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The time has come round again when the draw for the Champions League and Europa League has taken place, with 48 teams from around Europe hoping to get as far as they can in their respective competitions.
There have been some excellent games drawn. All first legs will be played on the 16th/17th and 18th of February with the second legs the following week.
There is no doubt that the Champions League and Europa League knockout stages is some of the most exciting football there is to watch, especially last season (even with no fans!) as the one leg fixtures were so great to watch considering the teams only had one pop at the game knowing they had to win. With Bayern winning the UCL and Sevilla winning the EUL.
However, there is five fixtures in particular that stand out in this season’s knockouts…
Atalanta v Real Madrid (Champions League)
This is a fixture that has mouths watering. Two fantastic managers coming head-to-head for the first time. Gasperini against Zidane. With both teams doing well in their groups the Italians in particular beating Liverpool at Anfield this tie could be set up for an absolute classic. However, a huge story coming out of Atalanta with club captain Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez reportedly falling out with Gasperini last week and the bust up was that big it seems that the Argentine will force away a move in January. Arguably being one of the most influential players at the club, this will be a huge loss for them, but no doubt that the scouting team there will bring in a great replacement.
With the Italians sitting in 8th position in Serie A, this could be a fall from grace comparing to recent success. But they have shown no signs of slowing down in Europe thus far, but they do welcome 13-time winners Madrid. The Spanish giants are currently sitting in 3rd place in La Liga however one win would take them top, close as always over there. With Karim Benzema back to his absolute best this season it’s a fixture that Real could walk over Atalanta in, although the Nerazzuri’s are very unpredictable and could progress to the last eight.
Lille v Ajax (Europa League)
Two teams that anyone would have dreaded drawing in this year’s round of 32 have drawn against each other setting this game up to be an absolute belter. Unfortunately for Ajax and their fans they dropped out of the Champions League just two years after the amazing campaign they had reaching the semi-final of the competition where they lost dramatically to Spurs in the final minutes.
With players such as Hakim Ziyech, Donny Van De Beek and Matthijs De Ligt all moving on grasping at the opportunity to play in Europe’s top five leagues it’s fair to say the team they fielded in their last UCL game of this campaign looks a whole lot different to the one they put out in that semi–final against Spurs. Dusan Tadic will feel like the lone wolf of the pack following that season. At 32 years old the Serbian has scored a remarkable 47 goals from 71 games in half the time he spent at Southampton where he played 134 times only netting 20 times, quite the turnaround in his career to say the least.
Lille will be hopeful they can turn over the Dutch side in the round of 32 with one huge team set to be eliminated. Lille, who sit top of the table in the Ligue 1 in France know they have every chance of going through. It helps that the tantalising Turkish duo up top Burak Yilmaz and Yusuf Yazici, have got 25 g/a between them this season. The pair seem to have an effective chemistry up top.
This one could also go either way.
Barcelona v PSG (Champions League)
Always an enthralling encounter between the two sides that produced one of the most outstanding stories of all time in this same fixture three years ago in 2017, when the Spaniards came from 4-0 down to win 6-5 on aggregate with Sergi Roberto scoring a 95th minute winner to send Barca through to the last eight. Still to this day it is unbelievable what happened that night.
It is tough to say what will happen in this one as the Catalan giants have had a very rough last 12 months nearly losing Lionel Messi, sacking managers, having no money and to make matters worse sitting in 8th place in the La Liga. Ending the group campaign like they did getting swept aside 3-0 by Juventus in the last game week, this is the reason they find themselves in such a hard fixture, as they finished runners up in Group G.
All eyes will be on Neymar after reports of him wanting to go back to Barcelona but if he and PSG knock out their opponents this could be the French sides year finally, but with this crazy season of football nobody knows what is around the corner.
Real Sociedad v Man United (Europa League)
La Liga leaders Real Sociedad host Man United who drastically dropped out of the Champions League in the last game week where they needed to avoid defeat to Leipzig, but in the most United way possible, they lost to the tricky Germans. After starting the UCL campaign so well beating PSG away this came as a shock and huge disappointment to the whole of Oles staff, players and most importantly their fans.
It has been a remarkable season so far for Imanol Alguacil’s Sociedad finishing second to Napoli in Group F and leading La Liga. Times have changed since David Moyes was in charge just a few seasons ago. David Silva has made a massive impact on ‘La Real’ since signing on a free transfer from Man City where he enjoyed a lengthily stay becoming a club legend. Just having Silva around the club would have encouraged others. One of the nicest footballers around and also an amazing talent.
Sociedad will feel privileged to have him and there would be nothing more El Mago would want than to knock out the Red Devils in this fixture.
Chelsea v Athletico Madrid (Champions League)
Athletico Madrid and Diego Simeone are one of the most feared teams in European football as of recent times, with their relentless defence and fluid attack they’ve became one of the hardest teams around to beat. This will certainly be one of Frank Lampard’s toughest tests as Chelsea boss yet. This draw is just as tough as last year’s round of 16 draw when they lost 7-1 to Bayern Munich on aggregate.
Lampard’s Blues are a much-improved team this season with a big spending and these players were purchased in an attempt to bring some trophies back to Stamford bridge after a quiet few seasons since Antonio Conte left. But with superstars like Timo Werner and Kai Havertz coming in this can elevate the London club and take them to the next level.
This could be one of the best matches in this year’s knockout stages, one which will take a lot of coaching and man management from both Lampard and Simeone.
None of these matches were in order from best to worst, however they are all set up to be classics in possibly one of the best-looking draws in recent years.
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