Our football writer previews the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg action which kicks off on Tuesday 19 February 2019.
The second selection of Round of 16 matches get underway this week with three of the tournament’s favourites all in action. Champions League favourites, Manchester City, travel to Germany to face Schalke, while Barcelona and Juventus do some travelling of their own, locking horns with Lyon and Atletico Madrid respectively. The biggest matchup of the round, though, sees last year’s runners-up, Liverpool, face the Bavarian giants, Bayern Munich. Let’s get straight into it, then!
Tuesday 19 February
Lyon 7/2
Draw 31/10
Barcelona 13/20
(22:00)
Lyon will look to do the unthinkable and beat Barcelona for the first time in seven meetings when they square off at the Lyon Olympic Stadium. The French giants have already beaten Manchester City in this season’s tournament, and were the first and only team in the league to inflict defeat on Paris Saint-Germain. At the time of writing, Barcelona are winless in three across all competitions, but Lionel Messi will be fancying his chances against Lyon again, having netted three times in four encounters against the French side. What will be a massive blow for the hosts is that they’ll be without their star talisman, Nabil Fekir, who serves up a suspension. My money is on the away win here.
Liverpool 1/1
Draw 26/10
Bayern Munich 24/10
(22:00)
Jurgen Klopp will face a familiar foe when his Liverpool team come up against German champions, Bayern Munich. In the 29 times Klopp has faced Bayern, he has won just nine times, losing 16 – including in the 2013 final with Dortmund. The Reds will also be without Virgil van Dijk due to suspension, which will come as a massive blow against the tournament’s leading goalscorer, Robert Lewandowski, who has eight goals to his name. The Bavarians also have a suspension of their own in Thomas Muller, so that will afford Niko Kovac the opportunity to have faith in the likes of Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman. Liverpool have had their hurdles in the Champions League this term, but at Anfield, they have a 100 percent record. At even money, I’d take Liverpool to have the advantage in the first leg.
Wednesday 20 February
Atletico Madrid 33/20
Draw 39/20
Juventus 37/20 (22:00)
Atletico Madrid will be looking to maintain their impressive record against Italian opposition when Diego Simeone’s men meet Juventus this Wednesday. Atleti are unbeaten in nine matches against teams from Italy, winning seven times. To be fair, they’ve never come across an Italian side quite like this. The Old Lady have been flying high this season, with Cristiano Ronaldo settling into his new home in some style, picking up where he left off in Spain, where he has already found the net 22 times against Atletico. The hosts’ desperate attempts to close Ronaldo down could be their downfall, with Juve boasting a number of attacking players that can hurt them – most notably Paulo Dybala, who has five goals in the tournament. Juventus should walk away with a victory here.
Schalke 15/2
Draw 9/2
Manchester City 3/10
(22:00)
The first set of Round of 16 ties conclude with German heavyweights, Schalke, squaring off with English champions, Manchester City. Schalke are currently the lowest scorers in the Champions League, netting only six times. City, on the other hand, have been free-scoring of late, most recently beating Chelsea 6-0. Leroy Sane will return to the club where Pep Guardiola snapped him up from, while the Spanish tactician will also return to Germany, where he won three league titles in his three-year spell at Bayern. Right now, City have been one of the most outstanding teams across Europe and will look to justify their tournament favourites tag. Banker the 3/10 win on City all day here.
QUAD @ 11/1
Barcelona Win 13/20
Liverpool Win 1/1
Juventus Win 37/20
Man City Win 3/10
