WOW ! Some great match-ups including a repeat of last season’s final with Inter Milan facing Bayern Munich. The match-up that will likely garner more press is the Arsenal v Barcelona. The two clubs play similar styles though Barcelona is still the better side for my money. It’s not impossible to think Arsenal could pull an upset but I remain unconvinced of their back 4 and they do not have an undisputed number 1 goalkeeper. Still, this should be a fun tie to watch. Thank you UEFA !

We’ll have more thorough analysis of these match-ups once the January transfer window has closed.

Champions League Round of 16 draw in full:
Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan v Tottenham
Valencia v Schalke
Inter Milan v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Real Madrid
Arsenal v Barcelona
Marseille v Manchester United
FC Copenhagen v Chelsea

First-leg matches will be played on February 15, 16, 22 or 23. Return legs will be played on March 8, 9, 15 or 16.

The Champions League group stages have finished, and now it’s time to see which teams will face each other in the round of 16 which is coming up next. UEFA will be drawing the match-ups for the Champions League and the Europa League on December 17th, and there’s a set of guidelines which the round of 16 matches will have to comply with. Here’s the guidelines below:

• Winners and runner-ups of the groups will be drawn against each other.

• The runner-up team will play the first leg at home.

• No two teams from the same association can be drawn against each other, ex. Manchester United – Arsenal cannot be drawn because both sides are from the Premier League.

• No two teams from the same group can be drawn against each other, ex. Tottenham – Inter Milan cannot be drawn because they were in the same group.

With these guidelines, I’ve put together the matches that I want to see in the round of 16. I tried to think about match-ups which will be exciting, even, and hopefully full of goals. Here they are below:

Tottenham Hotspur – Valencia

Schalke 04 – FC Copenhagen

Manchester United – Marseille

Barcelona – Roma

Bayern Munich – Inter Milan

Chelsea – AC Milan

Real Madrid – Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk – Lyon

What do you think about my choices? I decided to put Bayern Munich against Inter Milan, because I think it would be exciting to see Bayern take revenge for last season’s final which they lost. I also decided to put Arsenal against Real Madrid because Arsene Wenger’s side tries to replicate Barcelona’s beautiful passing and attacking style, could they do it against Real Madrid? Tottenham against Valencia seems like an extremely exciting match-up to me, because both sides love to play an attacking and free-flowing style, and I don’t think I can predict a winner between those two. And I put Chelsea against AC Milan because of Carlo Ancelotti facing his former side, along with the possibility of seeing an Ibrahimovic-led AC Milan side try and break down Chelsea.

Make sure to share your thoughts on what match-ups you want to see in the round of 16 by commenting below! What could be the most exciting match in the next round? Comment below!

In the first eight matches of this Champions League matchday, there was plenty of excitement to go around. Some sides like Chelsea have made sure that they’re going through top of the group, while others like Arsenal have complicated their Champions League campaign terribly.

In these eight games, there were 23 goals scored, making for an average of 2.8 goals per game. But what I find very interesting is that in these eight matches, there were four players sent off with red cards! All four sending offs were in the second half of the matches, and three were in the last five minutes. I guess it’s a sign that the tension is rising as teams need to qualify for the next round of the tournament.

The most exciting match which took place today was Roma – Bayern Munich, with the Italian side triumphing at home 3-2. Bayern started the scoring with Gomez taking advantage of shaky Roma defending in the 33rd and 39th minutes, leaving Ranieri’s side in a bit of disarray going into the second half. But Roma came out to win the match in front of their home fans, and Borriello pulled one back four minutes into the second half, then in the 81^st minute De Rossi scored to make it 2-2. And in the 84^th minute, Roma were awarded a penalty, and their legendary captain Francesco Totti stepped up and scored the winner.

A fantastic match which keeps Roma in second place, three points behind Bayern Munich, and three ahead of FC Basel. FC Basel defeated CFR Cluj at home 1-0, with Alerares scoring the only goal in the 15^th minute. Cluj had Piccolo sent off with a direct red card in the 88^th minute, and the player will miss their next Champions League match against Roma. So Group E is relatively tight with Roma needing a win if they want to qualify, while Bayern look pretty solid up in first place with a goal difference of +7.

Chelsea faced Zilina at Stamford Bridge, and while they went a goal down in the first half, Ancelotti’s side scored twice in the second half in order to win 2-1. Zilina scored from a quick give-and-go passing move which Bello poked past Turnbull. It was the youngster Sturridge who equalized, and Chelsea began to press on, with Drogba almost scoring from a free kick, and  youngster van Aanholt smacking an effort against the post. It was Florent Malouda who scored the winner in the 86th minute for Chelsea, helping his side get their fifth in a row in the Champions League, qualifying them mathematically for first place.

Behind Chelsea which has fifteen points, Olympique Marseille are second with nine, with Spartak Moscow following the french side with six points. Marseille defeated the Russian team comfortably 3-0 in Russia, with Valbuena, Remy, and Brandao scoring the goals while Welliton was sent off for Spartak. While it is mathematically possible for Spartak Moscow to steal Marseille’s second place and qualify for the next round, Marseille have a goal difference of +8, while Spartak’s is -4, so it’s very likely that Chelsea and Olympique Marseille will move on to the next round from Group F.

While Chelsea have qualified to the next round, Arsenal have made their qualification a little more difficult after their away loss to Sporting Braga. It was a 2-0 win for the Portuguese side with Matheus Nascimento scoring both very well taken goals. What will bother Arsenal fans the most is probably the fact that their side conceeded the goals in the 83^rd and 90^th minutes, and that they’ll probably have to win next Champions League matchday in order to qualify.

This is because Sporting Braga are tied with Arsenal with nine points, with the English side ahead by goal difference. Ahead of both of the sides is Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk which defeated Partizan 3-0, which puts them first with 12 points. Watching all the action from the very bottom of the table is the Serbian side Partizan, the team has only scored one goal, and has zero points, and their chances of picking up some points next matchday are slim, considering that they’ll be facing Arsenal which will be fighting for qualification.

Jose Mourinho will be glad that his team, Real Madrid, conquered first place in the group with a 4-0 away win over Ajax, but he won’t be too glad about the two players which received red cards in the final minutes of the match. Everything was going perfectly all the way until the last five minutes of the match, the Spanish side were 4-0 up with Benzema and Arbeloa on the scoresheet along with Ronaldo who scored twice, of which one of the goals was a penalty.

But in the 87^th minute Xabi Alonso gets a second yellow card for time wasting (his first was for throwing the ball away during a stoppage of play), and therefore a red card, and just minutes later Sergio Ramos replicates his teammate and gets sent off for wasting time as well! But Jose Mourinho won’t care too much, especially considering that this win mathematically qualifies his side in first place.

AC Milan have also mathematically qualified for the knockout round in second place after their 2-0 win away from home against Auxerre. And it was Ibrahimovic who scored a fantastic goal, a truly unstoppable rocket which shows that the Swede has been playing wonderfully and scoring plenty of goals to help his side, whether it be in the Champions League, or the Serie A. Ronaldinho got the other goal in the 90^th minute, a sly dribbling move finished by a curled left foot shot onto the far post.

What are your thoughts regarding these matches? Will Arsenal qualify? What about Roma? Can they catch Bayern? Share your comments below!

Under Jose Mourinho, Inter gradually developed an aura of invincibility, and their defence – generally made up of Maicon, Lucio, Samuel and Chivu (or Zanetti) – had become the envy of the rest of Europe. The Nerazzurri had finally brought back the success of generations gone by, and despite one or two question marks over the overall age, the squad looked formidable with quality players in every part of the team; Julio Cesar, Maicon, Walter Samuel, Lucio, Cambiasso, Sneijder, Eto’o and Milito to name a few.

Having secured a historic treble, Mourinho departed to take the reigns at Real Madrid, and Benitez was brought in to replace him. Since that moment, things seem to have got steadily worse for Inter. First they were tactically outclassed in the European Super Cup by Atlético Madrid, although this was followed by a more promising performanace in a 3-1 win over Roma in the Italian Super Cup.

After only managing to win the much less prestigious of these two trophies, which Mourinho considered to be “on a plate” for Benitez, Inter haven’t showed any real signs of improvement. Convincing 4-0 wins over Werder Bremen and Bari have been two of the only high-points of their season so far, but Bari are rooted to the bottom of Serie A and Werder Bremen are languishing in 11th place of the Bundesliga following their recent 6-0 humiliation at the hands of Stuttgart.

Benitez has to be held directly responsible for this slump, as he has handled just about every aspect of the team extremely poorly. Firstly, he wasn’t given any money to build a side in his image, so it was absolutely vital that he didn’t attempt to make any major changes to the way the team plays. Possibly out of pure stubbornness, he has tried his best to do so anyway by using two returning young, raw talents on the wings; Coutinho and Johnathan Biabiany. These two youngsters have been used in an effort to play uncharacteristically (both for Inter and Benitez) attacking, high-pressing football, but this move simply hasn’t paid off. These two players lack the experience to assert themselves regularly at a high level, and Coutinho is much more comfortable when he is playing as a central playmaker. As a result, Inter have often found themselves “enjoying” large periods of possession but they have lacked the spark and intelligence to open their opposition up.

Benitez’ insistence on playing a high defensive line has been even more bizarre. Inter’s defenders are fantastic in the tackle, dogged, brave and generally dominant in the air, but they can also be made to look very ordinary if they aren’t used correctly (as demonstrated by Walter Samuel and Lucio’s struggles at their previous clubs). One of their undoubted weaknesses is having balls played in behind them, and the high line has already caused this weakness to become exposed on multiple occasions. Gareth Bale managed to humiliate the previously-proud defence three times at the San Siro, and yet Inter still failed to learn their lesson. Bale again had repeated success in the return match, and things got no better against AC Milan. Milan broke Inter’s long, proud unbeaten home record with relative ease by playing early balls over the top of the defence for Ibrahimovic and Robinho to run onto, and in truth, they could’ve scored several more goals from this simple, unsubtle method of breaking through the Inter defence.

Unless Moratti loses patience before it’s too late (which is perfectly likely, considering his track record), it’s entirely possible that Inter will finish second to Spurs in Group A of the Champions League and then get overrun in the first knockout stage if they are drawn with one of the big forces. Jose Mourinho will be the smuggest man alive, as if he wasn’t already.

After a truly fantastic matchday of Champions League action, there are so many things to review, especially after so many goals were scored. There were 53 goals scored in all 16 matches of the Champions League this midweek, that’s an average of 3.31 goals per game! Not bad at all.

Real Madrid travelled to Milan to play the rossoneri, and while Jose Mourinho added a little spice to the crowd by waving with three fingers (which indicates the treble he won last season with Inter Milan), the match was full of excitement. The first goal came at the 45 minute mark when Higuain took advantage of a slightly disorganized Milan backline, received a simple pass with his back to goal, and turned around to slot it into the back of the net.

Then in the second half, Allegri put on Inzaghi for Ronaldinho, and the Italian striker was phenomenal for AC Milan. He scored two goals to give the home side the lead, and surpass Gerd Muller’s all time scoring record in the competition by scoring his 70th goal in the tournament.

But Mourinho is a sly and lucky man, and in the 94th minute of the game, substitute Karim Benzema picked out another substitute Pedro Leon with a defence-splitting through pass, and Leon finished through Abbiati’s legs for an epic equalizer. With this point, Real Madrid have qualified for the knockout stages, but AC Milan will have to do will in their upcoming two matches against Auxerre and Ajax to make sure they qualify as well.

There was another story of revenge in this Champions League midweek, with Eduardo’s side Shakhtar Donetsk defeating his former club Arsenal. Things looked a little worrying for Shakhtar when Samir Nasri clipped the outside of the Ukrainian goal in the beginning of the match. After that, just ten minutes into the match Theo Walcott scored a wonderful goal from a deadly counter-attack finished by a sublime low curling shot. Arsenal needed a win to cinch qualification, and things were looking good for the gunners early on.

But Shakhtar fought back right away, and managed to hit the woodwork and then forced Fabianski to an excellent save. Finally Shakhtar scored, and it was the former Barcelona player Chygrynskiy who headed home from a free kick, and Fabianski couldn’t do much since there was a slight deflection as the ball flicked off of Eastmond’s head. Then, the true blow for Arsenal fans arrived, and it was their former player Eduardo who delivered it. A composed first-touch finish by Eduardo from a low pass across Arsenal’s penalty box gave the home side the winner. And while Arsenal fought back, it wasn’t meant to be as Shakhtar held on for an amazing home win.

Tottenham defeated Inter Milan 3-1 at White Hart Lane, with another outstanding performance by Gareth Bale. The Welsh international dominated the left wing and assisted two goals for Harry Redknapp’s side, and it was Samuel Eto’o who scored a lovely goal for Inter Milan.

Chelsea also got a big win, 4-1 over Spartak Moscow, and it was Bratislav Ivanovic who scored a brace! Drogba also made his Champions League season debut this match, and had the captain’s armband on for the English club as he scored as well.

Roma fought for a good 3-2 win away against Basel, a particularly inspired Menez gave the Romans the lead, and then Totti followed up with a penalty. After that Frei pulled one back for the home side, but the youngster Greco scored Roma’s third to make sure that Basel didn’t get their hopes up. Shaqiri scored the final goal of the match to make it 3-2, as Roma pull off an important win in this Champions League campaign.

Bayern Munich travelled away and pummelled CFR Cluj 4-0 with Mario Gomez scoring a hat-trick, but that wasn’t the biggest scoreline of this midweek. Marseille defeated Zilina in Slovakia, with Gignac scoring a hat-trick, and even former Real Madrid defender Heinze getting a goal.

There were plenty of amazing matches, and sadly I can’t cover them all. Please comment below about any of the matches which happened in the Champions League today, or any which will be happening in the Europa League tomorrow!

With the another matchday of the Champions/Europa League group stages coming up, I’ve decided to take  a look at what could be the more interesting matches of the 40 which will be played in the two competitions. The way I’ve chosen these matches is by looking at the teams which are playing, how they’ve been doing recently, and whether it’s make or break time for them.

Tottenham Hotspur – Inter Milan

After the fantastic 4-3 match which the two sides played out last matchday at the San Siro, I couldn’t not not include this return fixture which will take place at Tottenham’s stadium, White Hart Lane. But this match looks to be slightly different from the previous one, especially with Inter Milan probably missing Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic, and their main keeper, Julio Cesar. But Tottenham have missing players as well, their main playmaker Rafael van der Vaart limped off holding his thigh on the weekend, so he might not be able to play against Inter. And Tottenham’s first choice keeper Gomes is suspended after the red card he received last game against Inter.

My prediction for this match is a 3-1 win for Inter Milan. I expect Rafa Benitez’s side to create and finish opportunities, especially with Samuel Eto’o up front, and I think that they’ll be a little more wary of Gareth Bale. Do you agree or disagree? Share your prediction below by commenting!

CSKA Moscow – Palermo

This match is a very interesting match, although Palermo have been playing some beautiful football in the Serie A, with their brilliantly talented playmaker Javier Pastore, they haven’t started well in the Europa League. The Italian side are second-last in the group with only three points, meanwhile CSKA Moscow are top of the table with nine points having won all three of their matches so far. But what I think makes this match very interesting is the fact that Palermo need to get a result, and they have the players to do it in style. So could we see a full-out attacking match by the Italian side which will be fighting for whatever it can get away from home? I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big scoreline from this match.

AC Milan – Real Madrid

This is a strange match, and while at first it may look like a clash of giants, I think that the game will be very one-sided for the Spanish side. The two historic sides faced each other at the Santiago Bernabeu last matchday, and that match was dominated by the home side which comfortably won 2-0. While you think that AC Milan will be able to pull something off at their home stadium in order to regain some pride, they just lost to Juventus 2-1 with the San Siro crowd booing the home side. As for Jose Mourinho’s side, Real Madrid are top of the La Liga table having scored 25 goals in just nine matches.

My prediction is a 2-1 win for Real Madrid. I think that Jose Mourinho is too meticulous and careful to detail to let this disorganized AC Milan side stop his team’s good run. And Cristiano Ronaldo looks sure to score considering that he has been playing wonderfully for Real. Agree or disagree with me? Well, make sure to share your thoughts on how this big match will go by commenting below!

FC Basel – Roma

This is a big match for Group E, with Bayern Munich in first with nine points, and the rest of the sides all tied up below the Germans with three, this could decide who goes through to the next round. Roma have been doing terribly in the Champions League, and having already faced FC Basel at their home stadium, the giallorossi were humiliated losing 3-1 in Rome. But Claudio Ranieri’s side has gained momentum, and after their latest 2-0 victory over Lecce, their were plenty of positive things which could be transferred in their away trip to Switzerland. So can Roma manage to win away against Basel to claim the second place in the group? We’ll have to wait and see until Wednesday before we get an answer.

If you have any thoughts or comments regarding matches in the Europa/Champions League, be sure to share them below by commenting!

There were plenty of upsets yesterday, could we see more today? On paper Manchester United, who have struggled as of late, could be expected to slip against CSKA after a long trip to Moscow but CSKA has not been performing well either. I am not expecting a feast of football from that match and the real drama lies elsewhere in the schedule.

One need look no further than the Real Madrid – AC Milan clash for a taste of drama. Kaka was at the centre of a massive transfer from Milan to Madrid this past summer and now comes the much anticipated meeting between the two sides. Madrid have been dominant offensively this season but as usual, their defence is capable of giving up suspect goals. Milan have struggled on all fronts, including a home loss to FC Zurich on Matchday 2. Milan scored a big win over Roma at the weekend with Ronaldinho involved in both goals so they cannot be written off so early. I am hoping for a high-scoring affair but both sides have been a little hard to predict this season. I think Madrd will just edge this one given the home-field advantage.

The other game that catches my eye is the Bayern Munich – Bordeaux clash. Bordeaux will hope for an improvement in form after consecutive losses in Ligue 1 – 3-1 away to AS Saint-Etienne and then 1-0 at AJ Auxerre this past weekend. The time could be right to defeat Bayern who will be without star wingers Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben as well as striker Ivica Oli? . Bayern will make some tactical adjustments and still have plenty to work with. In particular, keep your eye on Thomas Müller (pictured above) who has scored six goals in his last eight games, with five of those strikes coming in the final 20 minutes.

Full Wednesday schedule (my predictions in bold):
AC Milan v Real Madrid
Apoel Nicosia v FC Porto
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Bayern Munich v Bordeaux
Besiktas v Wolfsburg
Maccabi Haifa v Juventus
Manchester United v CSKA Moscow (DRAW)
Marseille v FC Zurich (DRAW)

Real Madrid has continued their massive summer overhaul and some big names will feature in new colors for the upcoming season. No longer wearing the famous white shirt of Madrid will be Dutch national teammates Arjen Robben and Wesley .

A more surprising move was the sale of Álvaro Negredo for the second time. Negredo has joined Sevilla FC on a five-year deal with the Rojiblancos paying a reported 15m Euros for his rights. Similar to the last time Madrid sold Negredo, they have asked for a buy-back option as part of the terms of the deal.

The 24-year-old is one of the hottest properties in Spanish football after scoring 31 goals in 70 Liga appearances for Almería over the past two seasons, including 19 last term as the club finished eleventh. That form (check out this YouTube video for evidence) convinced Madrid to exploit a buy-back clause in the deal that saw him leave the capital in 2007. I had thought that this might be the season he was given a chance to crack the starting XI but the big money deal for Karim Benzema was a signal of Madrid’s intentions to look elsewhere.

It was reported that English Premier League club Hull City had tabled an Negredo looked set to move to Hull in a 18m Euro offer for the striker, but Sevilla came in late and the prospect of Champions League football at a great club like Seville was too strong an offer to turn down for the young Spaniard.

Inter Milan’s search for an attacking midfielder ended when they signed Wesley Sneijder from Madrid for an undisclosed fee. I think this is a fantastic move for Inter though I must admit that Sneijder is one of the players I am biased about. The Dutch international, 25, has signed a four-year contract with the Italian champions after two seasons in Spain, where he scored eleven goals in 52 Liga appearances, helping Madrid win the championship in 2007/08. I think Sneijder still had a lot to offer Milan but spots in the midfield were going to be hard to come by with Ronaldo and Kaka arriving this summer. Sneijder has been capped 55 times by the Netherlands and has represented the Oranje at every major international tournament since his debut in 2003 when he was only 18. He joins new signings Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito, Lucio and Marko Arnautovic in José Mourinho’s new-look squad.

Another Dutch departure, Arjen Robben has joined fellow countryman Louis van Gaal at FC Bayern München for an undisclosed fee. It seems like he has been around a long time but the Dutch winger is just 25 and the thought of Bayern being able to deploy both Robben and Ribery on the flanks must have some defences nervous. Robben passed a medical this morning before putting his name to a four-year contract in a transfer rumoured to be worth as much as 25m Euros. Robben could be available for Saturday’s showdown with last season’s Bundesliga champs, VfL Wolfsburg.

One earlier move that I disagreed with was the sale of Dutch striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Real Madrid shipped him off to AC MIlan for a reported fee of 15m Euros, just eight months after they had paid AFC Ajax 27m Euros for his rights. Huntelaar’s goal-scoring record is phenomenal as he notched 76 goals in 92 Eredivisie matches for Ajax and despite being limited to 13 Liga starts at the Santiago Bernabéu, he still scored eight goals.

The draw for the group stage of the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League was held Thursday in Monaco. Last season’s finalists face some tough going but they are not alone in that regard. FC Barcelona will begin their trophy defence in Group F with games against FC Internazionale Milano, FC Dynamo Kyiv and FC Rubin Kazan while some long away trips are looming for Manchester United FC who were drawn in a group with CSKA Moscow and Besiktas.

The Inter – Barca matchup is intriguing as the two clubs conducted a massive swap of star strikers over the summer. Heading to Italy was Samuel Eto’o (plus a massive amount of cash to Inter) while Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined Barcelona. Another player who was the centre of a big money transfer will also be given an immediate return to his old stomping grounds. Brazilian playmaker Kaka and his Real Madrid galactico pals will face AC Milan. Marseille and FC Zurich round out Group C but have to be hoping for some major upsets if they have any chance of advancing. Real Madrid will have all the motivation they need with this season’s final being hosted at their home stadium.

Bayern Munich, who have struggled out of the gate this season, are up against Juventus, French champions Bordeaux and Maccabi Haifa in Group A. Based on their current form, I just cannot see Bayern progressing. It’s much too early for predictions but the German-based side has much work to do under new manager Louis Van Gaal if they are to improve results.

The groups are as follows:
Group A: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa.
Group B: Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Wolfsburg.
Group C: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich
Group D: Chelsea, Porto, Atletico Madrid, APOEL Nicosia
Group E: Liverpool, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debreceni
Group F: Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dynamo Kiev, Rubin Kazan
Group G: Sevilla, Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni
Group H: Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard Liege

Prior to the draw, UEFA awarded Barca forward Lionel Messi the 2009 European Footballer of the Year and Best Forward, while his teammate Xavi Hernández was not surprisingly named last season’s Top Midfielder. Manchester United’s Edwin Van der Sar was named Top Goalkeeper and Chelsea captain John Terry picked up his second consecutive Top Defender award.

It has been a while since we’ve had some UEFA competition to talk about but the UEFA Cup Round of 32 kicks off today and tomorrow with some fantastic matchups.

The showcase fixture has to be Werder Bremen vs AC Milan. Werder have struggled this seasons and are basically out of the running in the Bundesliga title hunt so the UEFA Cup is one of their only shots (they are also still active in the DFB Pokal) at some glory for this season. Their most recent result can be seen as a microcosm of their season. A 1-1 draw at home against last place Borussia Monchengladbach has to be viewed as another lost opportunity. Despite creating a wealth of chances and dominating posession, Werder simply could not find their touch in front of goal and dropped valuable points.

AC Milan have also seen their chances of a domestic league triumph go up in smoke after they lost 2-1 to bitter rivals Inter Milan this past weekend. The loss drops them 11 points behind Inter and while they could still make up that ground, it looks a tall order at the moment. Going into this match, Milan have two notable injury worries. Undoubtedly their best player, Kaka, is unlikely to play due to a left foot injury. David Beckham may also not be ready to go after a slight hamstring pull. Beckham has been the subject of many headlines as Milan attempted to make his loan deal permanent but have failed to reach an agreement with MLS.

I am looking for Milan’s experience and depth to pull them through this tie but it could be a close one.

A couple of teams I am pushing to make the next round are PSG and FC Twente. Both are led by coaches who have had their reputation tarnished by underperforming squads and impatience in the job. McClaren was dismissed as England manager after missing out on Euro 2008 qualifying. There has been much laughter at his expense but he has quietly done a nice job with FC Twente. They were unfortunate to be drawn against Arsenal in their Champions League qualifying attempt but have done well in UEFA Cup play. McClaren has led the club to 2nd place in the Eredivisie, currently ahead of traditional powerhouses Ajax and PSV.

Paul Le Guen was ushered out the door at Ibrox after less than a full season in charge. He landed in another job, this time with Paris St. Germain, who at the time of his hiring were lying 17th in Ligue 1 and in danger of being relegated but he led them to safety in his 1st season finishing 15th. This season he has them challenging at the other end of the table as they currently sit 2nd in the league.

My predictions for the Round of 32 are below.

Wednesday fixtures:
Dynamo Kiev (UKR) v Valencia (ESP)
Zenit St-Petersburg (RUS) v VfB Stuttgart (GER)
Olympiakos (GRE) v St Etienne (FRA)
Aston Villa (ENG) v CSKA Moscow (RUS)
Werder Bremen (GER) v AC Milan (ITA)
Paris St Germain (FRA) v VfL Wolfsburg (GER)
NEC Nijmegen (NED) v Hamburg SV (GER)
Sampdoria (ITA) v Metalist Kharkov (UKR)
Bordeaux (FRA) v Galatasaray (TUR)
Aalborg (DEN) v Deportivo La Coruna (ESP)
Braga (POR) v Standard Liege (BEL)

Thursday fixtures:
Lech Poznan (POL) v Udinese (ITA)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) v Tottenham (ENG)
FC Copenhagen (DEN) v Manchester City (ENG)
Marseille (FRA) v FC Twente (NED)
Fiorentina (ITA) v Ajax (NED)

Who do you see advancing? Which ties have the most potential for upset?