PSG vs Liverpool or Barcelona
The most challenging team is Paris Saint-Germain. In the qualifying round, they were in the group that could have dropped early. Thanks to victories in the final matches, Luis Enrique's army only escaped a narrow escape.
The big win over Brest with a total score of 10-0 after two play-offs did not have much professional value when the opponent was too weak. It is only like a low-intensity run before PSG takes the most fierce stage, where Liverpool or Barcelona - the two teams leading the qualifying round are standing firm like mountains.
This season, the Ligue-1 arena is considered temporarily stable for Luis Enrique and his team. They are still firmly at the top of the table with 56 points, 10 points ahead of second-placed team Olimpique Marseille after 22 rounds. Therefore, all the resources of the young master Paris are currently concentrated in the Champions League, where they are still hungry for a title after billions of Euros invested in for many years.
PSG's strongest weapon is the attack when Ousmane Dembele is having the best season of his career. Meanwhile, new factors like Khvicha Kvaratskhelia caught up very quickly. In particular, having mastered Enrique's playing style, PSG became a diverse team and had a hard time predicting. The proof is that in the match against Brest in the second leg of the play-off, all 7 goals conceded against the opponent from the French team were scored by 7 different positions. If including the first leg, there are 9 goalscorers.
Real Madrid face Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen
The European king once again proved to everyone how fearsome their power in the Champions League is. Although Man City is in poor form, they are still the reigning Premier League champions and have just lifted their Champions League title in 2023. As for Los Blancos, their strength is somewhat questioned when they could not overcome Atletico Madrid in the Derby in La Liga. Occasionally, Carlo Ancelotti and his students still stumble in an un Understanding way against small teams, thereby allowing Barcelona to reclaim the top spot.
However, looking at how Kylian Mbappe single-handedly submerged all of Man City's hopes at the Bernabeu, we can see that the saying "form is temporary, class is forever" is true to every word for the defending champion. They are not just playing football, it is a performance at the highest level against the world's top strong opponent at the moment.
Bayern Munich vs Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen
The difficulties for Real and Bayern in this round are the same as they are likely to face Atletico or Leverkusen. However, if we look at the recent performances, the concern for Vincent Kompany and his team is much greater than Los Blancos.
In round 22 of the Bundesliga, in the direct competition of the championship race with Leverkusen, Bayern played a completely inferior match against their opponent. They only had 2 shots in the whole match and could not hit the target once. Only luck could keep the "Gray Tigers" from losing, thereby maintaining the top spot with a gap of 8 points.
In the Champions League play-off series, the earthquake came as Bayern faced Celtic. They beat their opponents in the first leg away 2-1 but let their opponents lead 1-0 at home in the second leg for 93 minutes. If Alphonso Davies had not scored in the 90+4 minute, the two teams would have dragged each other into extra time. Seeing Juventus losing to PSV Eindhoven, it is easy to see that if Bayern fell into a similar situation against Celtic, it is unknown how the biggest earthquake in the play-off round took place right at their home ground Allianz Arena.
Dortmund vs Aston Villa or Lille
Not to the classic level of the above matches, the match between Dortmund and Aston Villa or Lille will contain many surprises. Dortmund have been on a disastrous slump in the Bundesliga this season, finishing 11th in 22 rounds. There is only one way for BVB to qualify for next season's Champions League, which is to be crowned the most prestigious playground in Europe this season.
Last season, the German Rurh team reached the final, played very well against Real Madrid but could not win Los Blancos' DNA Champions League. This season, they have played very poorly in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League, they are not much better when they need a play-off series to get to the round of 16.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa and Lille are the most interesting unknowns in the round of 16. They are not a big name in the Champions League era, and are even considered a mid-table team in the national championship. However, with a very good qualifying strategy, both Villa and Lille finished in the Top 8, thereby moving straight to the round of 16 strongest teams.
