As we enter the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the next fortnight or so will give fans a good indication as to who is a contender and who is a pretender in the race for club football’s biggest cup competition.
Eight tantalising ties lie ahead, with the first legs of four to be played in the next 48 hours, beginning with Manchester City’s trip to Basel.
The all-conquering Citizens have had a virtually perfect season, with Pep Guardiola setting up a platform for City to rule England and Europe in years to come.
Their record against the top six has been near perfect, with the only slip-up coming against Liverpool, in a pulsating 4-3 loss in which a more clinical City could’ve even claimed a point.
Their biggest strength is that goals can come from many different sources, with Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and David Silva all producing mouth-watering displays on a weekly level.
In short, they should have no problem in sweeping aside Basel. The news that German winger Leroy Sane may even come back from injury for the first leg will make the mountain almost unreachable for Basel.
Pep Guardiola leads a dominant, cashed-up Manchester City side. (Photo: AFP)
The other match tomorrow is an even more mouth-watering contest. Fresh from a North London Derby victory, Tottenham travel to Turin to play the mighty Juventus, who trail Napoli in the Serie A by a solitary point.
Tottenham’s European form so far has been astonishing, with their 3-1 win against Real Madrid one of their biggest victories in recent years. However, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen will have to be at their brilliant best against a Juventus backline which only conceded one goal throughout last year’s knockout stage, prior to the final.
It will be a tie loaded with superstars, but all eyes will be on the battle between two of the world’s best attacking players as Kane does battle against Argentine superstar Paulo Dybala.
The other battle which promises to excite is that between Gianluigi Buffon and Hugo Lloris between the sticks, with both keepers needing brilliant matches to help their teams progress.
[latest_videos_strip category=”football” name=”Football”]
In theory Liverpool should have no problem against Porto.
Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have shown just how potent they can be in attack, but defensive calamities have become far too common on the red end of Merseyside.
One player Liverpool will have to be wary of is Vincent Aboubakar, with the Cameroonian known for his goal-scoring exploits.
Liverpool will be cautious on the road, looking simply to score an away goal in order to the real damage in the second leg, at Anfield.
As for Porto, they need veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas, and Mexican duo Hector Herrera and Jesus Manuel Corona – who all have vital experience in the Champions League – to stand up if they’re to claim a big scalp.
The best is well and truly saved for last, with the tie of the round being played out next Thursday when Kylian Mbappe and Neymar’s Paris Saint-Germain travel to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on defending champions Real Madrid.
Perhaps the biggest talking point is how out-of-form Real are, with Los Blancos trailing arch-rivals Barcelona by a whopping 17 points domestically.
Perhaps the most worrying sign for the Madrid giants is that Cristiano Ronaldo has suffered a rare slump in form this season, while the Parisians have been hailing Neymar as a signing that could land them the Champions League trophy.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Events rounds are the go in Australian sport and the A-League Men need to be next on the bandwagon, or risk irrelevance.
Even though St.Pauli ultimately lost a high-scoring affair, Jackson Irvine was a standout, as well as scoring a late goal.
What if we celebrated all of the achievements big and small, and weeded out those hell-bent on bringing down a game that is doing a hell of a lot right?
It's back, and it's better than ever. The Champions League is one of the great sporting competitions in the world, and if you want…
Mathew Leckie played a pivotal part in Melbourne City claiming an 8-nil win; playing a role in several of his team's goals.
The Mariners must deal with possibly their toughest challenge yet - Kyrgyzstan’s FK Abdysh-Ata Kant in the first leg of the semifinal.
