Champions League Round of 16

Three teams from England and Spain make it through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League while Germany and Italy supply two sides each, while France, Belgium, Russia, Netherlands, Ukraine and Portugal contribute 1 each. 

PSG v Chelsea

History repeats itself with Chelsea once again facing PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League. The tables have definitely turned for the London side as they currently lie in bottom half of the Premier League table as opposed to the top of the table this time last year. Despite having acquired Angel di Maria this season and Edinson Cavani on fine form, I can honestly see Chelsea winning this tie. Because of their poor form in the league, there is a good chance that Chelsea will put all their eggs in the Champions League basket. It will be close and Chelsea will have to penetrate a defence that has only conceded once in Europe, but I predict the underdog to upstage the favourites.

Benfica v Zenit

Definitely not a tie that will grab many of the headlines, but Benfica come off the back of a second place finish behind Atletico Madrid. They have improved dramatically in Europe considering finishing rock bottom of their group last season scoring only 2 goals and winning only 1 game. Looking at Zenit, they topped the group fending off the likes of Lyon, who finished rock bottom and Gary Neville's Valencia who drop into the Europa League positions. It was definitely a shock for them to finish on top, and I would tip the Portuguese side to progress, however this represents a real opportunity for Zenit to put Russia back on the football map.

Gent v Wolfsburg

Like Zenit, KAA Gent surprised many people to seal a place in the last 16 for the first time in their history, finishing behind the Russian side in their group. Likewise, Wolfsburg are competing in their first knockout round in the Champions League and have never played a Belgian side in the Champions League before. Bas Dost is Wolfsburg's top goal scorer and the Belgian underdogs will have to be on form if they are to stop him also Max Kruse will be key for the German Cup holders creating 33 chances so far in this season. The German side will be clear favourites to progress and I tip the side to make the quarter finals.

Roma v Real Madrid

Real Madrid find themselves a point off the top of La Liga leaders, Barcelona and head coach Rafa Benitez is becoming under increasing pressure. In Europe they have been somewhat of a free scoring outfit, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 11 times in the group stage alone. They also had a solid defence throughout the group stage, conceding three goals, all of which were in the away leg against Shakhtar Donetsk. Roma have never kicked on under Rudi Garcia since pushing Juventus for the title 2 years ago. Miralem Pjanic is their creative player while there still is life in the old legs of Francesco Totti. I predict Madrid to qualify easily.

Arsenal v Barcelona

This is possibly the most intriguing tie. Arsenal have had terrible luck with draws in the last 16 over the last number of seasons and it doesn't get much harder than a tie against in form Barcelona. Having had a terrible start in Europe, some may say that the Gunners were lucky to progress, but they have players stepping up to the plate. I have been critical of Mesut Ozil over the years I have been blogging but he is finally showing what he is capable of. The game against Barcelona is a massive test and it will be key that the German does not squander possession. Barcelona need no introductions and possess the best attacking force in Europe. I do think that the Catalans have enough to see off the challenge of Arsenal but it will not be easy.

Juventus v Bayern Munich

Beaten finalists Juventus are recovering in the league having won all of their last 5 matches. Juventus are a good side and you would struggle to find a side that can hold a lead better than the Italian giants. Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich has strengthened since the last edition and they look good. Vidal has been ever-present in the midfield while signing Douglas Costa from Shahktar Donetsk has proved and inspired decision. Paulo Dybala is an exciting prospect for the Old Lady and I have watched him turn out for both Palermo and Juventus in the last 2 seasons. He is quick and has the potential to cause problems. I tip Bayern's strength in depth to overcome Juventus. 

PSV v Atletico Madrid

PSV beat a disappointing Manchester United side to the second placed spot. They will look back on a very good victory against the Manchester side in game week 1 and another well fought draw at Old Trafford. Former Newcastle United reject, Luuk de Jong is their top scorer this season with 13 goals. During the group stage, PSV scored 8 goals and conceded 7. Looking at their opponents, Atletico Madrid topped their group with relative ease, recording 4 wins and a draw. In the league, the Spanish side sits in 5th position, 4 points off Real Madrid in second and further point off the league leaders, Barcelona. I don't see PSV troubling the 2013-2014 runners up, with Atletico finishing the tie at Vicente Calderon.

Dynamo Kyiv v Man City
Dynamo Kyiv surprised many to pip Porto to the last spot that qualifies for the knockout rounds. The Ukrainians have some useful players including winger Andriy Yarmolenko who was ever present in the group stage. Kyiv are currently battling it out for the league title with arch rivals Shakhtar Donetsk, who failed to qualify from the group stage. Manchester City have had many unfortunate draws since 2010/2011, facing Barcelona last year and the year before in both times where they qualify from the group stage. City should be strong enough to beat the Ukrainian side, particularly with the second leg in front of the Etihad faithful.

Transfer Round Up #2

I'm back with another five transfers for you to take a look at. This one may be slightly tilted towards Liverpool, but I'd like to hear your opinions irrespective of your allegiance.

Petr Cech - Chelsea to Arsenal - £9.8m

I would say this deal is a massive step made by Arsene Wenger in restoring Arsenal to the heights of the early noughties. We all know of Cech’s capabilities and even at the age of 33, £9.8m is a steal. Cech has another 2-3 years at the top, but was never going to oust Thibaut Courtois of the Chelsea number 1 jersey. Edwin Van Der Sar signed for Manchester United at 34 years of age, and was able to muster 4 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups and a Champions League before retiring at the ripe old age of 40. There is gas left in the legs of Petr Cech yet, and don’t expect the trophies to dry up either.

Memphis Depay - PSV Eindhoven to Manchester United - £19.25m

The signature of Memphis Depay signals Louis Van Gaal’s first foray into the transfer market. At the fee of just under £20m, he is not coming cheap, but he will offer another creative outlet for United, who have been criticised in the past for not fashioning enough chances in recent times. Creating 60 chances in total last season, this was more than any other Manchester United player. Not only can he create, he can score also. With 22 league goals last campaign, he was the Eredivisie’s top goal scorer. United fans will be hoping that he can continue his tremendous form in Manchester.

Roberto Firmino - Hoffenheim to Liverpool - £28.7m

Over on Merseyside, Brendan Rodgers pipped United to the signature of Roberto Firmino. Almost £10m dearer than Depay, these pair will be constantly correlated to each other throughout the season and the first derby will be an interesting affair. The Brazilian will be a key player to Brendan Rodgers, as it looks as if Raheem Sterling will be on his way out of Anfield. Forgetting some horrendous misses recently, Firmino completed more take ons than Neymar, Isco and Arjen Robben and also completed the second most duels in the Bundesliga behind Stefan Kießling. Similarly, he created 9 more chances than Depay last season. Liverpool have acquired an extremely good player.

James Milner - Manchester City to Liverpool - free transfer

Sticking with the Liverpool theme, I view James Milner as one of the signings of the season. It was always going to be difficult to replace Steven Gerrard, and while James Milner may not, it is a good start. While Liverpool were making defensive errors left, right and centre last season, Milner didn’t record a single mishap last season. Milner publicly announced that we wanted to play in a central role, despite playing most of his football on the flanks for Manchester City as well as filling in a full back and making a very occasional appearance up front. This is an excellent signing, but it will be interesting to see if he plays in the deeper role that was vacated by Steven Gerrard in the summer.

Danny Ings - Burnley FC to Liverpool - free transfer

Last but definitely not least, Danny Ings completed his free transfer to Liverpool at the end of the season. It was no surprise that he was leaving for Liverpool and he will undoubtedly add a bit of competition to a front line that was misfiring last season. The Balotelli experiment has backfired, Lambert has not been given a chance and Sturridge has been injured, it’s another attempt to replace Sturridge. It’s not a marquee signing and it’s difficult to predict how well Ings will do when he is not the number one player in the side. A real ‘fox in the box’ so to speak, Ings scored all of his league goals inside the box but only won 22% of his headed duels. I’m not too sure how the former Burnley man will get on in Liverpool.

I've given you another five deals that have crossed the line this summer, please share your opinions with me or even suggest deals that I could look at.

All statistics taken from Squawka or Transfermarkt.