From Juventus and Spurs’ intriguing battle to Chelsea’s forbidding meeting with Barcelona and a likely stroll for Bayern, The Guardian Sport looks over all eight last-16 matchups:
Basel vs. Manchester City
Tuesday, St. Jakob-Park and Wednesday, March 7, Etihad
It was a fairly tumultuous transfer window for Basel with two key players, Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund) and Renato Steffen (Wolfsburg), joining Bundesliga clubs. However, the Swiss club also re-signed Valentin Stocker (Hertha Berlin) and Fabian Frei (Mainz) and the coach, Raphael Wicky, says they “have more quality now than we did in 2017”. City, though, should be able to expose Basel’s lack of pace all over the pitch and the Swiss side were devoid of attacking ideas in a recent 1-0 home defeat against Lugano. Wicky is likely to play a 3-4-3 formation against City and it would be surprising if Pep Guardiola’s side did not get past Basel’s wing-backs to create chances, even without the injured Leroy Sané.
Verdict: City to go through
Juventus vs. Tottenham
Tuesday, Juventus Stadium and Wednesday, March 7, Wembley
What an intriguing game. Spurs beat Real Madrid and eliminated Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, but Juve offer a different challenge. Defensively superb, with Medhi Benatia now fully integrated in the back four in place of the departed Leonardo Bonucci, Max Allegri’s side are approaching their best. Allegri does have some injury problems, though, with Paulo Dybala and Blaise Matuidi expected to miss the first leg. In the end it may well come down to a shootout between Gonzalo Higuaín and Harry Kane. The battle of the full-backs will be important, too: will both sides attack the way they normally do? Mauricio Pochettino will be delighted to have Toby Alderweireld back in defense, but Dele Alli’s form is a worry.
Verdict: Juventus
Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Wednesday, Bernabéu and Tuesday, March 6, Parc des Princes
Exactly the kind of tie PSG’s Qatari owners were dreaming of when they bought the club in 2011. On the pitch, Adrien Rabiot is having a renaissance in his Blaise Matuidi-esque role while Giovani Lo Celso has been the big surprise package, replacing the injured Thiago Motta with aplomb. Neymar and Edinson Cavani have been in excellent form, despite the on- and off-pitch drama. Real, meanwhile, are a shadow of their former selves. They are not scoring the goals they were and are vulnerable at the back – Nacho, their most reliable defender, will be at right-back instead of in the middle because of Dani Carvajal’s suspension. One warning, though, the Champions League is Real’s entire season now.
Verdict: Real Madrid
Porto vs. Liverpool
Wednesday, Estádio do Dragão and Tuesday, March 6, Anfield
Liverpool are favorites, but could be punished by Sérgio Conceição’s slick side. It will be fascinating to see how much attacking license Jürgen Klopp gives his team against Conceição’s hybrid 4-4-2, which is aided by two very attacking full-backs – Ricardo and Alex Telles – and has Vincent Aboubakar and Moussa Marega up front. Porto are attacking, but also play quite aggressively and physically. Klopp has one of Europe’s most exciting forward lines in Mohammed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané and, if Virgil van Dijk marshals his defense as well as he did for the first 80 minutes against Tottenham, Liverpool should go through. If not, Porto will pounce.
Verdict: Liverpool
Bayern Munich vs. Besiktas
Tuesday, February 20, Allianz Arena and Wednesday, March 14, Vodafone Arena
Bayern are unrecognizable from the team that struggled in the autumn under Carlo Ancelotti. Jupp Heynckes, who won the Champions League with the club in 2013, was reinstated on October 6 and they have lost only once since. The 72-year-old immediately reintroduced rules (heavy fines for lateness, players to tidy the dressing room) from his last spell and the squad responded positively. Manuel Neuer is injured, but James Rodríguez has been outstanding. Besiktas impressed as they won Group G ahead of Porto, RB Leipzig and Monaco, but have since sold Cenk Tosun to Everton. Several key players – Pepe, Atiba Hutchinson, Ricardo Quaresma and Ryan Babel – are over 30.
Verdict: Bayern
Chelsea vs. Barcelona
Tuesday, February 20, Stamford Bridge and Wednesday, March 14, Camp Nou
Barcelona are the last team Chelsea would want to face at the moment. The Catalan side looked forlorn last summer with Neymar lost to PSG, but have responded magnificently. They have played 4-2-3-1 most of the season and sometimes even 4-4-2. Lionel Messi is still Lionel Messi. His connection with Jordi Alba is crucial, with Sergi Roberto at right-back decisive too. Luis Suárez is flying and, with Philippe Coutinho unavailable for the Champions League, Andrés Iniesta will play. Antonio Conte must rejuvenate his tired squad. Tiémoué Bakayoko is struggling in midfield and where are goals coming from with Álvaro Morata injured?
Verdict: Barcelona
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Roma
Wednesday, February 21, OSK Metalist Stadium and Tuesday, March 13, Stadio Olimpico
Shakhtar got out of a group also featuring Manchester City, Napoli and Feyenoord by beating all three at home. They will play their first competitive game for more than two months on Thursday and their captain, Darijo Srna, is suspended after failing a drugs test, but they kept hold of their key player, Fred, despite interest from both City and Manchester United. Central defense is a weakness, as is squad depth. Roma have problems in defense and midfield, with Kevin Strootman and Radja Nainggolan out of form, but their goalkeeper, Alisson, has been outstanding. But they have not replaced Mohammed Salah while Edin Dzeko has pretty much stopped scoring.
Verdict: Shakhtar
Sevilla vs. Manchester United
Wednesday, February 21, Sánchez Pizjuán and Tuesday, March 13, Old Trafford
United arrive in Andalucía with hopes of reaching the last eight for the first time in four years. The home side have a new manager since the wild draws with Liverpool in the group stage, Vincenzo Montella having taken over from Eduardo Berizzo. The former Italian international prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation with Éver Banega and Steven Nzonzi key in midfield. Sevilla concede far too many goals and have Jesús Navas playing at right-back and Mercado, the right-back, playing at center-back. United, of course, have been strengthened by the arrival of Alexis Sánchez from Arsenal and, although Paul Pogba blows hot and cold in midfield, José Mourinho’s side are clear favorites to go through.
Verdict: United
The Guardian Sport
