Now that everybody has had the chance to catch their breath, let's turn our focus to the Champions League Round of 16 draw. Taking place on December 15 at 4am ET (which I believe you can see live on UEFA.com), the draw will set up some tantalizing matchups that could very well be regarded as finals.With all due respect to PSV, Lille, Valencia, and Porto and what they've accomplished to get to this point, I think that most neutral fans have their eyes on some of the other group runners-up. Taking these four out of the equation, here are the clubs that the group winners could possibly face:
Chelsea v. Inter, Roma, Real Madrid, or CelticWhile I believe that Barca is the team that everyone wants to avoid, I wouldn't be too keen on facing Inter either. On their day, Roma and Real Madrid could be tough to handle. Playing the first-leg in the East End of Glasgow, particularly for the three English teams Celtic could face, would bring about all kinds of problems.
Bayern Munich v. Barcelona, Roma, Real Madrid, or Celtic
Liverpool v. Barcelona, Inter, Roma, Real Madrid, or Celtic
Manchester United v. Barcelona, Inter, Roma, or Real Madrid
Lyon v. Barcelona, Inter, Roma, or Celtic
Arsenal v. Barcelona, Inter, Roma, Real Madrid, or Celtic
Milan v. Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Celtic
I second our friend The Gaffer at EPL Talk when he says, "This is the stage of the Champions League where it gets even more exciting." So true.
Quartet complete knockout cast list [UEFA official site]
-ac
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3 comments:
Wouldn't Barcelona v ManU be a dream match for the neutral? Personally, I'd rather Barca got someone slightly easier (and not English - I'm a bit sick of the way the press goes about it), but none of the group winners are mugs, really.
You'd get to see you boy Henrik against your dream team. You wouldn't want that would you?
-ac
Exactly - that's the biggest reason I don't want to draw ManU. Other than that, I don't fear them at all, but Henrik can be so decisive in a big game.
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