Football news – Champions League last 16: Who is going through?

ByEurosport

Updated 17/12/2019 at 11:18 GMT

The Champions last 16 is stacked full of high-level ties, so who will go through? Marcus Foley makes his predictions.

Champions League last 16: Who is going through?

Image credit: Eurosport

WHAT HAPPENED?

The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League threw up some exceptional ties on Monday.

DRAW IN FULL

Champions League

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Borussia Dortmund v Paris Saint-Germain
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Atalanta v Valencia
Atletico Madrid v Liverpool
Chelsea v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Juventus
Tottenham v RB Leipzig
Napoli v Barcelona

Jordan Henderson of Liverpool lifts the Champions League Trophy after after winning the UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on June 01, 2019 in Madrid, Spain.

Image credit: Getty Images

A STACKED DRAW

For the first-time ever the last-16 of the Champions League was made up solely of teams from Europe’s top 5 leagues.

The result was a stacked draw that included sides of the ilk of Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in the unseeded side of the draw. The upshot were tough encounters for English clubs. Liverpool and Manchester City were handed arduous matches against Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid despite winning their groups, while Chelsea, in a repeat of the 2012 final, face off against Bayern Munich.

Tottenham Hotspur, finalists in 2019, were handed – on paper at least – the most favourable draw of the English teams, a fixture with Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig.

Elsewhere, Thomas Tuchel will take his Paris Saint-Germain side to face former charges Borussia Dortmund and Gennaro Gattuso’s Napoli will look to get past Barcelona. Atalanta, who fought back from losing their first three group matches to reach the last 16 at their first bash at Champions League football, were rewarded with a tie against Valencia. Perennial Serie A winners Juventus face Lyon, who will be without talisman Memphis Depay after the Dutchman tore his ACL against Rennes on Sunday.

TIE-BY-TIE ANALYSIS

Borussia Dortmund v Paris Saint-Germain

KEY STAT: PSG have lost only one of their last eight matches to a German opponent in European competition (5 wins, 2 draws).

MOST GOALS

Dortmund: Achraf Hakimi (4)
PSG: Kylian Mbappé/Mauro Icardi (5)

MOST ASSISTS

Dortmund: Julian Brandt (3)
PSG: Ángel Di Maria/Kylian Mbappé (3)

KEY PLAYER

Dortmund: Jadon Sancho
PSG: Kylian Mbappé

PREDICTION

In recent years Neymar’s health has been inextricably linked to the success of PSG’s forays into the knockout stages of the Champions League but Mbappe has now surpassed the Brazilian as PSG’s totem. The 20-year-old forward is now the crucial cog to the PSG machine – a machine that should have enough to beat a Dortmund side whose form has been patchy both in Europe and at home.

PSG TO WIN

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Real Madrid v Manchester City

KEY STAT: Pep Guardiola has faced Real Madrid 17 times as a coach, with the Spaniard winning nine, drawing four and losing four of his 17 previous meetings with them.

MOST GOALS

Real: Karim Benzema/Rodrygo (4)
City: Raheem Sterling (5)

MOST ASSISTS

Real: Marcelo (3)
City: Riyad Mahrez (4)

KEY PLAYER

Real: Karim Benzema
City: Kevin de Bruyne

PREDICTION

Focus could decide this tie. Both managers have an eye-watering wealth of talent at their disposal but City – with a third league title on the bounce presumably beyond them – can focus their energies on a Champions League charge. It is of little secret that Europe’s premier competition is an obsession of both the club and its manager. Real, by contrast, are currently neck-and-neck with old foes Barcelona at the top of Liga. Guardiola will expect to improve on his already impressive record against Real, who are still mid-rebuild under Zinedine Zidane.

MAN CITY TO WIN

Atalanta v Valencia

KEY STAT: Valencia have progressed from two of their three Champions League knockout ties against Italian sides, including the only one played in the round of 16 (vs Internazionale in 2007).

MOST GOALS

Atalanta: Mario Pasalci (2)
Valencia: Rodrigo Moreno (2)

MOST ASSISTS

Atalanta: Ruslan Malinovskyi, Alejandro Gómez, Hans Hateboer (1)
Valencia: Daniel Parejo/Rodrigo Moreno (2)

KEY PLAYER

Atalanta: Duván Zapata
Valencia: Rodrigo Moreno

PREDICTION

A remarkable turn in form and fortune saw Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta side emerge from a Group C that also contained Manchester City, Shaktar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb despite losing their opening three fixtures. However, Valencia, who held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw in Liga on Sunday, emerged from a group that contained both Chelsea and Ajax, beating both away from home. Albert Celades' side sit seventh in Liga but have improved gradually as the season has worn on.

VALENCIA TO WIN

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Atletico Madrid v Liverpool

KEY STAT: 2010 - Liverpool's only previous knockout stage meeting with Atletico Madrid came in the 2009-10 Europa League semi-final, with the Reds being eliminated on away goals (OPTA).

MOST GOALS

Atleti: Álvaro Morata/João Félix (2)
Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (4)

MOST ASSISTS

Atleti: Thomas, José María Giménez, Diego Costa, Kieran Trippier, Renan Lodi, Koke (1)
Liverpool: Roberto Firmino (3)

KEY PLAYER

Atleti: Kieran Trippier
Liverpool: Roberto Firmino

PREDICTION

Atleti spent big in the summer and have hardly reaped the expected rewards with reports suggesting that Diego Simeone could be close to the sack at the Wanda Metropolitano. Liverpool, by contrast, had a relatively quiet summer and have been in stunning domestic form but have stuttered a touch in Europe, claiming top spot in their group on the last matchday. However, a front three of Roberto Firmino, Mohamned Salah and Sadio Mane makes Jurgen Klopp’s men a devastating proposition in knockout football.

LIVERPOOL TO WIN

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Chelsea v Bayern Munich

KEY STAT: Chelsea and Bayern Munich will meet in the Champions League for the first time since the 2012 final, which the Blues won 4-3 on penalties with Frank Lampard as captain.

MOST GOALS

Chelsea: César Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Tammy Abraham (2)
Bayern: Robert Lewandowski (10)

MOST ASSISTS

Chelsea: Kurt Zouma (2)
Bayern: Corentin Tolisso/Ivan Perisic (3)

KEY PLAYER

Chelsea: Tammy Abraham
Bayern: Robert Lewandowski

PREDICTION

Bayern have masked dubious domestic form with an imperious showing in Europe, and in Lewandowski are in possession of Europe’s premier marksman. Much of Chelsea’s stuttering form has been born of a porous defence so unless the Blues shore up ahead of February, the Bavarians must be favourites.

BAYERN MUNICH TO WIN

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Lyon v Juventus

KEY STAT: Juventus are unbeaten in the four European club competitions games vs Lyon: 3 wins and 1 draw.

MOST GOALS

Lyon: Memphis Depay (5)
Juventus: Paulo Dybala (3)

MOST ASSISTS

Lyon: Houssem Aouar/Léo Dubois (2)
Juventus: Gonzalo Higuain/Paulo Dybala (2)

KEY PLAYER

Lyon: Memphis Depay
Juventus: Cristiano Ronaldo

PREDICTION

Lyon, shorn of their talisman Depay, should prove fodder for a still-finding-its-feet Juventus under Maurizio Sarri. Lyon are eighth in Ligue Un.

JUVENTUS TO WIN

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Tottenham v RB Leipzig

KEY STAT: Julian Nagelsmann was 16 years old when José Mourinho won his first Champions League title with FC Porto in 2004 (Squawka).

MOST GOALS:

Tottenham: Harry Kane (6)
RB Leipzig: Emil Forsberg/Timo Werner (3)

MOST ASSISTS

Tottenham: Heung-Min Son, Serge Aurier, Erik Lamela, Tanguy Ndombélé (2)
RB Leipzig: Marcel Sabitzer (2)

KEY PLAYER

Tottenham: Harry Kane
RB Leipzig: Emil Forsberg

PREDICTION

Looks a decent draw on paper for Spurs but it will prove anything but. Leipzig sit top of the Bundesliga and their high press could prove a stylistic nightmare for Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham. Should Spurs’ defensive travails persist under Mourinho – and the body of evidence they have served up thus far suggest they will – then they will come unstuck against Nagelsmann’s effervescent side.

RB LEIPZIG TO WIN

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Napoli v Barcelona

KEY STAT: Barcelona have been eliminated from four of their last seven Champions League knockout stage ties against Italian sides, including their last two against Juventus in 2017 and Roma in 2018.

MOST GOALS

Napoli: Dries Mertens (5)
Barcelona: Luis Suárez (3)

MOST ASSISTS

Napoli: Giovanni Di Lorenzo (2)
Barcelona: Lionel Messi

KEY PLAYER

Napoli: Dries Mertens
Barcelona: Lionel Messi

PREDICTION

Napoli are a mess. At the time of writing they sit eighth in Serie A and have appointed a manager in Gennaro Gattuso, whose career to date has shown little acumen for elite-level management. They face off against a Barcelona side not without its own problems – Ernesto Valverde's dogmatic tactics, for example – but with Lionel Messi. Barcelona all day.

BARCELONA TO WIN