UEFA Champions League 2018-19: 3 best match-ups in the Round of 16
The fixtures for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 have already been decided. The RO16 matches would be played on February 12 & 13/19 & 20, and March 5 & 6/12 & 13. The match-ups for the same are given below:
#1 Ajax vs Real Madrid
#2 Schalke vs Man City
#3 Man United vs PSG
#4 AS Roma vs FC Porto
#5 Tottenham vs Borussia Dortmund
#6 Atletico Madrid vs Juventus
#7 Lyon vs Barcelona
#8 Liverpool vs Bayern Munich
At least 3-4 of the 8 match-ups mentioned above promise to be exciting and competitive. We now take a look at the top 3 match-ups of the round of 16.
#3 Tottenham Hotspur vs Borussia Dortmund
Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham have probably been the most improved English club in the last few years, and are continuing their good run in the Champions League as well. They qualified from a tough group, comprising Barca, Inter, and PSV.
They beat Inter 1-0, and drew with Barca 1-1 in their last group match, qualifying at the expense of the Italian giants. Tottenham are in 3rd position on the English league table, and look like the only serious challengers to Liverpool and Manchester City.
They have some very good players at their disposal, in the form of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld, and Hugo Lloris. They can prove to be a handful for any team on their day.
Eriksen is their playmaker, and has been linked to Real Madrid lately. Should he leave Tottenham for Real in January, the former would be considerably weakened. Kane has scored 13 goals in 23 matches this season, and remains one of the most potent strikers in the world.
Dortmund meanwhile continue to lead the Bundesliga by a handsome margin, and have also topped their group having Atletico Madrid. They have some very exciting attacking players like Marco Reus and Paco Alcacer in the line-up.
Axel Witsel, the Belgian midfielder, pulls the strings in the midfield, and right-back Lukasz Piszczek has also been superb this season. Moreover, Dortmund are a very fearsome proposition to face on their home ground, the Westfalen Arena. It should be a very absorbing contest in which Dortmund have a slight edge.