Listen, I\u2019ll level with you – I did get pretty drunk this weekend. A trade-my-mate\u2019s-watch-for-a-falafel kind of drunk. But even I\u2019m pretty sure I didn\u2019t drink enough to fall asleep for a month. I mean, seriously, how is this a round of sixteen fixture? Are you really telling me that one of PSG and Bar\u00e7a are going home before the quarters? All while Porto, Leverkusen and Sevilla have a decent chance of going through?<\/p>\n
Prediction: 1-1<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s been a lot of talk about how Thomas Tuchel might just be the perfect replacement for Arsene Wenger at the Emirates. If you ignore the obvious flaw \u2013 i.e. why would he want to do that?! \u2013 it\u2019s actually a pretty solid theory. Likes overstocking his side with young wingers? Check. Sells the few youngsters that do come good? Check. Unnecessarily throws away points at midtable sides? Check. All he needs to do now is lose a round of sixteen match in the Champions League, and he can waltz into Wenger\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Prediction: 2-0<\/strong><\/p>\n Jose Callejon has been in the news recently, since his current club takes on the European champions in the first knockout round. Last week he claimed that while Madrid were a big club, Napoli were on a good run and had a great chance to win the tie. It\u2019s great to see this kind of story in the news, the returning striker coming to show his old club what they\u2019re missing. It\u2019s what makes football so great, and I\u2019m sure Napoli will give Madrid a real game. No, I really do believe this will be an even match. No, of course I\u2019m not being patronizing Jose. I\u2019m sure you can win this match.<\/p>\n Prediction: 3-1 (No, Callejon won\u2019t be the one that gets the consolation)<\/strong><\/p>\n The world is such an uncertain place today. Wars in the Middle East and Africa, a drug-hating despot in the Philippines and Agent Orange in charge of the Greatest Country in the World\u2122 – it\u2019s a scary, messed-up world out there. Luckily, we will always have the comfort of Arsenal drawing Bayern Munich in the first knockout round. Ok, that\u2019s an easy joke, but it\u2019s getting to be so ridiculous that even Arsenal\u2019s official social media accounts went for it!<\/p>\n Prediction: 3-0<\/strong><\/p>\n Leverkusen really are an odd team. My German buddies tell me that they are good and deserve to be in the Champions League. Then again, they also think beer is a good substitute for milk \u2013 with cereal. Despite this glowing endorsement, Leverkusen in Europe conjures up just one memory for me. They lost 5-0 against a David Moyes-led Manchester United. At home. Against a midfield of Ryan Giggs and Phil Jones. Don\u2019t tell me that it was years ago, no one gets over mental scarring like that.<\/p>\n Prediction: 0-1<\/strong><\/p>\n Ah, the battle of the billionaires. Although, while Sheikh Mansour is living it up in UAE, Dmitry Rybolovlev was to forced to pay out half his wealth a couple of years ago, in what was termed the most expensive divorce in the world. She got out just in time too, considering Russia just decriminalized domestic abuse. I wonder what Sheikh Mansour\u2019s wives think about that. I guess what I\u2019m saying is that the only way FIFA could\u2019ve screwed up more, was by giving the 2022 World Cup to UAE. They got the 2018 decision spot on though.<\/p>\n Prediction: 3-2<\/strong><\/p>\n Now that we\u2019ve moved passed the teams that actually have a chance at winning this thing, let\u2019s get down to the dross. Oh, all right, so Juventus aren\u2019t that bad. They do have an ageless goalkeeper, a phenomenal back line, an incredibly stable midfield, a free kick genius in Miralem Pjanic, and possibly the best striker on the planet in Higuain. But, can you honestly tell me you would put money on them winning the tournament? I didn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n Prediction: 1-2<\/strong><\/p>\n I honestly completely forgot Leicester were still in this tournament. I remember thinking in December that they got really lucky by drawing Sevilla. It\u2019s all gone a bit downhill since then. While Leicester\u2019s form has plummeted faster than Donald Trump\u2019s approval ratings, Sevilla are third in La Liga and were the first team to beat Real Madrid for months in January. All signs point to a comprehensive home win. Yet, I can\u2019t shake the feeling that this is the Foxes\u2019 comfort zone\u2026<\/p>\n Prediction: 0-2<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Paris Saint-Germain \u2013 Barcelona Listen, I\u2019ll level with you – I did get pretty drunk this weekend. A trade-my-mate\u2019s-watch-for-a-falafel kind of drunk. But even I\u2019m pretty sure I didn\u2019t drink enough to fall asleep for a month. I mean, seriously, how is this a round of sixteen fixture? Are you really telling me that one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":1885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[149,1080],"tags":[165,159,1106,1108,1104,243,1107,424,177,1105,1103],"yoast_head":"\n\nBenfica \u2013 Borussia Dortmund<\/h3>\n
\nReal Madrid \u2013 Napoli<\/h3>\n
\nBayern Munich \u2013 Arsenal<\/h3>\n
\nBayer Leverkusen \u2013 Atletico Madrid<\/h3>\n
\nManchester City \u2013 Monaco<\/h3>\n
\nPorto \u2013 Juventus<\/h3>\n
\nSevilla \u2013 Leicester City<\/h3>\n