Skip to main content

THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16 PREDICTIONS !!

 

Champions League 2021-22 round of 16

It's February, the shortest month of the calendar, the month which marks the gradual transition of winter to summer, via the spring. The beautiful flowers, the blue sky, the songs of the birds are enough to stir the soul of even the most rock hearted men and women. Add to that, this is the month which celebrates love, the passionate and intimate bond which has captivated mankind since the dawn if the human civilization. Yet, this month has something to offer for others too, the single people out there who haven't yet been charmed by the beauty of a fellow human being, but are fiercely attracted to a game, a sport loved all over the globe. Yes, the pinnacle of club football, the UEFA Champion's League returns in February, and its safe to say that it has already captivated the masses pretty well.

So, who's gonna win the Champion's League this season? Well your guess is as good as mine. The unpredictability of the Champion's League, the swift nature with which the games turn on their heads, the passionate crowd pushing their team over the two legs makes this tournament so so special to any football. Hence I decided to give my prediction on the possible winners of the round of 16 ties. Let me know if you agree with my choices in the comments below. So, lets begin now, shall we?

PSG VS REAL MADRID

Lets start with big match, its the battle of two heavy weights, two giants of club football. On one side are the record champions of Spain and Europe, the royal whites Real Madrid. On the other side is the biggest team in France, a team that has become the most dominant force in the French domestic circuit, Paris Saint-Germain. This clash looks mouth watering and too good to miss for the neutral. On one hand PSG have made a star studded "super team" by recruiting the likes of Leo Messi, Donnarumma, and former Real Madrid captain, Sergio Ramos. PSG has everything at their disposal to take Europe by storm, yet they have lacked cohesion and have failed to play as a team on many occasions this season.

On the other hand, Real Madrid enter this match as slight underdogs. Injury to star striker Karim Benzema is a worrying news, and coach Carlo Ancelotti's continuous ignorance towards playing Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard has seen Isco being played as a false nine in the last match versus Granada. Will this become a trend? or was it just a one off? 

To predict who will win this tie is too difficult to give a verdict upon. Madrid have the pedigree and success of playing in Europe while PSG have a lot of outstanding individuals, but not an outstanding team. 

PREDICTION- Real Madrid to win.


SPORTING VS MANCHSTER CITY

Manchester City are the overwhelming favorites to win this tie convincingly. Pep Guardiola's side has been brutal and unstoppable in the league in the recent months and its no surprise that they are the bookies' favorite to win their maiden Champions League this season.

But beating Sporting will not be an easy task whatsoever. Sporting are second in the Portuguese top division, six points off leaders Porto. They have players Joao Palhinha, Pablo Sarabia and Pedro Porro in the team who are good enough to win matches on their own. But that will not be the case against City, who are far superior in terms of quality and resources. Except the striker position, City have abundant quality in every position. But with intelligent players like Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan pushing forward at every opportunity, do City actually need a striker?

PREDICTION- Manchester City to win.

RB SALZBURG VS BAYERN MUNICH

Well, Bayern are the absolute favorites to overwhelm the Austrian powerhouse which has become renowned for producing world class talents like Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland and Naby Keita to name a few. The RB network is well connected and the swift transfer of players between the teams owned by Red Bull prevents the stagnation of talents. Bayern, on the hand adopt a different policy of buying young talents from other teams, especially from the Bundesliga. With players like Robert Lewndowski, Joshua Kimmich and many more superstars in their team Bayern should win the tie comfortably.

Salzburg will have to depend on their young and talented players and hope they can produce a magical performance which is worthy of being called Champions League quality.

PREDICTION- Bayern to win the tie.

INTER MILAN VS LIVERPOOL

Huge match, probably as big as the Madrid vs PSG match. Inter are top of Serie A and are well on their way for a domestic treble. They were dominant domestically last year as well, but somehow lost that spark in the Champions League. With the addition of new players like Gosens, Calhonoglu and Dzeko, Inter are the team to beat in Serie A.

Liverpool on the other hand will be bolstered by the return of Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah from the recently concluded AFCON. Liverpool are the favorites on paper, with Salah being in sublime form this year for the Reds. The fullbacks Trent Alexander Arnold and Andrew Robertson will be crucial, so will be the Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker. All in all it should be a mouth watering clash to look forward to.

PREDICTION- Liverpool to win over the two legs.

LOSC LILLE VS CHELSEA

When Chelsea got LOSC Lille both times during the UCL draw, it was quite surprising fact to digest. But Chelsea were no doubt the happier of the two teams, for Lille, the defending Ligue 1 champions are 11th on the table this season. They lost their coach, their goalkeeper and their midfield gem Camavinga in the summer and are no longer the team they were last season. Chelsea on the other hand, are again on the rise after a sudden dip in form which saw them slip to third in the Premier League. Chelsea are expected to overwhelm a weak and inferior Lille team and gain a momentum like they did last year, and maybe win the competition again.

PREDICTION- Chelsea to win handsomely.

JUVENTUS VS VILLARREAL 

This, in my opinion, should be a great match, especially for the neutral. Juve are on their way upwards in Serie A after buying Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria in January. The players have finally started playing as team after a torrid start to the season. Villarreal on the other hand are the underdogs in this clash, but should not be underestimated by any team. Their manager, the shroud Unai Emery is a tactical master and he can pull out a surprise against Juventus. Villarreal don't have many superstars, and lie sixth in La Liga. But with players like Gerard Moreno, Arnaut Danjuma and Yeremy Pino in the team, the yellow submarine can just have enough to knock out Juve.

PREDICTION- Juventus to eke out a result over the two legs

MANCHESTER UNITED VS ATLETICO MADRID

Two historically big teams, both being inconsistent this season, both are 5th in their respective league. When you look for an entertaining football match, most times two very similar teams provide the most entertainment. And that's exactly the case here. Man Utd are terribly out of form and will look for inspiration from Mr. Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo who has broken the hearts of the Atleti fans many a time. Atleti on the other hand will look to maintain a good defensive shape and hit United on the counter. Both teams have world class players, but both teams are terribly out of form.

PREDICTION- Manchester United to eke out a win over the two legs.

BENFICA VS AJAX

Another great match for the neutrals. Ajax were totally rampant in the group stages with Sebastian Haller scoring at will. They are young, hungry and have a coach in Eric ten Haag who reciprocates that energy. Benfica on the other hand qualified from a group with Bayern Munich and Barcelona. That itself is a big achievement and clearly shows that they are no pushovers. This should be a cracking match which might even go down to away goals or extra time. Keep an eye on this one, thank me later!

PREDICTION- Ajax to get the job done.


Well, so these were my predictions for the round of 16 of the Champions League. Do you agree with my choices? Or do you feel a magical cup tie will overturn all the predictions? Do let me know. Thanks for reading and take care. Goodbye for now!



Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE SHIFT IN POWER IN EUROPEAN FOOTBALL : A FAN'S VIEWS

  Football, the sport we love, the players we adore. Football gives us strength, courage, hope, a plethora of emotions like anger, happiness, sadness all within a span of 90 minutes. Football, as we know should always be for the fans. Fans or as I like to call them, the supporters should be the heartbeat of our wonderful sport. But lately, in the last decade or so there has been a shift in power in the footballing landscape in Europe, the hotbed of football. Its not a surprise that whatever happens in the European football scene is likely to influence the world football in some way or the other. Amid a raging pandemic and the rise of economic power houses entering this domain of the beautiful game, here are my views on the shift in power that has been so apparent in the last few years ; 1. The Economic Condition of the Players Football is for the players who play it, there's no two ways about it. For a footballer, its his job. They are lucky enough to turn their passion into their ...
1 comment
Read more

THE GLADIATORS BEATEN AT THE COLOSSEUM

  Real Madrid were shockingly defeated by Getafe away from home in their first league match of 2022. The goal, coming off an error by Eder Militao was enough to give three points to a Getafe side which Madrid were expected to beat. Madrid never looked the same after conceding the goal, and were nervy before a late final push to find the equalizer. The gaffer Carlo Ancelotti rightly pointed out that the players were still in " christmas mode" as Madrid looked far from their usual best. Here's me looking into the positives and negatives of our game vs Getafe; The Starting Eleven With leaks coming in from almost every possible source that Eden Hazard will start the game, it was widely expected that the Belgian will start upfront along with Benzema and Asensio. Marco Asensio, a player who starts on the right wing but likes to drop down in the midfield could have made the formation a bit for dynamic, changing from the usual 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 at times with Hazard and Benzema upf...
Post a Comment
Read more

KYLIAN MBAPPE

 Dear Kylian Mbappe,  Hello Kylian, how you doing? I hope you are pretty good, after all the fresh bag you just got must have made you feel like a God, innit? How is the smell of those crisp euros or dollars or whatever the f**k they paid you in....does it smell good? Fresh? Or does it smell of blood? Blood from the dream you just killed, blood from the soul you just sold. We, the faithful Madridistas, have encountered a lot of turmoil over the years, but yours truly stands out, for we loved you, we adored you, we wanted you to play for us at any cost.....we made extraordinary sacrifices for you, we had a DREAM for you, the one you just killed yourself. I remember seeing a picture of your younger self, in a room full of posters of my club, of my favorite player, of OUR favorite player....the one who meant the most to you, to me and to millions worldwide.... Cristiano Ronaldo. Wasn't he like a God for you? Your everything, according to your former teammates? Didn't you dream of...
2 comments
Read more

Chelsea vs Aston Villa ( Date - 26/12/2021 )

Chelsea won 3-1 vs a Gerrard-less Aston Villa thanks to a Jorginho double on boxing day. As entertaining the match was,here are my thoughts on both team's performance:- CHELSEA ●  Chelsea started with a 3-4-3 and looked threatening from the onset. The wing backs,especially Alonso kept running up and down the flanks providing the width. The 3 man defense with Silva in the middle played wide but were quick to squeeze in the spaces to block the shots from the likes of Ings and Watkins. ● The midfield 3 in Chelsea, especially Kante impressed me a lot. His ball carrying prowess is criminally underrated. Whenever the wing backs put in the crosses,3 men were already waiting in the box with Kante running in for the rebound from outside. His long range shooting is very good and Tuchel looked to capitalize that. ●Jorginho was essential,not only from the spot,but his ability to break plays and spread the ball outwards is so good. Chelsea had more passes in the opposition half,more touches and...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE PLAYER : FOR CLUB OR COUNTRY? AFCON SPECIAL

  Football, the beautiful game we all love and enjoy, should ultimately be for the players. Its their job after all, to honor their contracts and be professional under every instance, no matter how challenging the situation is. The players who are European and American, including both the North and South, are often helped a great deal by their federations as well the respect they receive from the fans and society. A Brazilian or a Spanish player has a different aura about him in any league he plays . The continental showpieces of Europe and South America, the Euros and the Copa America respectively, are watched admired by people worldwide. This respect and admiration, however drains down the gutter when it comes to the African and Asian tournaments, or the players in that sense.  An African or Asian player will have to work a lot harder in order to make the name an European does. But when the disrespect towards a player, community or even a country is aimed at a continental sh...
Post a Comment
Read more