Paul Smith

 

The Champions League is back again, with yet more Round of 16 ties. With UEFA having chosen to split the weeks’ matches are played on they have increased the exposure for what would have been two busy nights of Champions League football. With Barcelona, Internazionale and Chelsea all in action in this section however, there will be no shortage of attention heaped upon the ties. We preview the next Round of 16 games:

 


  VfB Stuttgart vs FC Barcelona

VfB Stuttgart had an awful start to their domestic campaign as they struggled to cope in the absence of Mario Gómez after his pre-season move to Bayern Munich. Since the Bundesliga’s winter break Stuttgart have turned their season around, winning five out of their last six league matches, and are now well placed to launch a bid for European qualification. Despite poor early season league form the Bundesliga outfit find themselves in the last 16 of the Champions League after progressing from a group containing Sevilla, Rangers and Unirea Urziceni.

FC Barcelona, the current European and World Club Champions, arguably the best footballing side in the world, take the defence of their European crown into the knock-out stages. The Catalans are favourites to retain the trophy, a feat which would make them four times European champions. There is also the incentive of being crowned kings of Europe in the Santiago Bernabeu; home stadium of their arch rivals Real Madrid.

Barcelona should be clear favourites for this tie, but the Spanish giants travel to Germany for the first leg in the grip of an injury crisis with first team regulars such as Dani Alves and Xavi expected to be missing. With Stuttgart’s recent upturn in form the fixture could be tighter than many would expect. If Barcelona score a couple of early away goals then Stuttgart could be out of the tie before it has even begun. On the other hand, if The Reds keep it tight at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion and then travel to Catalonia with confidence they can score at the Camp Nou, and the Bundesliga outfit may be able to pull off a shock.

  Olympiacos vs Bordeaux

Bordeaux have taken over Lyon’s crown as the dominant team of French football and appear eager to conquer the European game; they comfortably won a group containing Bayern Munich and Juventus without losing a game. Olympiacos are Champions League stalwarts due to their domination of Greek football, but unfortunately when they do make their way through the group stage their progress is usually short-lived. The last time the Greeks made it this far was in the 2007/08 season when they exited the competition at the last 16 stage after defeat to Chelsea.

The first leg of this fixture represents a significant milestone for Olympiacos; the 200th European game in their history. They will be hoping to celebrate this feat by overcoming the French champions and progressing to the quarter-final, their best ever finish in the competition, and one which was achieved in 1999 when they were knocked out by Juventus in the last eight.

Laurent Blanc’s side are bidding to become the first French team to be crowned European Champions since Marseille in 1993. Bordeaux’s performance in the group stage suggests they have a good chance of progressing through to the latter stages of the tournament and upsetting the status quo of recent seasons. The club does have European pedigree after reaching the UEFA Cup final in 1996, losing out to Bayern Munich over two legs.

Olympiacos will be hoping their infamous supporters can create a hostile atmosphere in the Karaiskakis Stadium and make it a difficult night for Bordeaux. If the French can return from Athens with the game at least level though, then they will be favourites to win the tie when the two sides meet at the Stade Chaban-Delmas in the second leg.

  CSKA Moscow vs Sevilla

CSKA Moscow, the 2005 UEFA Cup winners, find themselves in the last 16 after progressing through a group including Wolfsburg, Besiktas and winners Manchester United. The Moscovites haven’t kicked a ball in anger since their final Champions League group game away to Besiktas in December as it’s currently pre-season in Russia. As a result they go into their tie with Sevilla lacking real match fitness.

Sevilla, the third Spanish side still competing in this season’s Champions League, are having another impressive domestic season sitting in fourth place in La Liga at the time of writing. They possess good European pedigree after their UEFA Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2007; can the Andalusians now make their mark on the Champions League?

Sevilla will be relieved the crucial second leg will be played in the warmer climes of Andalusia rather than sub-zero Moscow, but they still need to negotiate the first leg away in the Russian capital. CSKA Moscow’s lack of match sharpness will be compensated by the fact Sevilla will not be used to the freezing conditions and have a long journey to reach Moscow from southern Spain.

The Russians will know that they have to make good use of home advantage and take a lead to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán for the second leg if they are to have a realistic chance of progressing. Sevilla will want to return from Moscow no more than one goal down and then look to the likes of Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté to fire them into the quarter-final.

  Internazionale vs Chelsea

David Beckham facing Manchester United was supposed to be the story of the round but the LA Galaxy midfielder has had to share the billing with the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ as Jose Mourinho faces his former club Chelsea.

Domestically Inter are on course for a fifth consecutive Scudetto but it’s in Europe where their Portuguese manager will be hoping to make a mark. The Italian giants are long overdue success in this competition with their two previous European crowns coming during a period of dominance in the 1960s. The Serie A giants exited as this stage last year as they were knocked out by eventual finalists Manchester United, and Mourinho will be hoping his players learn from that experience as they come up against another Premier League outfit in Chelsea.

The Champions League continues to elude the Blues and all involved at Stamford Bridge will be hoping 2010 will finally be their year after the heartbreak of recent seasons, and revelations regarding John Terry’s private life in recent weeks don’t appear to have had a negative impact on Chelsea’s performances as they continue to compete on three fronts; the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is also returning to the city where he enjoyed so much success with AC Milan and his knowledge of Inter will be invaluable and should go some way towards negating the in-depth knowledge that Mourinho has of the Chelsea squad.

Ancelotti and Mourinho, two of Europe’s tactical genii, compete against each other in this much anticipated last 16 clash. Chelsea will rely on their collective big match experience to cope with the partisan atmosphere which will be generated at the San Siro in the first leg, while Inter have an excellent home record under Mourinho and the Milanese club will look to make use of this advantage and take a lead to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, on the other hand, will be confident of returning to London with a result that will make them firm favourites in the second leg. It’s a tie that is simply too close to call.

 

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