2015-16 Champions League: Round of 16 Predictions

Okay, so I have listed the draw for the teams for the Round 0f 16:

Gent vs Wolfsburg
Roma vs Real Madrid
Paris Saint Germain vs Chelsea
Arsenal vs Barcelona
Juventus vs Bayern Munich
PSV Eindhoven vs Atletico Madrid
Benfica vs Zenit Saint Petersburg
Dynamo Kyiv vs Manchester City

What are all of your predictions, and why?

 

I'll Go First:

Gent vs Wolfsburg: Many people here think this is a shit draw and both of these teams are really lucky, but honestly this is what the UCL is all about. Some teams get really lucky just like Porto-Basel last season. I am quite excited to see one of these teams in the quarterfinals actually. This will be quite an interesting tie to watch because Wolfsburg loves to attack, and Gent is a defensive team. Anyway I think Wolfsburg has got this one in the bag, despite them not being as strong as least year Wolfsburg has quality players especially with the likes of: Draxler, Schurrle, Kruse, Dost, and Schafer. This team definitely has enough to break Gent down, and I believe Wolfsburg will edge this one 3-1 on aggregate.

Roma vs Real Madrid: Many people say this is a very easy one for Real Madrid, but I don't think so. Just remember that Real Madrid's record against Roma is not good at all, and if we were looking at just history Roma would be the one to make it through. Anyway Roma is very inconsistent team and they seem to be impressive against big teams while they look like a school team against teams they are supposed to be favorites against. Normally I would tip Real Madrid to go through comfortably, but because of Roma's record against Real Madrid this will be difficult. In fact I honestly don't see either team actually winning any game. Roma was really impressive against Barcelona in the Stadio Olympico with recording a 1-1 draw, but were embarrassed when losing to BATE 3-2 and failing to beat them at home. Real Madrid also seems to be going through lots of problems with manager changes and being banned from Copa del Rey. So I kind of see Roma holding on to a 2-2 draw in Rome, and at the Bernabeau Real Madrid will be leading 1-0 for most of the game, but I see Totti sneaking a goal in the 80th minute or something but won't be enough to rescue the team. I predict Real Madrid going through on away goals with a 3-3 scoreline. 2-2 at Stadio Olympico, and 1-1 at the Bernabeau. Also I expect Totti to play a huge part in these two games.

Paris Saint Germain vs Chelsea: How many times have we seen this tie? Oh My Goodness. But I guess that proves it is a fun tie to watch and I agree. Always two great games. I predicted PSG to advance in the beginning from last season while many people disagreed at first but I proved a lot of them wrong. This time though I expect PSG to go through comfortably. PSG are so far undefeated in Ligue 1 in fact the only loss they even had this whole season was against Real Madrid at the Bernabeau and that was a fluke, because PSG were by far the better side and just really unlucky that day. Chelsea has their own issues to worry about, especially after changing managers and trying to move up in the EPL. Their start to the season was a disaster, and I am not even sure if they are actually improving under Hiddink or they are just going through a good spell at the moment. Anyway the Chelsea defense is looking very shaky this season especially with Terry aging and them quite disorganized and looking nervous at the back, and I see Di Maria, Ibrahimovic, and Cavani punishing them multiple times, and if thats not enough, there is Verratti one of the best midfielders in the world that supports the front three. Not to mention Di Maria is in the form of his life. Also another advantage is PSG are way ahead in the Ligue 1 so they really can focus on this game 100%. PSG to go through 5-1 on aggregate.

Arsenal vs Barcelona: I think its pretty obvious who will go through here, but I predict a very entertaining tie here because I see tons of goals being scored in this one. Arsenal have been improving this season, especially since Ozil seems to have found his form, but they got the worst draw ever. Messi, Neymar, and Suarez just have too much quality for Arsenal to handle, and I doubt the front three will find it too difficult to break Arsenal down. Arsenal's biggest threat will be their attack with Ozil, Sanchez, and Giroud leading it. As I said I expect tons of goals here, but at the end I expect Barcelona will be through with a 7-4 scoreline on aggregate. Its hardly debatable that Barcelona have got this.

Juventus vs Bayern Munich: This is probably the best Round of 16 tie ever. Two huge teams facing each other this early. Those are gonna be the most entertaining matches of the Round of 16. I also predict a very close tie with basically two teams that play contrasting football to each other. Bayern will hold most of the possession while Juventus will likely be sitting back and defending, while trying to win battles in midfield in order to start counter attacks and crosses. This is a very tough call, but I see Juventus just edging this one on away goals, and one of the reasons I predict Juventus is because they play the first leg in Turin. If the first leg was at Allianz Arena I'd likely have very different predictions. 50% of this tie will also likely be Allegri vs Pep with tactics as well. Bayern have the better team on paper, but Pep's away record against world class teams looks terrible especially in the knockouts. That loss to Arsenal at the Emirates was an embarrassment. Also something else to point out is that Juventus seemed to have found their form this season in a 3-5-2 formation, and it has been proven in various games that 3-5-2 is one of the ways to beat tiki taka/possession football. I expect Juve to take full advantage in the first leg with Pep's away record, and I think it shouldn't be too hard because Alonso is really aging, and Vidal has just came from Juve so the club will know him quite well. Marchisio is in the form of his life, and Pogba is one of the best young midfielders, so I see Juve winning a lot of midfield battles in the first leg in Turin. I see Juve coming out as 2-0 winners with an advantage to take to the Allianz Arena. Now Bayern are very strong at home, but Juve should have enough quality in defense to limit the number of goals Bayern score, and I see Juve sneaking one goal at the Allianz Arena as well which I expect the game to finish 3-1 to Bayern which will send Juventus through on away goals with a 3-3 scoreline on aggregate. This tie will make history no matter who goes through though, I am sure.

PSV Eindhoven vs Atletico Madrid: I hate to say this, but this will likely be one of the most boring ties we have ever seen in the knockouts. Both of these teams are defensive and play quite similar styles. One thing this tie will be lacking is goals. The only thing that really separates these two teams is that despite both of them relying heavily on defense, Atletico has the players in attack that can make the difference which is something PSV lacks quite a bit. Griezmann, Martinez, and Carrasco can score goals. I expect Atletico to come out with 1-0 wins in both legs sending them through 2-0 on aggregate.

Benfica vs Zenit Saint Petersburg: This will be a very close tie, and I have a hard time picking one of these teams. Both strike me to be around the same level. I honestly have no clue on what the scoreline will be like or how these teams will play against each other, but I am predicting Zenit to edge this one way or another, maybe even on penalties, I don't know. Zenit though has improved this season and since Russia is a really tough place to go in the winter, I see Zenit edging this tie and going through.

Dynamo Kyiv vs Manchester City: The majority of people are picking Manchester City to go through, but I really disagree. Man City overall have a better team on paper no question, but Dynamo Kyiv has really impressed me this season especially in defense. I watched their defense and they look very organized and comfortable sitting back and looking for the counter attacks when its the right time. Something they also seem really good at is goals that come from distance (long shots). Yarmolenko was linked with many clubs last summer but he said he wants to try to get Dynamo Kyiv to round of 16 and he reached his goal which really boosts his confidence to get his team even further. Also Kiev is a tough place to go in the winter, which gives the ukrainian champions an advantage. Quite a few players at Dynamo Kyiv are not recognized and are quite underrated such as Dragovic, Vida, Kravats, and a little more players. Their tactics are very good and know how to play as a team, and with Yarmolenko having skill, pace, and shooting skills all at once, this should give the Ukrainian Champions enough quality to make it through. Another question to ask is will Kompany be fit for this tie, he seems to be very injury prone this season. Anyway I see Dynamo Kyiv edging this with a 3-2 win on aggregate.

So what are your predictions?

 

I could see these predictions as you said other than Chelsea-PSG. Anyway about Juve-Bayern, I would have said Bayern when we first drew them, but it seems Bayern have settled down. Boateng is out by the way which the Bayern fans seem to be a huge blow. Roma-Real Madrid is quite possible actually. Not only that but look at Roma and Spaletti's record against Real Madrid. Back in 2007-08 Spaletti's Roma did knockout a Real Madrid side that had players like Cannavaro/Robben, etc.

 

Round of 16 First Leg Predictions:

Paris Saint Germain 4-0 Chelsea
Benfica 2-1 Zenit Saint Petersburg
Roma 2-1 Real Madrid
Gent 1-2 Wolfsburg
Arsenal 2-3 Barcelona
Juventus 2-0 Bayern Munich
PSV 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 Manchester City

 

Well here is the thing. Dynamo Kyiv has a really good defense, seriously. I watched them in most of their UCL games and I was really impressed, especially with both legs against Chelsea. Yarmolenko is a beast and he should be able to outskill many City defenders in Ukraine. City are without De Bruyne, and Kompany is not at his best these days. The skill and pace Yarmolenko has will trouble the City defense especially do to their recent form. I watched City 1-3 Leicester, and Leicester play almost the same way as Dynamo Kyiv but DK has stronger and more aggressive defenders, and despite Mahrez really having a good season I still think Yarmolenko is a better player. Dragovic and Vida especially really impress me here. I think this will be the surprise of the Round of 16. Also don't forget Ukraine is a really tough place to go in the winter.

Also history is on Dynamo Kyiv's side a little bit.

FORZA Dynamo Kyiv. You guys deserve this.

 

Watching the way Dynamo Kyiv play though, I doubt we will even see any specific player marked. Dynamo Kyiv defense will just be marking the goal and chasing whoever gets in there. So there won't really be man to man marking at all. Dynamo Kyiv will park the bus, I am sure.

 

Yeah. Dynamo Kyiv really disappointed me actually. I'll admit I haven't watched them enough. I really thought DK would actually park the bus and sit way back, like Leicester City did against Man City at least possibly more.

 

Just want to comment on this and say Silva, Sterling, or Nasri is not better than Yarmolenko. Yarmolenko is better than any of the wingers City have with the exception of maybe De Bruyne, but De Bruyne wasn't on the pitch last night.