The UEFA Champions League round-of-16 draw was announced Thursday night Australian time, and sees Real Madrid and Manchester United set to play each other.
The match-up will see Cristiano Ronaldo playing against United for the first time since his 2009 departure.
In what is likely to be his last season for los Blancos, Jose Mourinho is determined to win the Champions League. Standing in his way in the round-of-16 is Sir Alex Ferguson, rival of Mourinho since his Chelsea days.
United were not tested convincingly during their group round, but expect them to be put against here. United are in good form domestically, while Madrid are struggling against Barca in la Liga, and the extra pressure will either make or break the match for them.
The draw also sees German clubs Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund play off against Arsenal and Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
After making it through the group-stage, Arsenal will be looking to take another step towards the London final. Although Wenger is struggling domestically, he has impressively made the last thirteen Champions League knockout rounds.
Unlike Arsenal, Bayern is on top form in the Bundesliga. After a number of second-place finishes in recent seasons, including two Champions League finals, Bayern have strengthened well and will be determined to get results.
The German giants could go all the way this season, and should manage to defeat Arsenal. The match-up will also see Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski playing against one of his former teams.
Both Shakhtar and Dortmund were very impressive during the group stage. Shakhtar proved to be difficult opponents, and Dortmund will have to work hard to progress past the Ukrainians.
Dortmund has improved since last season’s dismal European campaign, and has shown in the group stage they have a good enough squad to go all the way. But I don’t expect them to do so this season. They should, however, manage to get past Shakhtar.
In the round-of-16’s other matches, Barcelona play against a struggling AC Milan, while Schalke will travel to Turkey to face Galatasaray.
Milan and Barca played each other four times in last season’s Champions League, with Milan managing two draws (2-2 and 0-0) against the Catalonians.
Milan is in a transitional period and the squad is not the impressive team of last season. Do not expect a similar performance when the two European giants clash again.
Despite winning their group, Schalke recently sacked manager Huub Stevens for poor domestic results. He has been replaced by former under-17s coach Jens Keller. While Schalke topped their group, Galatasaray only closely made it out from group H.
However, Turkey has often been a difficult and intimidating country for football teams to visit. I would say that Schalke will need to get the job done at home if they hope to progress past the Turks.
The round-of-16 also sees former winners Juventus and Celtic play-off for a quarter-final position, while Valencia must get past PSG if they wish for further Champions League football. The last match sees Malaga and Porto draw each other.
It has been a long time since Juve last won the Champions League, but even longer since Celtic did. The 1967 European Cup winners will remember this season for their victory over Barcelona and for reaching the round-of-16.
But with a match-up with the 1995 winners and last season’s Serie A champions, it would appear Celtic should not expect much more from this season. However, I already wrote Celtic off once and they may yet stage another upset.
With impressive singings made over the summers, PSG have set their sights on winning the Champions League. Valencia very often impress during the group stage but struggle in knockout football.
With a meeting with the greedy PSG this does not look likely to change.
Champions League debutants Malaga had an impressive group stage. They will be relieved not to draw against bigger opponents, but Porto will still be a difficult for the Spanish club to overcome. Should be close, but I think Malaga will get the better of Porto.
The first round of matches will be played on the 13th and 14th of February Australian time. Stay tuned for more news and results.
What are you predictions for the matches? Share your comments below.
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