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Kind draw for Chelsea, Barca
The UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw brought some interesting fixtures and the one that I found to be very attractive will be the one between Liverpool and Inter Milan.
Inter Milan are flying in Serie A and have just beaten AC Milan but against Liverpool they will be meeting a team with lots of experience in the knockout phase of the competition having reached the finals twice in the last five years.
I think Inter could have an edge but with the matches scheduled for February and March next year Inter will have to maintain their current form to overcome Rafa Benitez's side.
Another of my picks will be ties between Arsenal and the defending champions AC Milan and also Real Madrid against Roma. I think the tie between Arsenal and AC Milan will be between youth and experience and I have a feeling that this tie could easily favour Arsenal especially with the current erratic form of AC Milan.
Roma are on a good run at the moment in Serie A and lie second whilst Real Madrid are top of La Liga and they should be an appetising encounter. Its hard to see Real falling on the wayside but I am sure Roma will like to erase the memories of how they exited last year's competition by ousting Real.
I think the ties that will easily go either way will the Manchester United/Lyon and Schalke/Porto ones. Like Liverpool, Lyon started slowly in the Champions League this season but at Old Trafford they will be facing a very consistent side but I think Lyon could reach the next round if they can avoid defeat at home.
When the competition started I thought Valencia would qualify but instead it was Schalke who did and they should fancy their chances against an otherwise impressive Porto side who showed their beatable side at Anfield.
With due respect to Olympiacos who reached this stage for the first time, I think Chelsea have a draw which they should be happy about especially as they play the second leg at Stamford Bridge. This could be the kind of draw Avram Grant's side needs in order to reach the final in Moscow.
I think Barcelona should be able to push aside Celtic at the end of the two legs. Celtic are hard to beat at home but over the two legs I don't see them celebrating at the Nou Camp.
I don't know what to expect in the tie between Fenerbahce and Seville and I think this is one that could be potentially be decided on penalties.
Whatever the outcome will be, it looks like we have some very interesting matches to look forward to and I am hoping that I will also be able to score well on
Commentators like to refer to integrity when
talking about Roma but they fall short in the UCL and they will have to
beat that psychological burden, AC Milan are good at raising their act at the when it cocmes to these big games and the Gunners have had a fair share of success against Italian teams which a confidence booster (but thats all there is to it, but I fancy Real, Milan, Barca, Man U, Seville, Pool, Schalke and
Chelsea to smile after these knockouts......tough for my team
Lets see what test the Gunners will give AC Milan. Whatever happens I am sure for us neutrals it will be a great match.
But they have a good record so far at home this season which Seville also have and because both teams did not lose their three home matches its going to be pretty tight.
Maybe the key for them is to beat Seville at home by at least two goals and try to defend that in Seville because if their winning margin is just one goal then I am sure Seville will have no problems overcoming that.
...interesting draw and thats what makes the UCL the best of all, Barca are not playing well at the moment showing the kind of influence Messi is having on their game with Ron failing to find his old form, Eto'o
has just come back from injury and perhaps come February he would have got back his confidence.
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Mbareboy, I still think the Real/Roma can easily go either way but I also think that maybe it will be easier to judge nearer the time because injuries, form could be the ultimate decider.
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I think the surprise package for this year's competition is actually Fenerbahce and they could go all the way to the finals if they win against Seville which they can. The team lost just one match in the group stages and if it wasn't for Inter Milan being in the same group they could have won the group. I put them as favourites not because of the league they play in like what happens with most other teams but because they are playing really good football and Zico is building a team that can beat just about anyone.
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You could be right Jarrad about Fenerbahce but their only match that I watched in full was the one at the San Siro and they unfortunately lost to Inter. I remember they managed to hold their own in the first half and had some decent chances but in the second half they had no answer to Inter and hence the three goals conceded.
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