A quick guide to the round of 16 Champions League gameweek 2.

After the Champions League returned last week in impressive fashion, gameweek two of the round of 16 kicks off on the 22nd and 23rd of February. Expect crazy atmospheres and wonderful on pitch moments to saviour.

 

Liverpool vs Real Madrid

With the finalists of last year’s Champions League both struggling for consistency, this tie may prove to be a changing point in both sides’ seasons. Liverpool are currently sat eighth in the Premier League table while Real Madrid are behind runaway leaders Barcelona in La Liga. 

After coming out victorious in the Club World Cup, Real Madrid will be high on confidence. With Karim Benzema rested during Saturday’s victory over Osasuna, Carlo Anchelotti will hope the knockout specialist is fit and firing for Tuesday’s clash.

Liverppol have a boost of their own with Virgil Van Dijk back in the starting XI and are currently in a good run of form with back to back 2-0 victories. With Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo starting to hit their stride, Real Madrid will have to be on their top defensive game.

Youngster Stefan Bajectic will have his work cut out in the midfield battle where the ageless Real Madrid duo Toni Kroos and Luka Modic await. However Ancelotti is not scared to mix it up with recent experiments seeing Dani Ceballos and Eduardo Camavinga starting over their older counterparts.

If last year’s final clash was anything to go by then Liverpool will be the instigators while Real Madrid will rely on the excellent Vinicius JR to carry the ball forward on the break. However the Anfield faithful will be ready to push their team over the line.

 

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli

With both sides flying high domestically and playing attacking brands of football, this fixture could be one of the most exciting. The first leg takes place on Tuesday the 21st of February in Germany.

Napoli will try to take advantage of the excellent attacking duo, Victor Oshimen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to spur the team forward. Frankfurt have their own dynamic duo in Randal Kolo Muani and Jesper Lindstrom who have been pivotal to Oliver Glasner’s side since the start of the season.

Both teams have recently come off 2-0 victories and will want to continue that defensive form. Frankfurt plays a 5-2-3 while Napoli’s 4-3-3 has worked perfectly for the players at Spaletti’s disposal. The tactical battle is more than likely to be won in the final third where both teams excel.

With Luciano Spaletti wanting to bring back both the Scudetto and the Champions League to Naples he will be taking no chances in his team selection. After bringing back the Europa League last term any result here would further enhance the reputation of Glanser and his impressive Frankfurt machine.

 

Inter Milan vs Porto

One of the most open round of 16 ties will take place at the San Siro as Inter Milan host Champions League regulars Porto on Wednesday. 

Both of these sides prioritise a solid defence over a free flowing attack with Inter lining up in a 5-3-2 and Porto lining up in a 4-4-2 which has worked well under head coaches Sergio Conceicao and Simone Inzaghi. 

One player to watch will be Romelu Lukaku who has had a stop start season due to various injury problems. He did however get on the scoresheet vs Udinese on Saturday evening and will hope to further bolster his scoring record.

Inter will have their work cut out to get past this stern Porto team who are defensively strong but are also capable of playing nice football on the floor. With Mehdi Taremi leading the line, Porto will always have a chance no matter who they come up against. This one is tight to call.

 

RB Leipzig vs Man. City 

After a thrilling 6-3 encounter in last season’s group stage, Man.City face their German rivals once again. With Leipzig’s array of attacking talent with the likes of Andre Silva, Timo Werner and Christopher Nkunku just to name a few they will always have a chance against the bigger teams.

With Man.City and Pep Guardiola struggling for consistency this season this could be the best time to face the English outfit. Meanwhile Leipzig have been scoring freely since the winter restart with a 6-1 hammering of Schalke standing out.

Under Marco Rose, Leipzig continued to play a pressing style of football with a focus on the centre of the pitch hence the use of the rarely seen 4-2-2 formation. Although unorthodox this formation clearly plays to their strengths of midfield dominance.

Man.City could line up in an array of formations but one thing for certain is that Erling Haaland will start up top. The marksman has scored five in Europe so far this term and will be eager to add to that tally in his old stomping ground, Germany.

With a star studded squad Man.City will always be the favourites to not just win this tie but the whole competition. However as we saw last year with Leipzig rattling City with their pressing and coming out with a 2-1 victory, they can cause an upset this Wednesday evening.

 

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