YOUR GUIDE TO THE LAST 16
BASLE v MAN CITY (First leg: Tonight, Second leg: March 7)
ON paper this should be as straightforward as they come for Pep Guardiola’s men. The Swiss side are five points off the pace in their title defence, but they have a knack of humbling English sides, having beaten Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United recently in this competition. Basle’s danger man is former Norwich striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who has scored eight goals in 12 starts this season. Taulant Xhaka — brother of Granit — is an uncompromising defensive midfielder.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: First meeting.
JUVENTUS v TOTTENHAM (First leg: Tonight, Second leg: March 7)
THIS could well be the toughest test of Harry Kane’s career yet. How do you breach a defence that has conceded just once in their last 16 matches? Friday’s win over Fiorentina was Juve’s 10th in a row and a 500th league appearance for Juve for Gianluigi Buffon, who is determined to add the Champions League to his trophy cabinet. As well as their defensive might, Juventus pack a punch in attack. Gonzalo Higuain has scored in his last four matches, including a hat-trick against Sassuolo.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: First meeting.
PORTO v LIVERPOOL (First leg: Tomorrow, Second leg: March 6)
A POTENTIALLY tricky test for Liverpool. Porto remain unbeaten in the league and have been beaten just once at the Estadio do Dragao this season, to Besiktas in the Champions League group stage. It will be a question of how Liverpool’s defence fares against their deadly strike duo of Vincent Aboubakar and Moussa Marega who have 36 goals between them in all competitions this season.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Liverpool 2 wins, 2 draws.
REAL MADRID v PSG (First leg: Tomorrow, Second leg: March 6)
THE STANDOUT tie of the last-16 stage sees the holders face the pretenders to their throne. Real Madrid’s form has been indifferent this season, which mirrors that of Cristiano Ronaldo. They and Ronaldo’s form has picked up though — with the latter scoring seven in his last four games. As for PSG their incredible form has yielded 14 wins from their last 15 games — with the trio of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani at the heart of that.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Real Madrid 2 wins, 2 draws, PSG 2 wins.
CHELSEA v BARCELONA (First leg: Feb 20, Second leg: March 14)
CHELSEA’S failure to win their group has pitted them up against an old adversary. Barcelona’s European history is well documented and their form in La Liga has been something else this season. Unbeaten in 23 league matches, they sit seven points clear of nearest challengers Atletico Madrid and 17 above Real in fourth. Lionel Messi’s brilliance continues with 27 club goals this term, and he’s aided by Luis Suarez who has 19 goals.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Chelsea 4 wins, 5 draws, Barcelona 3 wins.
BAYERN v BESIKTAS (First leg: Feb 20, Second leg: March 14 at 5pm)
BAYERN MUNICH have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in each of the last six seasons and will be confident of doing so again. The Germans have won their last 12 games, and 14 of their last 15 in the Bundesliga. Robert Lewandowski has led the way with 26 goals in 31 games in all competitions too. Besiktas’s form has wavered since topping Group G but in Brazilian midfielder Talisca they have a man who has scored six times in his last four games.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Bayern Munich 2 wins.
SEVILLA v MAN UTD (First leg: Feb 21, Second leg: March 13)
MANCHESTER UNITED’s rocky form has been mirrored by Sevilla who have lost five of their last 15 games since qualifying for the knockout stages. The Spanish side — who boast Steven N’Zonzi, Roque Mesa, Jesus Navas, Nolito and Sandro Ramirez within their ranks — are now managed by Vincenzo Montella following Eduardo Berizzo’s dismissal. Wissam Ben Yedder has six goals in Europe this season, including three against Liverpool.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: First meeting.
S DONETSK v ROMA (First leg: Feb 21, Second leg: March 13)
SHAKHTAR DONETSK’s winter break could make or break them. They’ve only played one competitive match since reaching the last 16 and that was a 2-1 loss at Zorya. Since then they’ve played friendlies with their league duties resuming on Friday. Meanwhile, Roma endured a run of seven matches without a win from December 20 to January 28. They have won their last two games since and in Edin Dzeko, the Italians have a presence up top.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Shakhtar Donetsk 3 wins, Roma 1 win.
All kick-offs 7.45pm unless stated