Bayern Munich meets Bayer Leverkusen again: The "Gray Tigers" don't want to have had to come
Among the opponents that could be met in the round of 16, Leverkusen is Bayern's most feared name. In the Bundesliga at the moment, Bayern are still 8 points ahead of Leverkusen in the championship race. However, since Xabi Alonso took charge at BayArena, Bayern have never beaten their opponents at this stadium.
Most recently, the two teams faced each other in a direct match at BayArena. The match ended in a goalless draw and left Bayern with a sigh of relief. They played a completely inferior match against the home team and only luck helped Vincent Kompany and his team escape a defeat.
If Leverkusen had a very good record in the qualifying round when finishing in the top 8 teams, Bayern would have almost had to play an extra match with Celtic in the play-off round if there had been no goal in the 90+4 minute from Alphonso Davies. However, in the European playground this season, Leverkusen is not without weaknesses. If they continue to play like the matches against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid in the qualifying round, Florian Wirtz and his teammates could be surprisingly neutralized.
Benfica meets Barcelona again: Good opportunity to repay debts and create an earthquake
If 1 of the 2 matches in the 1/8 round between the two teams develop like the match in the qualifying round, fans have the right to expect this match to be as attractive as the above matches.
Last month, when Barcelona traveled to Benfica's Da Luz, they and the home team created an exciting film until the last seconds. In the extra minutes, Benfica was still the leading team with a score of 4-3 but after the final whistle, the 5-4 victory belonged to Barcelona. It was a "bsolutely cinematic" encounter because in addition to the drama about the result, there was also a lot of controversy about the referee's decisions.
Barcelona's current attack with Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha is very strong, but in contrast, Blaugrana's defense leaves many doubts. Benfica will take advantage of this because in addition to falling into Barca's net with 4 goals in the qualifying round, they also scored the same number of goals in the play-off round against AS Monaco to secure a ticket to the round of 16.
Feyenoord vs Inter Milan: A Champions League season " ended"
Although the tournament has 5 representatives in the Champions League this season, in the end, Serie A fans only saw Inter in the round of 16. Lautaro Martinez and his teammates have qualified for this round when finishing in the top 8 teams. Witnessing names like Juventus, AC Milan or Atalanta being eliminated very quickly in the play-off round, if Inter also had to decide their future in this round, it is unknown whether Serie A teams would be clean before the round of 16.
Feyenoord's defeat of Milan to face Inter will leave many problems to solve for Simone Inzaghi. Inter ended the qualifying round with the best defensive record, conceding only 1 goal after 8 matches, most notably the clean sheet against Arsenal. However, the Nerazzurri's attack line did not play impressively with 11 goals. Looking at Feyenoord, the Dutch representative has scored 18 goals in the first 8 matches, including 3 goals against Bayern and Man City.
A team with an open attack contains many surprises for a team with the most solid defense. This will be a match that reflects the most contrasting things in the round of 16.
Dortmund vs Lille: Many unknowns
Among the opponents that could be met in this round, Lille is the easiest name for Dortmund. This season, BVB is witnessing disastrous form in the Bundesliga when it is only ranked 11th after 22 rounds. In particular, their away performance this season has been so bad, having won just two Bundesliga games since the start of the season. Therefore, the away trip to Lille's field is considered very dangerous for the team from the Rurh region.
Niko Kovac has only been in charge of Dortmund for 2 weeks and luckily for him, the break between the play-off round and the round of 16 could be enough to rectify everything. Julian Brandt, Marcel Sabitzer, Karim Adeyemi and Emre Can are in disastrous decline and Kovac needs to reignite the fighting spirit of these stars. The biggest hope for the German team is that the attacking pair Serhou Guirassy - Jamie Gittens can make a breakthrough.
