The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League was made yesterday with some very interesting ties to look forward to.
Atletico Madrid v Man United
Benfica v Ajax
Chelsea v Lille
Inter Milan v Liverpool
PSG v Real Madrid
Red Bull Salzburg v Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon v Man City
Villarreal v Juventus
Out of the English clubs Man United and Liverpool have the toughest draws with United taking on La Liga champions Atletico Madrid and Liverpool taking on Serie A champions Inter Milan. Atletico have proved a tough test for teams in the past in this competition because of how well drilled they are defensively and United will definitely be expecting a tough test when they face them in a couple of months time. Inter on the other hand are again flying high in Serie A with the club top of the league which is why they'll be a tough test for Liverpool. The reds will probably be favourites but Inter should still be a tough test for them.
Chelsea and Man City have winnable ties with holders Chelsea taking on Lille and City taking on Sporting Lisbon. Both Lille and Sporting did win their respective league titles last season but Chelsea and City should still be favourites against them because of the quality they both have.
The standout tie surely has to be PSG taking on Real Madrid which will see Sergio Ramos returning to the Bernabeu for the first time since he left Madrid in the summer and Carlo Ancelotti returning to the Stade de Paris for the first time since he left them for his spell at Madrid in 2013. PSG will be favourites because of how talented their team is but Real do have the ability to spoil the party as they to have some very good players. They're 8 points clear at the top of La Liga and have looked more convincing than they did last season. They'll definitely fancy themselves here because of the experience they have in this competition.
Bayern Munich have a very winnable tie as they take on Red Bull Salzburg who have never reached this stage of the competition in their history. Bayern will 100% be favourites for this one because of the quality and experience they have in their side which will also make them one of the favourites for the competition itself.
Juventus also have a winnable tie as they'll be taking on Europa League winners Villarreal. The Italian giants have gone out at this stage of the competition for the last two seasons losing to Lyon and Porto plus they're not having their best season in Serie A as they're 7th in the league and 12 points behind leaders Inter Milan. But they should still expect themselves to win here as they have a stronger squad on paper.
The other tie sees Dutch champions Ajax take on Benfica who qualified for this stage by knocking out Barcelona and putting them into the Europa League. This tie may not be as built up as the others but it could be a good watch as both sides are good to watch.
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