2022-23 UCL round of 16: Likely winners of the knockout round and why

The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League (UCL) round of 16 draw took place on Monday with interesting fixtures to look forward to.

After six rounds of group stage matches, the sixteen teams who progressed have been decided and will slug it out for quarter final spots.

English champions Manchester City have been pitched against German opponents RB Leipzig. Inter Milan and FC Porto will lock horns while Chelsea face Borussia Dortmund.

Another Portuguese outfit Benfica will battle Club Brugge for a last eight spot. The top two juicy matchups are arguably the Liverpool-Real Madrid and PSG-Bayern fixtures.

Meanwhile, former winners Barcelona and Juventus failed to advance past the group stage and were dropped to the Europa League.

Here, we take a look at the more likely winner of each of the Round of 16 fixtures.

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RB Leipzig vs Manchester City

Buoyed by the excellent form of Christopher Nkunku and others, Leipzig won four of six group stage matches. The German side finished second behind Real Madrid in Group F with 12 points.

City on the other hand, went unbeaten in group G, ammasing 14 points after four wins and two draws. This UCL round of 16 fixture promises to be an interesting one. All eyes will be on Erling Haaland who has been in tremendous form this season. He met Leipzig a number of times during his time at Dortmund.

Club Brugge vs Benfica

Brugge made a very strong start, failing to concede in any of their first three group stage games. The Belgian outfit also conceded the least number of goals in group B.

Portuguese giants Benfica surprisingly topped a group that had Juventus and PSG. Benfica won the same number of games and drew same number of games as PSG. Both teams also had same goal difference and points.

We believe it’s going to be a tight contest considering their group stage performances. However, we stick with Benfica to emerge victors after both legs.

Liverpool vs Real Madrid

A juicy contest to look forward to. The Reds generally had a shaky start to the season but flashes of brilliance helped them through the group stages.

Jurgen Kloop’s side successfully won five games en route qualification for the knockout round, finishing second in group A. Madrid finished top of group F after they won four games, drew one and lost one.

Due to performances over the past few years and depth of the Madrid squad, Los Blancos should win this. Liverpool have been plagued through injuries but with the UCL round of 16 to commence in February, hopefully most of the players will be fit enough. Madrid to win this tie.

AC Milan vs Tottenham

We believe it’s a free-for-all here just as we predicted in group D when the 2022/23 UCL draw was conducted. On the final day of group stage matches, all four teams in the group had the opportunity to qualify.

Tottenham eventually clinched top spot in group D courtesy of a very late goal by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.

The North Londoners ended the group with 11 points, recording only one loss throughout the group stages. Milan will fancy their chances of making it past Spurs after a good enough outing in group E.

However, the manner in which Milan lost the double-header against another London side Chelsea in the group, was poor. Generally, both teams have very good players to help their teams advance. We predict Antonio Conte’s side will qualify ahead of Milan.

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli

Frankfurt qualified second behind Tottenham in group D, just one point behind the English side. ‘Mainhattan’ are one of the four German teams that made it to the UCL round of 16.

Meanwhile Napoli waited until the last group game before losing their first game of the season in all competitions.

The Neapolitans have been one of the most impressive teams in Europe this season. Luciano Spalletti’s men have also proven to have one of the deadliest attacks in Europe’s top leagues.

The likes of Victor Osimhen, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia have been the main orchestrators. Our pick here is quite easier than other ones – Napoli for the quarter final spot.

Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea

Interesting matchup here. Borussia Dortmund have been buoyed by a large array of brilliant, young players. Their performances in the Bundesliga and in Europe may not be perfect but they have proven to be no pushovers. The Germans finished second behind Manchester City in group G.

Chelsea have had a topsy-turvy affair so far especially in the English Premier League. The Blues are seventh on the English Premier League table with 21 points – 13 points behind league leaders Arsenal.

Meanwhile, following an embarrassing start to their Champions League campaign, which resulted in former manager Thomas Tuchel’s sack, the West London side have seemed to regain their rhythm – and quickly too.

The 2021 winners, having lost their first UCL match to Dinamo Zagreb, went on to win four and draw one of their remaining five matches, topping group E in the process. After matchday one, Zagreb were first in group E, with three points while Salzburg and AC Milan had one point each.

Chelsea were last with no point to boast of. At the close of the group stage exchanges, the table had turned – Zagreb finished fourth with four points. That is the case of the expression from the Holy Bible: “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” We predict Chelsea to carry this one.

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Inter Milan vs FC Porto

The Italians will be more than delighted to book their place in the UCL round of 16 ahead of Barcelona who are condemned to the second tier of UEFA club competition. I Nerazzurri however face stiff opposition in FC Porto.

The Portuguese giants, despite losing two matches, secured top spot in group B with 12 points. Porto finished ahead of Club Brugge, Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético Madrid, who finished in a disappointing fourth.

We are making a relatively shocking prediction here. We go with Porto to beat Inter after both UCL round of 16 matches between both sides.

PSG vs Real Madrid

Arguably the biggest fixture of this UCL round of 16 matchups. PSG have still not won a Champions League trophy. The Parisiens came close in 2020 but lost to their opponents for this knockout tie.

It’s a repeat of that final in 2020. Some fans may have wanted the fixture to come later in the competition but here we have it.

Both teams are undoubtedly very strong and possess some of the best players in the world. With all their talents, PSG may not be able to withstand the Bavarians. However, we acknowledge that the French giants more than stand a chance against the Bundesliga champions.

We believe Bayern Munich will make it to the quarter finals ahead of PSG.