UCL Round of 16: Fight to finish for Arsenal, Real Madrid, Chelsea, others 

The stage is set for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second-leg fixtures.

DAILY POST reports that the second leg fixtures, which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, are expected to be a ‘fight to finish’ for the sixteen teams as only eight will progress to the Champions League quarter-final stage after the conclusion of the matches.

The first leg fixtures were played last week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

There are currently 16 teams – Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Atalanta, Sporting CP, Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City and Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League last-16 stage.

Here are the fixtures for the Champions League last-16 second leg games:

Tuesday:

Sporting CP vs Bodo/Glimt – This game will take place at Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, at 6. 45 pm. Bodo/Glimt won the first leg 3-0 in Norway last week. Sporting will have to put in a strong display at home to come out with a good result against Bodo/Glimt

Chelsea vs PSG – This match will take place at Stamford Bridge at 9 pm. The Blues lost 5-2 against PSG in the first leg in Paris last week. The Premier League west London club will need to score at least four goals and concede nothing against the Parisians in a bid to progress to the next stage of the competition.

Man City vs Real Madrid – This fixture will take place at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England. Pep Guardiola’s side lost the first leg 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu last week. The Premier League giants will need to put in an outstanding display to get revenge against the Los Blancos in front of their home supporters. City needs to win at least 4-0 to advance to the next stage of the competition.

Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen – This game will take place at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners drew 1-1 against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg last week in Germany. This encounter is definitely a 50-50 chance, but Mikel Arteta’s side has a slim advantage playing at home in front of their supporters.

Wednesday:

Barcelona vs Newcastle – This match will take place at Camp Nou. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at St. James’ Park last week. Just like the Arsenal versus Bayer Leverkusen game, this match is also a 50-50 chance, but Barcelona has a slim advantage playing in front of their home supporters.

Tottenham vs Atletico Madrid – The Champions League tie will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs lost the first leg 5-2 in Spain last week. The Premier League side will hope to count on the support of their home fans and also put in an outstanding display against Diego Simeone’s men to stand a chance of progressing to the last-8.

Liverpool vs Galatasaray – The fixture is also quite still, very open. Liverpool lost 1-0 against Galatasaray in the first leg in Turkey. The Reds will welcome the Turkish Super Lig champions at Anfield and will hope to make good use of their home supporters and also put in a spectacular performance against Galatasaray to come out victorious.

Bayern Munich vs Atalanta – This match is all but over after Atalanta was thrashed 6-1 in Italy in the first leg last week. The Serie A side will indeed need a miracle and also score Al of goals to stand any chance of beating the Bundesliga champions at the Allianz Arena in Germany.

Speaking with DAILY POST about the Champions League Round of 16 second leg fixtures, Emmanuel Brown, a former coach at the TTC Football Academy, gave his view on the matches.

Brown said, “It’s now getting more interesting at this stage of the competition.

“The second leg is the last chance for every team to try and give their all to progress to the next stage of the competition.

“Those teams that lost the first legs will be under more pressure compared to the teams that won their first legs. Because you know you will get knocked out if you fail to win the second leg, and it’s obviously like your last chance.

“I was impressed by several first-leg matches, especially Bodo/Glimt’s victory over Sporting. The Norwegian side is definitely a dark horse to watch in this year’s Champions League; they are well-organized and function as a cohesive unit,” he said.

When asked to identify eight teams that could reach the quarter-finals, Brown responded, “From the first-leg results, it seems some teams already have one foot in the last eight.

“Bodo/Glimt, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, and Atletico Madrid, which all won their first legs, seem favourite to progress.

“I also see Arsenal progressing because they will be playing at home, as well as Barcelona.

“The match between Liverpool and Galatasaray is tough to call. Galatasaray won narrowly 1-0 in Turkey, but Liverpool is a different challenge at Anfield.

“I hope Galatasaray qualifies because of Victor Osimhen. I want to watch that man go far in this competition, but my head is telling me Liverpool could win. However, I believe it is a 50-50 chance,” he said.

UCL Round of 16: Fight to finish for Arsenal, Real Madrid, Chelsea, others