UEFA Champions League 2019-20: Ranking the fixtures from the Round of 16 draw
The draw for the Round of 16 in the 2019-20 edition of the UEFA Champions League has been made, and some absolutely mouth-watering fixtures have emerged from the pot, pitting some of Europe’s biggest and best against one another.
Last season’s Round of 16 saw some epic clashes like Liverpool vs. Bayern Munich, Manchester United vs. Paris St. Germain and Ajax vs. Real Madrid, but if anything, this year’s draw seems even more exciting.
Here is a ranking of all of this season’s Champions League Round of 16 fixtures, with the most intriguing match at the top.
#1 Real Madrid vs. Manchester City
Prior to the Round of 16 draw, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were installed as the betting favourites to win the 2019-20 Champions League with odds of 13/4, but following the draw, those odds may well change.
The reigning Premier League champions have been drawn against 13-times Champions League winners Real Madrid in a truly incredible-sounding clash, with the first leg to be played at the Bernabeu in February.
The last time these two sides faced off was in the semi-finals of the 2015-16 Champions League, and Real won out 1-0 on aggregate before defeating Atletico Madrid in the final. But that was of course before Guardiola’s arrival at City – and the world-renowned boss defeated Los Blancos in the semi-finals of the 2010-11 edition with Barcelona.
If Guardiola wants to make this City’s year, he’ll need to get past one of the biggest dogs in the yard, but having said that, Real haven’t been firing on all cylinders this season and were beaten by Paris St. Germain in the group stage. Regardless, this is clearly the most intriguing tie of the round of 16, and with both squads full of stars, it could go either way.
Also check out: Champions League Schedule Champions League table Champions league top scorers