The Champions League Round of 16 starts on February 14th and the second legs will run until March 15th, in between these dates there are many games that have two incredible teams facing off, and some other games that could end in underdog victories. Here are the Soccer Alarm's predictions for who will win each of the games.
Leipzig vs Manchester City
Other than a couple of blips, Manchester City have been dominating the English Premier League, yet they can’t seem to catch Arsenal, who hold the number one spot. Leipzig on the other hand are at 3rd in the Bundesliga, and could easily take the number 2 spot if Freiburg lose. So with all of this in mind, the Soccer Alarm predicts that Manchester City should be able to get through this match pretty easily, even with the bad luck they have in the Champions League competition.
Club Brugge vs Benfica
Two teams that surprised everyone in the group stage have been matched up together, and this looks like it will be an interesting set of games. Club Brugge defied expectations to end up ahead of Atletico Madrid in the number two spot in their group, while Benfica surprised the world by winning a group that had PSG and Juventus in it. The verdict from me is that these two games will be very close, but Benfica will come out as the champions.
AC Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur
Although Tottenham won their group, both of these teams struggled more than they were expected to in the group stage, but what matters is that they both made it out. In their respective leagues, Milan is in second, 7 points behind Napoli, while Tottenham is in 5th in the Premier League, 12 points off the top. This game could go either way if one team steps up, or worsens, but Soccer Alarm is predicting that Tottenham will win this matchup.
Frankfurt vs Napoli
Napoli have surprised everyone this season, this is because they have been first place in Serie A all season and they upset Liverpool in their first Champions League game this season 4-1 and then putting massive scores above Ajax and Rangers. On the other hand Frankfurt, the reigning Europa League winners have not played so well in the Champions League, barely making it out of the group stage because of a 1-0 win against Marseille. Even though Frankfurt had a deep run in the Europa League last year, Soccer Alarm is giving this to Napoli.
Dortmund vs Chelsea
This is one of the better matchups in the group stage, two incredible teams who have lost their flair recently face up. Both of these teams who are usually competing for the titles in their domestic leagues have not performed well this season, with Dortmund in 6th, and Chelsea in 10th. If both of these teams can return to their current level then we will be in for a good game that will be fun to watch. I am going to predict an upset here and say that Soccer Alarm’s pick for this match here is Dortmund.
Inter Milan vs Porto
These two teams were drawn into difficult groups but were able to perform very well, with Inter getting second above Barcelona and Brugge coming ahead of Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Club Brugge. Porto and Inter are at similar spots from a domestic standpoint, as Porto are in 3rd in the Portuguese Primeira Liga while Milan come in at 4th in Serie A. With all this considered, Soccer Alarm’s prediction is in favor of Inter Milan making it on to the quarter finals.
Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Munich
Two giants of modern soccer face up in this match that will have the reigning and current Ligue 1 leaders facing off against the reigning and current Bundesliga winners. The two teams have stars at every spot on the field, from Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG) and Manuel Neuer (Bayern) in between the posts all the way up to players like Lionel Messi (PSG), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Kingsley Coman (Bayern), and Sadio Mane (Bayern) up front. This is a very difficult decision, as the two teams are very similar, but I am going to predict that PSG will end on top.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid
The best game of the Round of 16, the rematch of last year's and 2018's final, two of the teams with the most champions league trophies facing off, call this matchup whatever you want to call it, but it will be a classic. Real Madrid have been good this season, 2nd in La Liga, only behind FC Barcelona by 3 points and they dominated the group stage, which got them 1st place in their group. Liverpool on the other hand have not played very well in the Premier League, sitting in 6th, 14 points behind the number one team, but they have played well in the Champions League, winning all but one game, and destroying Rangers 7-1. Both legs of this will be hard fought but the Soccer Alarm picks Real Madrid to make it on.
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