Champions League last-16 predictions: Man City to crash out, Arsenal through

But who will prevail from each of the eight match-ups?

At first glance one of the easiest draws City could have got with Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in play but Pep Guardiola will not relish taking on the French side. Falcao, who will return to Manchester, has scored 10 goals in seven league starts for a Monaco side who have taken Ligue 1 apart with 53 goals in 17 matches. Only Real Madrid, with 40, come close in Europe’s top leagues. That could be bad news for City, whose defensive frailties have been badly exposed in recent weeks. January signings will be essential if Guardiola is to avoid his earliest ever exit in the competition.

Napoli possess a number of established attacking threats like Lorenzo Insigne and Marek Hamsik, and record signing Arkadiusz Milik will be back in February. However, Real Madrid are the reigning champions, on a club-record run of games without defeat and have a player in Cristiano Ronaldo who is about to win his fourth Ballon d’Or. Barring a minor earthquake, this should be navigable for Zinedine Zidane and his team.

Dortmund have one of the most dangerous attacks in Europe and proved as much by scoring a record 21 goals in six group stage games. However, their sixth-place position in the Bundesliga hints at underlying problems which Benfica, who are top in Portugal by four points, will hope to exploit. The truth is that if Dortmund turn it on they are almost unstoppable with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang now clearly one of the best forwards in world football. But even when they stuck eight goals past Legia Warsaw at home they managed to concede four times.

The draw everyone knew was coming. It is the third time in five seasons that Arsenal will face Bayern at this stage, and fourth in five in total given they played in last year’s group stages too. Bayern have had the better of Arsenal in all of those seasons but the transition to Carlo Ancelotti from Pep Guardiola has not yet been very convincing and with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil in talismanic form, there is more reason than usual to think that Arsenal could get past the last 16 for the first time in seven seasons. Surely they can't lose again?

The Portuguese club could only come in second to Leicester City in their group stage, even if they hammered the weakened English champions on the final day, and will struggle against a Juve side who have won the past five Serie As. Massimiliano Allegri’s side aren’t as star-studded as they were when they reached the final two seasons ago but Gonzalo Higuain is scoring goals at the expected rate - 12 in 16 games in all competitions - and they possess enough quality and know-how to make it through.

Two of Europe’s more interesting tactical propositions go head to head in the connoisseur’s choice. This is also a rematch of the last 16 in 2014-15 when Atleti lost the first leg in Germany but went through on aggregate. The match saw managers Diego Simeone and Roger Schmidt square up on the touchline, making for an interesting reunion. Atleti have been to two of the past three Champions League finals and should remain on course for another in this one.

This is the biggest match of the round, with the Spanish double winners going up against the French domestic treble winners. Still, PSG are at something of a low ebb under new coach Unai Emery, with Nice currently top of Ligue 1 and Arsenal taking top spot in their Champions League group. Barcelona are also stumbling domestically, six points behind leaders Real Madrid, but still have the best attack in world football. Both teams were better last season but Barca are still some distance above their French opponents.

Leicester were denied the chance to take on one of the continent’s best sides but although Sevilla is a nice away day, it could be punishing for Claudio Ranieri’s men, who only just managed to alleviate their dismal league form with a 4-2 win over Man City at the weekend. Sevilla are an impressive outfit under summer appointee Jorge Sampaoli. The Chilean, who will serve a touchline ban, is unlikely to make the mistake that so many others have of underestimating Leicester. Expect a cute tactical plan to negate the threat of the English champions on the counter.