and Arsenal will await with considerable trepidation.
Manchester City have finally made it into the group stages and one thing we know is that they won’t face either Bayern Munich or Chelsea in the draw. Having said that, there are quite a few tasty looking options there and we think a Manchester City v Real Madrid match would certainly be one to whet the appetite.
Real are of course looking to become the first team to successfully defend the Champions League in its current guise. With Ronaldo in scintillating form, it would be amazing to see him go head-to-head with City’s own goal machine, Sergio Aguero.
Arsenal seem to be the perennial last 16 team having gone out at this stage for the last four seasons. They will rue not holding on to their three goal lead against Anderlecht which saw them finish second behind group winners Borussia Dortmund. They’ve been knocked out at this stage for the last two seasons by Bayern Munich and will want to avoid them.
We’d love to see Arsenal come up against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, who after a slow start have begun to show signs of the form of last season which saw them win La Liga and get to the final of the Champions League. Both sides would play lovely football so we are hoping for this draw.
Chelsea are looking ominously good this season and at fourth favourites, they will not be afraid of taking on anyone in the last 16. The one team which looks intriguing from all the other runners-up and one we think would give Chelsea a proper game is Juventus. That’s on our wish right there.
So to summarise, here is the wish-list:
Chelsea v Juventus
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Atletico Madrid v Arsenal
Porto v Paris Saint-Germain
Barcelona v Bayer Leverkusen
Monaco v Schalke
Bayern Munich v Basel
Borussia Dortmund v Shaktar Donetsk
This is brought to you by Nissan, official partner of the UEFA Champions League. Click here for more.
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