UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Predictions

The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 has been confirmed! There are plenty of games that are guaranteed to be action-packed, such as the Madrid derby, PSG vs. Liverpool, and Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen. Here are our result predictions for each round of 16 matchups:

Club Brugge vs. Aston Villa

Club Brugge has already proven they can beat Aston Villa, as the two previously met in the table phase back in November and won 1-0. After that result, however, both teams went on contrasting runs of form. Villa would end up putting in impressive results which led them to a 4th place finish in the table, while Club Brugge only got one more victory (against Sporting CP) but tied to Juventus and Celtic, and lost to Manchester City 3-1 on the final day. Thankfully for the Belgian side, it proved to not be a catastrophic result, and they would ultimately advance to the Round of 16.

Villa will be without their young star striker Jhon Duran, who moved to Saudi Arabia in January. They are also dealing with injuries to a number of first-team players. However, Villa have also made new signings in January, such as Marcus Rashford and Marcos Asensio, who already combined in their 2-1 over Chelsea one week ago.

Result prediction: Aston Villa advances 5-3 on agg.

PSV vs. Arsenal

A month or two ago, Arsenal might have been the favorite here. Now, with an injury crisis hitting all of their senior strikers and no January transfers to help fill the gap, they have resorted to shoehorning defensive midfielder Mikel Merino as a striker. It’s been nothing short of a disaster. They have only scored two goals in their last four games in all competitions, only winning once. While their defense is still just as strong as ever, a toothless attack puts them at a considerable disadvantage.

PSV progressed after an impressive qualifying round 4-3 win over Italian giants Juventus. They are 2nd in the Dutch league, just like Arsenal. However, PSV will be missing talismanic striker Ricardo Pepi, so we can expect fewer goals to be scored here.

Result prediction: Arsenal advances 2-1 on agg. 

Feyenoord vs. Inter Milan

Feyenoord is likely out of contention in the Dutch league despite winning it last season, so their last chance at silverware this season is the Champions League. They also defeated another Milan side in the knockout playoff, meaning they will be full of confidence facing off against Inter, despite the Italian side being considerably stronger on paper. But, football has been full of upsets and strange stories lately, and all it takes is a tiny stroke of luck for one side to win.

To make matters slightly more complicated for Inter, they are entangled in a race for the domestic Serie A title between Napoli and Atalanta, meaning they are competing on two fronts, unlike Feyenoord. This dynamic might allow the Dutch side to put up a proper fight to Inter, but we think it just won’t be enough.

Result prediction: Inter advances 4-3 on agg. 

Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid

El Derbi Madrileño will arrive in the Champions League round of 16. Real Madrid needs no introduction here, the Champions League is their bread and butter. It seems that no matter how much they are struggling in La Liga, they find a way to win in the Champions League. But if there is any team who knows them inside and out, it’s their cross-town rival Atletico Madrid. Today, there is little to separate the two. Atletico is only one point behind Real Madrid in La Liga, who sit in 3rd and 2nd, respectively. Atletico have conceded the fewest goals in La Liga with 16, but Los Blancos have scored the 2nd-most goals in the league. This could end up being a total coin-flip, but you can never ignore Real’s pedigree.

Result prediction: Real Madrid advances 4-2 on agg.

Dortmund vs. Lille

Lille will be considered clear favorites here. The two teams have had contrasting forms in their domestic league, with Dortmund languishing in 10th and conceding an uncomfortable number of goals, and Lille in 4th with Canadian striker Jonathan David in hot form. The French side also had a quietly strong table phase, trashing Feyenoord 6-1, defeating Atletico Madrid 3-1, and were unlucky to lose 2-1 at Liverpool. Dortmund did defeat Sporting CP 3-0 on aggregate in the knockout playoff round, but Sporting were without star striker Viktor Gyokeres and looked toothless in attack.

Result prediction: Lille advances 5-2 on agg.

Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen

Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich has been a tale of two teams this season. In the Bundesliga, it’s business as usual as they sit in 1st place with a 9-point advantage. The Champions League has been a bit up-and-down, losing to Aston Villa, Feyenoord, and Barcelona, but responding with major wins against PSG and Celtic. They also got knocked out in the DFB Pokal by their next CL opponent, Bayer Leverkusen.

Xabi Alonso took the football world by storm last season with his title-winning Leverkusen team. Their only loss in the table stage this season was against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, but similar to Bayern, also responded with big wins against Inter, Feyenoord, and AC Milan. While Leverkusen might end up short in the Bundesliga race this year, they will know exactly how to exploit Bayern’s weaknesses in a two-legged knockout. Bayern will need world-class performances from the likes of Harry Kane, Michel Olise, and Jamal Musiala if they have a chance of getting past them.

Result prediction: Leverkusen advances 3-2 on agg.

Benfica vs. Barcelona

Outside of Real Madrid and Liverpool, Barcelona is one of the favorites to win the entire competition. They are flying in La Liga, sitting in 1st thanks to a superior goal differential over Real Madrid. The dynamic flowing attack of Yamal, Raphinha, and Lewandowski has terrorized defenses all season. These two teams already met in one of the most epic table phase matches, where Barcelona defeated Benfica 5-4 and featured a last-second goal and a red card. If these two matches are anything similar to that, then we can expect another must-see spectacle. Barca manager Hansi Flick will be much more aware of Benfica’s threat this time around, but a semi-occasionally leaky defense (such as their recent 4-4 draw against Atletico) may hurt them.

Result prediction: Barcelona advances 6-3 on agg.

PSG vs. Liverpool

It’s a matchup that would be worthy of a final or semifinal, but PSG’s poor form in the table stage meant they got drawn with 1st-seed Liverpool. The Reds are considered tournament favorites, and the power of Anfield on a Champions League night is an extremely difficult challenge for any team to overcome. PSG’s Ousmane Dembele has been on fire for the Parisians, and they will need magic from him and new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia — who Liverpool was ironically linked with earlier this season. PSG haven’t lost in 21 games, but Liverpool are full of players that have the experience of playing in Champions League finals. It will undoubtedly be an entertaining match-up, but Liverpool will likely have too much for PSG to handle.

Result prediction: Liverpool advances 6-3 on agg.