Now that the group stage of the Champions League is finally over, the next step of this big competition is the draw with the clubs that qualified for the round of 16. Even though it is impossible to really know who will face who, there are some expectations on certain confrontations.
Fans are waiting excitedly to see who their teams are going to play against in order to wonder if they have more or less chances of continuing in the competition.
The biggest expectation is probably to see who Atletico Madrid and Barcelona will face, as these two Spanish clubs finished in second in their groups and, consequently, can face some interesting teams.On the site MightyTips you can find out even more about bets and athletes.
Let’s take a look at which clubs were able to qualify in first and second of each group.
Group A
In group A, the first place were the current champions Bayern Munich, who have great chances of going forward in this Champions League. The second place went to Atletico Madrid, who may face a difficult confrontation ahead.
Group B
Even though it was difficult, Real Madrid was able to get the first place of group B, after a victory on the last matchday. The second place, Borussia Monchengladbach, had even more difficulties on qualifying, counting with the draw between Shakhtar and Inter Milan to guarantee the 2nd position.
Group C
Group C was pretty easy for both teams who were able to qualify. Manchester City, in first place, and FC Porto, in second, didn’t have problems passing through their opponents and guaranteed their place in the round of 16.
Group D
Many thought things would be difficult for Liverpool in group D, as the Reds were missing a lot of players, whoever they were able to show nice football and qualify on first place. Atalanta, on the other hand, had to fight for second place and got it after a simple 1-0 victory over Ajax on matchday 6.
Group E
Chelsea showed some great football during the group stage and guaranteed their place into the round of 16 without problems. Sevilla, the surprise of group E, will not be able to play the Europa League this season, but they really celebrated the qualification to the knockout stage of the Champions League.
Group F
Borussia Dortmund are not living their best moment at the German League, but in the Champions League they were able to qualify in first place of group F and guaranteed their place in the knockout stage. The second place, Lazio, will try to continue impressing the world of football with their fighting spirit.
Group G
A group in which Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo faced each other outside of Spain. Juventus, from CR7, were able to get the first place of the group, even though they finished with the same points as Barcelona, from Messi, who finished in second. Things may be difficult for Barca as some interesting clubs are on pot A.
Group H
The last group of the Champions League counted with a lot of emotion on matchday 6. Even though many thought Manchester United would be able to qualify, RB Leipzig surprised and beat the English club, getting the second position in group H. The first place went to Paris Saint-Germain, who will have the chance to try to reach the finals once again.
Possible Confrontations
As we said in the beginning of this article, it is very difficult to think about which confrontations will happen in this round of 16. However, there are a few rules that can help us understand which ones will NOT happen.
One thing is that teams from the same group cannot face each other. And the other is that clubs from the same country also won’t face each other. Based on that, a specialist in statistics calculated that the confrontation that has the biggest chance of happening is between Real Madrid and RB Leipzig.
It would be an interesting match and, as Real Madrid are not playing at the same level we are used to, Leipzig could have some chances of going to the quarter-finals.
The other confrontation that had good chances of happening is between Juventus and Borussia Monchengladbach. That would be bad for the German team, as the italy serie a prediction Iitalians would certainly be favorite to qualify to the next round.
Conclusion
Many things can happen in this draw and we can’t wait to see what the confrontations will be. As fans of football, we expect to see some interesting games, with high-level clubs facing each other. Paris Saint-Germain facing Barcelona would be an interesting one, wouldn’t it?
What are your predictions for the draw? And for the rest of the UEFA Champions League? You can find more detail about the UCL predictions searching for websites that give tips on matches.
