It’s Knockout Time! – Champions League Wednesday Preview

By: Stephen | February 24th, 2009

Juande Ramos ponders Real Madrid's upcoming match against Liverpool If you aren’t physically and emotionally drained after Tuesday’s Champions League action, then just wait and see what Wednesday has in store for you. The remaining four round of 16 ties comprise of teams that have a combined total of 20 European Cup titles between them while two of the top scorers in this season’s competition will also be on show in two separate games. Sound interesting? Well read on to help whet your appetite for the next four round of 16 games to take place in Europe’s most glamorous club competition.

Chelsea vs Juventus

The Champions League has thrown up some quite mouth watering round of 16 ties this year and this one is certainly up there with the pick of the bunch. The prospect of Claudio Ranieri returning to Stamford Bridge gives the encounter an extra edge but to be honest it doesn’t really need it!

Juventus will be hoping that their red hot strike force of Alessandro Del Piero and Amauri will cause all manner of problems for the Chelsea back four. The attacking duo have already notched up 24 goals between them this season, with Del Piero having found the net four times already in the Champions League.

Chelsea will be without Joe Cole and Michael Essien although after Saturday’s narrow victory over Aston Villa, confidence will be high in the Hiddink camp as the Blues look to make something of a thus far indifferent season.

The statistics tell us that Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 15 games at home in the Champions League while Juve travel to the capital with a pretty dismal recent record against English opposition. Having lost their last five matches on English soil you may be tempted to back Lampard, Drogba and co but we all know that literally anything can happen on the night and there’s also the small matter of the second leg in Turin!

Real Madrid vs Liverpool

Two heavyweights of Champions League football do battle in what will hopefully prove to be an unforgettable tie. Real Madrid and Liverpool have lifted the European Cup a staggering 14 times between them and both will be desperate to forge an assault on the latter stages of this season’s competition.

After a woeful start to the La Liga season, Madrid called upon Juande Ramos to attempt to turn around their fortunes and Los Che have been reaping the rewards ever since. After Saturday’s 6-1 demolition of Real Betis, the Bernabeu club have now won nine games in a row, conceding only 2 goals in the process.

Fernando Torres could hold the key for Liverpool as the former Atletico Madrid forward looks to put his old fierce rivals to the sword. The likely return of Steven Gerrard will also give the Reds a much needed lift after Saturday’s disappointing draw with Manchester City.

The last time the two sides met was in Paris for the final of the 1981 European Cup, which Liverpool edged 1-0. Rafa Benitez will be striving to ensure that history repeats itself but with Madrid’s superlative form of late, the Merseyside club may need to come away from Spain with a positive result.

Sporting Lisbon vs Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich come into this clash as obvious favourites but it is certainly far too early to discredit the threat that could be posed by the Portuguese side. Bayern currently occupy an unfamiliar 4th spot in the Bundesliga at present and any lapse in concentration could put an end to their hopes of stepping out in Rome for the final.

With Bayern’s failure to take control in Germany’s top flight this term, Jurgen Klinsmann is under considerable pressure to perform in the Champions League. Fortunately for the former Tottenham striker, he can call on the likes of Miroslav Klose, Luca Toni and Franck Ribery to help him get that crucial result in Lisbon.

Sporting are another side that have hardly performed spectacularly in their domestic league. The Lisbon based club sit in third spot in the Portuguese Liga but an aggregate victory over Bayern Munich will see Paulo Bento’s team reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time.

Bayern will believe that they have enough to see them through, especially as Sporting have lost four of their last eight Champions League games. The German champions remain unbeaten in this season’s competition although Sporting will have nothing to lose which could work in their favour.

Villarreal vs Panathinaikos

The last but by no means least of the round of 16 ties set to commence on Wednesday evening features two potential dark horses of this season’s Champions League and is an extremely tough encounter to call.

Villarreal snatched second spot in Group E and did what most teams have struggled to do in any competition this season – hold Manchester United. The Yellow Submarine’s squad is littered with match winners including Giuseppe Rossi, Joseba Llorente and Santi Cazorla and Manuel Pellegrini’s side will be keen to stamp their authority on the tie at the Estadio El Madrigal in the first leg.

The odds are firmly stacked against Panathinaikos to do anything remarkable in the Champions League this year, although after a stuttering start to the group stages, the Greeks did manage to win their last three matches, including the notable scalp of beating Inter Milan away. Henk Ten Cate will be without a host of first team players for the first leg including influential holding midfielder Gilberto Silva which will do nothing to help their cause.

The performance of both sides in their respective home legs could be decisive in this one. The likely outcome is that the eventual winner over two legs will have the unenviable task of facing one of the power houses of the tournament in the next round but as we know, anything can happen and that is the beauty of knockout football.