The Champions League last-16 starts on Tuesday with four big first-leg ties.
Aston Villa go to familiar foes Club Brugge, last year’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund entertain Lille, PSV Eindhoven welcome Arsenal to the intimidating Philips Stadion and there’s a huge all-Madrid showdown between Real and Atletico at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Expect plenty of drama and no shortage of goals as teams begin to focus on advancing to the latter stages.
Here are four selections to consider ahead of another big night in Europe.
- ASTON VILLA TO BEAT CLUB BRUGGE
- BORUSSIA DORTMUND TO BEAT LILLE
- PSV EINDHOVEN VS ARSENAL - DRAW
- REAL MADRID VS ATLETICO MADRID - BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
Club Brugge vs Aston Villa
Aston Villa started their debut Champions League campaign with a bang, winning their first three games against Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna as the club enjoyed playing in the continent’s top club competition for the first time since 1983.
The Premier League side then suffered a setback at the hands of Tuesday’s opponents, going down 1-0 away on Matchday Four when a comical error from Tyrone Mings saw him pick the ball up in the area, unaware it was in play to gift the hosts a penalty, from which they scored to settle the clash.
However, Villa, who went on to finish eighth in the table thanks to a final matchday win over Celtic, can get revenge in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Club Brugge only sneaked into the play-offs when finishing in 24th and even though they then impressively saw off Atalanta 5-2 on aggregate to set up another meeting with Villa, Unai Emery’s men look to have a superior-quality squad and the English side should have the measure of them in Belgium.
ASTON VILLA TO WIN
Borussia Dortmund vs Lille
Borussia Dortmund were beaten finalists last season when they lost to Real Madrid at Wembley and they will be eyeing at least a quarter-final spot this time around after being handed an agreeable last-16 tie against French side Lille.
At home first, BVB should establish a solid first-leg lead. The Bundesliga side enter Tuesday’s game on the back of two straight domestic wins, hammering Union Berlin 6-0 at Signal Iduna Park before a routine 2-0 win at St Pauli followed on Saturday.
There was little to choose between these sides in the league phase, with Lille finishing on just a point more in seventh, although that did ensure the Ligue 1 outfit went straight through to the last-16 while Dortmund, who ended up 10th, needed to get past Sporting CP in the play-offs.
They did that in style, though, winning 3-0 away in the first leg before a goalless home game, and they should equally have too much for a Lille side overall that suffered a chastening 4-1 league defeat to leaders Paris Saint-Germain over the weekend.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND TO WIN
PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal
Premier League giants Arsenal are favourites to progress past PSV Eindhoven in this tie, but the Gunners could be in for a tricky first leg in Eindhoven.
Mikel Arteta’s side are not exactly approaching the trip to the Philips Stadion in form, having won just one of their last four games.
Arsenal suffered a damaging home defeat to West Ham and a draw at Nottingham Forest last month that looks to have ended their league title bid, while injuries up front to Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus seriously affecting their attacking output at the moment.
PSV have been excellent at home for most of the season, losing just twice in front of their own fans in all competitions - and one of those defeats was a Dutch Super Cup clash against Feyenoord in August when they were only eventually beaten on penalties.
The hosts have won four of their five home Champions League games this season, including a 3-2 success over table-toppers Liverpool, and they were particularly impressive when getting the better of Juventus in the play-off round, winning 3-1 at home after losing the first leg narrowly 2-1 in Turin.
Expect a tight clash, which could easily end up all square.
DRAW
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
Arguably the tie of the last-16, Madrid rivals Real and Atletico go head-to-head in a blockbuster showdown at the Bernabeu.
The two teams are currently locked in a three-way fight with Barcelona for the La Liga title, with Atletico second, a point behind leaders Barca, and two clear of Los Blancos, who sit third.
While it will be a fascinating run-in in Spain, there are also two huge Champions League games to come between Carlo Ancelotti’s defending champions and Diego Simeone’s hardened contenders.
In the two league meetings this season, there has been nothing to choose between them, with both games ending 1-1, and this is likely to be a similarly closely fought and tense occasion.
Real were too good for an admittedly out-of-sorts Manchester City in the play-offs, winning 6-3 over two legs, after they surprisingly finished down in 11th place in the first stage.
The record 15-time European champions may well advance overall to yet another quarter-final this year, but this tie is likely to still be in the balance after the first leg.
Real were beaten 2-1 by Betis at the weekend, but Ancelotti’s side have scored in each of their last eight games, while Atletico are on a fine 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions, with their last blank coming in a 1-0 defeat at Leganes in the middle of January.
In a first leg that looks fiendishly difficult to call, backing both teams to score might be the better option.
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
