Champions league round 16

Borussia Monchengladbach vs Manchester city

On paper, this looks like a one-sided game between the six-time Premier league champions vs. the small club from Germany, but Monchengladbach has beaten Real Madrid twice in their group and picked up two very valuable points vs. inter. On the other hand, out of the six games, Manchester city only dropped two.

Important players 

For Monchengladbach:

 It was a tough one because their attacking players are so good at finding small holes in the defense but I am going with Andreas plea who is the second top goal scorer in the champions league.

For Manchester City:

For Manchester City, it was a rather easy choice. The PFA player of the year last year, Kevin De Bruyne from England,  isn’t planning on slowing down so if he has a good game, City will go through.

Score Prediction

Manchester City 4-3       Monchengladbach

Kevin de bruyne (2)        Andreas Plea (1)

Torres (1)                        Thuram (1)

                                       Stindl (1)

Lazio vs Bayern Munich

The defending champions look to do what is easier said than done and win again but I have a feeling that it’ll be a lot harder this year simply because of the two legs in each game. Lazio looks to keep playing in such a big European competition with 11 goals in six games and a win against another german powerhouse in Borussia Dortmund.

Important players

For Lazio 

For Lazio there a few players who can cause Bayern some serious problems such as Luis Alberto at the 10 position or Acerbi at the back who is a ball-playing defender but the man of the moment for Lazio has to be Ciro Immobile who got 29 goals in 33 appearances last season which will be a huge worry for Bayern with their star defender David Alaba looking for a move away.

For Bayern Munich

Defending champions Bayern Munich will look to go all the way again and their star player quite simply has to be Robert Lewondoski (the goal machine) and it’s not surprising because the amount of chances that Bayern creates is immense. After one goal they don’t sit back and defend it, they love to score and take real pride in it.

Score Prediction

Bayern Munich 3-1 Lazio

Muller (1)                    Immobile (1)

Goretzka (1)

Lewandowski (1)

Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea

A new inventive Atletico side that loves to attack and is top of la Liga Santander with two games in hand vs a Chelsea side who spent big in the summer and are yet to see a major improvement. They are hoping to get past this round, unlike last year where they lost big to eventual champions Bayern Munich.

Important players

For Atletico Madrid

For Atletico Madrid, it has to be the young Portuguese Joao Felix, who is flourishing in his new role.The help of Yannick Carrasco on the flank has helped Felix because it allows him to drop deep and carry the ball and test the goalkeeper.

For Chelsea

Chelsea spending big in the summer some of the transfers haven’t lived up to the hype or their big transfer value. I am going to go with Kai Havertz. He is slowly getting to grips with the premier leagues’ pace and the pure strength of so many of the defenders but he is a great young talent who always has an eye for a goal whether it may be assisting or putting some in himself.

Score Predictions

Atletico Madrid 2-1     Chelsea

joao felix (1)               Callum Hudson-Odoi (1)

Suarez (1)

Leipzig vs Liverpool

The champions of England vs a high press german team. This game on paper looks one-sided but in reality, it will be far from that. Leipzig is a pressing team and I doubt they will change, simply because Liverpool’s two center backs are more than likely to be makeshift midfielders because both senior defenders are injured.

Important players

For Leipzig

Leipzig has one of the best young managers and he sets his team up very well and out of the many games I have watched of this young exciting team, maybe once I have seen them get it wrong, but he learned from that and beat them in the reverse fixture. The most important person I will be going with is Julian Nagelsmann I see him going to a much bigger club in the future but for now, he can develop his skills at a smaller club.

For Liverpool

For Liverpool, I am going with a surprising one. Andrew Robertson.  Many people think Liverpool and instantly go towards the attackers but Robertson creates so much from left-back with all the crossing and he is also a great defender who is very disciplined. Which means he knows when to attack and when to drop deep and defend.

Score Predictions

Leipzig 1-2    Liverpool

Schick (1)     Mane (2)

Porto vs Juventus

On paper, this game looks to be simple for Juventus and not many people see it going any other way than Ronaldo (Juventus forward) and co-progressing through to the quarter-finals. But these smaller teams seem to find inspiration from playing these massive clubs in Europe.

Important players

For Juventus

Juventus has a whole squad of dangerous players that can hurt you in multiple ways. Their defense is rock solid with De ligt and bonucci holding it down. Some may say Juventus is all about Cristiano Ronaldo but in the game vs Milan Paulo Dybala showed real class with two great assists and showing himself as a great young talent.

For Porto

Porto has many underrated players in their team this year, and for some reason that is going under the radar, but I am going with their top goalscorer this season in the champions league. Sérgio Oliveira is a great center mid who has lacked goals but seems to be finding himself in the right positions this year.

Score Predictions

Porto 0-3 Juventus

              Dybala (1)

              Ronaldo (1)

              Chiesa (1)

Barcelona vs PSG

This game in my opinion is the most anticipated of the round of 16 because no matter what, one of the favorites of the competition is going out. Lionel Messi and co. look to progress but Neymar and mbappe stand in their way, this will be a very attacking game with both club’s defenses expecting a struggle.

Important players

For Barcelona

There is only one man who can create something out of nothing to lead his team to the next round, and it’s Lionel Messi. Barcelona’s all-time top goalscorer in all competitions looks to captain his side to another champions league after missing out by getting knocked out in the quarter-finals and semi-finals in the last few years. Messi acting as more of a playmaker this year boosts Antoine Greizmann’s confidence and looks to be a big boost for Barcelona. That being said, Messi is still the top goal scorer of La Liga Santander.

For Paris Saint Germain

For Psg there are two star players that can create real problems for Barcelona: Neymar jr and Kylain Mbappe. But I am going for Neymar,  because even though Mbappe is an extraordinary player and still very young, he hasn’t yet excelled in the champions league. But on the other hand, Neymar has felt the pressure of champions league finals and scored in them and scored last-minute winners to take his team through and been a part of the attacking threat of MSN.( the greatest trio of attackers Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar Jr.) 

Score predictions

Barcelona 3-2 Psg

Messi(1)                Neymar (1)

Griezmann(1)        Mbappe(1)

De Jong (1)

Borussia Dortmund vs Sevilla

Borussia Dortmund is currently fourth in the Bundesliga and with their attack coming back from injury this is a major boost. But they will have to beat 19/20 Europa, who are league winners and sixth in La Liga Sevilla, whose defense is rock solid with strikers who are slowly but surely picking up form.

Important players

For Borussia Dortmund

Erling Haaland has to be the most important player for Dortmund, simply because when he got injured during December, they really struggled to score, and this is because he is such a key player to their attack

For Sevilla

Their defense is the focal point of their team and they often counter-attack whilst teams press them, so the most important player has to be Diego Carlos. He is a bit reckless at times but when he is one on one against an attacker you can bet he will get the ball.

Score predictions

Sevilla 1-3 Borussia dortmund

Suso(1)   Haaland (2)

                Reus (1)

Atlanta vs Real Madrid

Both teams love attacking but Real Madrid has one of the best defenses in Europe and they hope to continue that against a team who loves to attack. With the likes of Illicic getting back to his best, this will be a major boost for Atlanta, and for Real Madrid, they can only hope Eden Hazard gets back to his best. 

Important players

For Real Madrid

The 100 million dollar man Eden Hazard has not yet lived up to his full potential in Spain, but when he’s not sidelined with injuries he is taking on players and dancing through defenses like they are training cones.

For Atalanta 

It has to be Zapata mainly because Ilicic is getting older and can’t do what he did last season, but Zapata is a young forward who is not afraid to take on players and shoot from any angle.

Score predictions

Atalanta 1-2 Real Madrid

Zapata (1)     Benzema (1)

                      Ramos (1)