Champions League round of 16 Prediction 2017-2018

With Champions league Knockout stage approaching. I decided to give my prediction, who might qualify to the next round.

Juventus vs Tottenham Hotspurs

The first match of the knockout beings with these two teams. This is expected to be an riveting encounter between to brilliant teams. Juventu has picked up the pace having not conceded in the past seven matches. The great Juventus defence is back to its brilliant best. With match winners like Huigian and the ever reliable Buffon they should be hoping for the best.

Tottenham Hotspurs  have had a great Champions League campaign so far. The topped the group with the highlight being defeating Real Madrid at home. On recent form they look like a team who can defeat anyone . The were brilliant against Manchester United and Arsenal in the premier league and would love nothing more than to beat Juventus the last years finalist and go to quarter final. They have match winners in Eriksen , Dele Alli and most importantly Harry Kane which is for sure on of the best strikers in the world at this moment. If these three have their day, they can defeat any team in the world. 

Champions League round of 16 Prediction: Juventus 

Reason : Champions League experience 

Basel vs Manchester City

For any result apart from Manchester City win will be nothing more than a shock. The Swiss club Basel are currently Second in there Swiss League and the way City are going they will win this tie comfortably. With so many match winner's in City squad they will win this tie. I honestly don't have anything to say about this match. It is City's all the way.

Champions League round of 16 Prediction : Manchester City

Reason : Too good for Basel to handle

Porto Vs Liverpool 

Liverpool had scored 23 goals in the group stages. With that being said they will have to be a bit careful as the defending is not at all good. They collapsed two times in the second half against Sevilla and that can play a factor. Liverpool finds in hard to break small teams because they defend tight and just play for counter attack. With a fragile defence of Liverpool , Porto can pull up an upset. But that looks too far fetched and the current form of Salah and Firmino they should feel comfortable. The one thing that might make Porto feel they can qualify is that the first league is at there home and Liverpool will not play with Emre Can because of suspension. 

Champions League round of 16 prediction : Liverpool

Reason : Attacking fire power 

Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain

This is it. The biggest match of the round of 16. In just 37 minutes the tickets were sold out for the first leg. It can be literally said to be the battle of giants. The current European Champions against the team who is quite frankly the favourites to win the tournament. 

PSG is flying so high at this moment , it will be stupid to bet against them. Neymar-Cavani-Mbappe trio can easily destroy any team at this moment , and certainly a team like Real Madrid who is not having the best of the season. Defensively they are were poor and that is the biggest reason for PSG to be happy.

Real Madrid have to win this match. They can't win any other title apart from the champions league now. The fact is they are now scoring goal again. They are being let down by their defence. Apart from that they have Cristiano Ronaldo the man for big moments. No one has scored more goals than him in the competition itself. If he is at his game it will certainly be happy days at madrid.

Champions League round of 16 prediction : Paris Saint-Germain

Reason : Too hard to call.

Sevilla vs Manchester United

When this fixture was made. It felt like easy picking for Manchester United, but with their current form it is hard to just expect them to win. Sevilla had shown a good fight against Liverpool in both the group matches and can expected to upset United . The fact is on current form Sevilla is not that great as well. They score less and surely concede a lot of goals. One thing that can't be said about Manchester United is that they defend good. That might not have been seen in few matches of late, but they are hard to beat.

Manchester United might have an off firing Pogba , but with having gained Alexis Sanchez they have a good attacking threat. 

Champions League round of 16 prediction : Manchester United

Reason: Jose Mourinho can grind out results over two legs

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Roma

By just looking at the fixture , people might think Roma will qualify. In all honesty Roma was not even expected to reach this stage. They were in a group that had Atletico Madrid and Chelsea. They did not only qualify but topped the group. These all makes us feel they will go to the quarterfinals. But since that they have not had consistency. They are currently 4th in the league and are fighting to qualify for next years Champions League.Dzeko has stopped scoring and Strootman an Nainggolan are out of form, but their goalkeeper Alisson has been brilliant.

Shakhtar Donetsk had the similar  situation in the Champions League group. They defeated Manchester city , Napoli and Feyenoord at home to qualify for the Champions League round of 16.They have not played a competitive match in the last 2 months and that could be a problem. But holding on to the versatile midfielder Fred from Manchester City and Manchester United can be a blessing in disguise. 

Champions League round of 16 prediction : Roma

Reason: Shakhtar not played a competitive match in nearly 2 months

Bayern Munich vs Besiktas

This is another one of those fixtures where no too much needs to be said. Since Jupp Heynckes has taken over Bayern are looking ruthless. They are on the verge of winning the Bundesliga again. Joshua Kimmich has been so good this season along with James Rodriguez that this tie is Bayern's all the way. Besiktas have performed exceptionally well, but this is all they can get from the competition.

Champions League round of 16 prediction : Bayern Munich

Reason: Too many good player, playing excellent football with a manager who won the treble in his last season incharge.

Barcelona vs Chelsea

This has always been a highly contested match in the Champions League. Be it the 2008-2009 tie in which after many questionable decisions Barcelona won and ended up winning the title or the last time when they met in 2011-2012 season where Chelsea won 3-2 on aggregate to go on and lift the trophy. Chelsea would have hoped for some other team than Barcelona this season. The catalan club have literally completely transformed since Neymar's departure. They have left playing 4-3-3 too much this season and look more stable in defence. Lionel Messi's form along with Luis Suarez and others might be just too much for the current English champions. 

Chelsea dont look good in defence at the moment. Usually hard for them to find goals .

Champions League round of 16 prediction: Barcelona

Reason: The consistent form and Lionel Messi

Hope you liked my predictions. To know my over the top score predictions and small explanation for the reason of victory for team kindly visit 

Footballbuzz