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!

Tonight’s game promised to give one of the closest indications so far of who could become European champions this year, but in truth, nobody could’ve predicted what followed. Barcelona dissected their rivals with precise, incisive play that arguably would have torn absolutely any team in the world apart. In doing so, they confirmed their status as clear favourites for the Champions League once again, and it’d take a brave man to doubt them. With 13 goals in their last 2 league games, they are beginning to look even more menacing than they ever did in their historic 2008/09 season, and their form will be striking fear into managers across the continent.

Regardless of tonight’s result, however, it would still be naïve to completely write off Real Madrid at this stage. They will have learnt a great deal from tonight’s events, and in particular, Mourinho will now have a far better understanding of his team’s strengths and weaknesses, and possibly even his own managerial weaknesses. The biggest concern has to be the fact that he abandoned his usual “park the bus” (for want of a less horribly clichéd term) tactics for these key matches in favour of a slightly more ambitious counter attacking system, and saw his team get dismantled with relative ease. Real were exposed down both flanks, and coupled with a high defensive line, Barca always threatened to get in behind and cut the ball across goal to create more chances. Will this cause Mourinho to abandon these more ambitious tactics in future big games despite the pressure from those above him? Only time will tell, but it may be Real’s only chance of success, considering their weakness in the core areas compared to the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea.

Outside of Spain, it appears that the usual recent suspects will be challenging – almost by default. In England, Manchester United remain unbeaten and are now finally hitting their stride, having predictably struggled to find any real form in the first third of the season. Their defence looks imperious once again, Nani is in the form of his life, and with Rooney dropping deep to play behind Berbatov, the two forwards finally look capable of reaching their potential as a partnership. Chelsea have begun to stutter of late, and this has highlighted the challenge they face. When fully fit, their squad is intimidating to even look at, but remove two or three key players and suddenly they become a beatable side. For this reason, it will be absolutely essential for them to keep Lampard, Drogba, Essien, Malouda and Terry fit if they’re to have a realistic chance of toppling Europe’s elite sides for the first time. They may well struggle to keep up with the congested fixture list in the closing period of the season unless they make a couple of signings in January – David Luiz of Benfica is one player currently heavily linked with the club. Arsenal, meanwhile, appear to be suffering from the same problems that seem to plague them every year. They remain uncertain at the back and display a real lack of character whenever they have found themselves under heavy pressure, so although the quarter finals will be a minimum expectation, this will most likely be the furthest they go unless they avoid the top sides – particularly Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona.

Both of last year’s finalists; Inter and Bayern, have looked extremely underwhelming so far this season. Without the injured Arjen Robben, Bayern have looked painfully mediocre for long periods, but they still look set to top Group E, ahead of Roma. If the draw is favourable to them, they might just have a chance of reaching the semi finals, but their reliance on Robben will once again be huge. One sign for encouragement, though, is the sudden improvement of Mario Gomez. The big-money signing from Stuttgart struggled to impress in his first season at the Allianz Arena, but he has now scored 16 goals in 20 appearances this season. Inter, however, will now almost certainly finish second in Group A behind Tottenham Hotspur and this will most likely mean they have to face one of the favourites for the competition in the next round. Unless they are lucky enough to be drawn with Shakhtar or Schalke, the writing may well be on the wall for them unless they make drastic changes in the January transfer window. The squad is finally beginning to show its age, and Rafael Benitez is already under huge pressure, following a multitude of disappointing results and unacceptable performances so far this season.

I would love to be able to predict great success for Shakhtar Donetsk or Copenhagen, but truthfully speaking, it will be a colossal surprise if any team other than those already mentioned features in the Wembley final. If I had to predict an outsider to cause a few shocks, it would be Tottenham. They are absolutely desperate for a top class midfield enforcer to replace the wasteful and clumsy Wilson Palacios, and they still lack the world-renowned goalscorer they searched so hard for in the summer, but Rafael Van Der Vaart, Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon have already proven they can expose just about any defence around. They have beaten Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Inter in the last 6 months or so, but under the extreme pressure of a Champions League knockout match, it would be no great surprise to see them crumble.

After failing to reach the finish line last season, Barcelona will be determined to re-claim the Champions League trophy and it’s looking increasingly likely that they will do so this year. The only hope for the rest of Europe is that Manchester United or Chelsea face them as early as possible and somehow nullify them in order to grind out a positive result over two legs. If they reach the final, there is simply no way they will be stopped in a one-off match if they reach the levels they are capable of finding.

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!

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!

Barca will host Arsenal this week in the return leg of the Champions League as the Spaniards continue their quest to retain their crown as European champions. Barcelona appeared headed to an easy 2-0 victory before Arsenal mounted a comeback to salvage a home draw.

The two sides will suffer consequences as a result of the incidents from the entertaining first-leg with Cesc Fabregas suffering from an injury which ended his season while Barca will miss their captain Carles Puyol for the return match due to the red-card after he conceded the late penalty which Fabregas duly converted. The loss of Fabregas cannot be underestimated because he is the beating heart of the club, the undisputed leader and the orchestrator of most of the Arsenal attacks. The Spaniard, who ironically started his career in Barca’s youth ranks and moved to Arsenal without playing a single game for the first-time, has scored 15 goals in the Premiership and assisted on 13 others. No one is close to the midfielder in either ranking with Andrei Arshavin the closest having scored 9 goals in the league.

No doubt the statistics show the loss of Fabregas is a massive one for the Gunners and there is a possibility Arshavin might miss as well leaving Arsenal with few weapons to cause Barca any major concerns. The hosts will miss Puyol and Gerard Pique but their best strategy will be to rely on their offensive weapons to keep Arsenal at bay and locked in a more defensive stance. Barca’s choice will be to attack and this should force the Gunners to focus on their defensive duties.

With Lionel Messi leading the charge and having looked ordinary for once in recent weeks when the two sides played in London, it would be hard to bet against the star player performing some magical moves and even tormenting the Arsenal back-line. Messi is fortunate to have midfield duo Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta who can supply some incisive and quality passing as well as maintain the ball when required.

Arsenal will also be without William Gallas  and the performance of their goalkeeper Manuel Almunia this season has been inconsistent at best.  On the other side Barca have announced their Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored both goals for the visitors  in the first-leg, will miss the mid-week clash against Arsenal.

Considering injuries and suspensions as well as the quality and depth of the two sides, it would be fair to say Barca have the edge and this was outlined with the favourable 2-2 draw in London. Barca will likely advance unless some decisive incidents and officiating decisions will go Arsenal’s way during the match.

It’s only days away from the opening of the transfer window — a time when much cash will be splashed and many sides will be re-shaped and benches re-inforced. Because there can be some major impact signings, I am waiting to analyze the match-ups in the Champions League Round of 16 and the Europa League Round of 32 until after the transfer window closes. Those competitions do not kick off again until February 16th. Here are a few articles I’ve been checking out the past few days in anticipation of the spending spree.

Real Madrid’s Surplus Goods List
Fulham are also doing some house cleaning

Depending who you want to believe, Valencia sniper David Villa is going to Manchester United, Chelsea, or Real Madrid. It looks like Villa will move either in January or the summer transfer window as Valencia will likely have to sell two from Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata in a bid to cut down their £450m in debt.

Chelsea may be more interested in a striker from another debt-laden Spanish club, Atletico Madrid’s Kun Aguero.

Luca Toni will be another name featuring in many headlines with a return to Italy looming. Will he land at Internazionale?

Zenit St Petersburg are said to be considering a move for Fiorentina’s striker Adrian Mutu
after declining on a purchase option on PSG forward Mateja Kežman.

Special Note: Be sure to check out Major League Soccer Talk as they will have the most in-depth coverage of the Landon Donovan loan spell with Everton.

For over half a century, the UEFA Champions League is the championship that European teams aspire to win. Although the modern competition has been competed for since 1992, the competition in its previous format has been played for each year since 1955. It has become known worldwide as one of the most prestigious trophy competitions in world football.

The three knockout stages begin in mid July. These knockout stages yield sixteen teams who then go through to join sixteen seeded teams in group stages consisting of eight groups of four teams. Eight group winners and eight runners up compete in the knockout stages until the final is played in May. Twenty one different clubs have won the competition. Of these, twelve have won the Champions League more than once. Real Madrid hold the record for the most wins. Milan follow with seven wins. Liverpool are the most successful British club with five wins.

The first season of the competition saw Real Madrid beat Stade de Reims 4-3 in Paris. Real Madrid dominated the competition in the first five seasons culminating in the 1960 final in Glasgow against Eintracht Frankfurt which Real Madrid won 7-3, and despite the scoreline, Eintracht played their part in a memorable game.

The first British success came in 1967 when Celtic beat Internazionale 2-1 in Lisbon. This was followed in the following year by a famous victory at Wembley by Manchester United over Benfica. United won 4-1 ten years after the tragic Munich air disaster which cruelly deprived Manchester United of some young talented players. Dutch football teams dominated the competition for the next five years followed by the emergence of a great Bayern Munich side which claimed the cup over the next three seasons. English teams followed the Bayern lead and took control of the competition for the next five years with Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa all taking the trophy. Since the mid 1980s, no country has managed to put together a run of wins, but the big names of European football have all been represented on the winners rostrum; AC Milan, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid again. Manchester United had already won the Premiership title in England, but seemed to be losing their final in Barcelona in 1999 when two inspired substitutions by Sir Alex Ferguson saw United turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win with almost the last kick of the game. Recent competitions again have failed to throw up a dominant country.

This year Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool have all made their way to the knockout stages of the competition and have mirrored recent European success for English teams. The final will be played in Rome on 27th May 2009, and although English teams would hope to feature in the final, there can be no guarantees as the European Champions League provides surprises and great football. For more European Champions League news go to Hotels near Chelsea.

The story that generated the most headlines outside of the Kaka to Manchester City, was the saga of Robbie Keane’s departure from Liverpool back to Tottenham. Keane made his “dream move” to Liverpool this past summer when the club splashed out an initial £19m to buy his services from Tottenham Hotspur. After failing to win a regular starting place under Rafa Benitez, Keane has signed a four-year contract at Spurs with the fee starting at £12m and rising with add-ons. Keane managed to score just five goals in 19 appearances for Liverpool. The transfer would appear to be a good move for Tottenham, as another recent returnee, striker Jermain Defoe, will be out of action until April because of a foot injury he picked up in training.

The club also did some work to address the areas I felt need strengthening — defence and central midfield. They acquired some help at the back in yet another former player, Pascal Chimbonda, who left Sunderland and apparently took a pay cut to return to Spurs. The central midfielder they purchased, Wilson Palacios, is another creative type and I’m still not sure if he’s what they need. Palacios is a nice player, very creative but I’m not convinced he’ll add the graft they need in central midfield.

Spurs also picked up Carlo Cudicini to give manager Harry Redknapp another experienced choice for tge goalkeeper position. Chelsea allowed him to move on a free transfer, and thanked the Italian “for his years of service and wish him well”. The 35-year-old was Chelsea’s second-longest serving player behind John Terry, having joined the club from ASD Castel di Sangro Calcio in 1999 when the London side were still coached by fellow Italian Gianluca Vialli. Cudicini was Chelsea’s 2002 Player of the Year and was first choice for several years prior to Petr Cech’s arrival at Stamford Bridge in 2004.

Tottenham are still near the foot of the Premier League in 14th place, but are just one point clear of the bottom three with 14 Premier League fixtures remaining. They are still involved in UEFA Cup play (with a Round of 32 tie against Shakhtar Donetsk slated for Feb 19th and 26th) and have a Carling Cup final date against Manchester United at Wembley on March 1st. The returning Keane will not be eligible for that match because he is cup-tied.

Tottenham’s spending spree helped push Premier League clubs total outlay to a record £178m in this January transfer window, compared with £146m in 2008, £63m in 2007 and only £35m when the system was introduced in 2003. Credit crunch? What credit crunch?

Coming in a close second in generating the most stories was the prolonged transfer of Andrey Arshavin from Zenit St. Petersburg to Arsenal. The on-again, off-again move was finally completed 24 hours after the actual closing of the transfer window. The move to Arsenal is important for several reasons. First, they are in the midst of a battle for a top-four spot and a berth into the Champions League. Secondly, the club has been lacking some creativity in the midfield and Arshavin has shown himself to be a world-class player through his displays in the UEFA Cup and at Euro 2008. Lastly, the reported £16 or 17m fee dispels the myth that Arsene Wenger is unwilling to spend money in the transfer market. He has long maintained that he would only spend big money on an actual star-caliber player. The 27-year-old playmaker has claimed the vacant No 23 shirt.

A strange move, at least strange to me, was Julien Faubert’s leaving West Ham United FC on a loan to Real Madrid CF until the end of the season. The versatile 25-year-old Frenchman had filled in at right-back as well as on the right side of midfield for West Ham and will give Real Madrid coach Juande Ramos options on the right side. Madrid have the option of buying him outright in June though no fee was disclosed. The move is strange for me, not that Faubert is not good enough to be a Real Madrid player, though some might question that, but rather that West Ham would be willing to part ways with him. He seemed to be a useful player to have around but the BBC reports that Real will pay a £1.5m fee for the loan, which may be all the explanation needed. West Ham are reportedly tight for funds and the fee + future transfer funds was obviously too tempting. Faubert has been given the No. 18 jersey, a number that he inherits from Ruben de la Red, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season because of his heart problems.

In another bit of related news, Real Madrid had to choose between new signings for their Champions League squad as UEFA rules that state only one player can be registered who has already played in a UEFA competition with another club this season. Real Madrid decided to select midfielder Lassana Diarra to play in the Champions League knockout stages and not striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Real, who face Liverpool in the Champions League last 16, had argued that the rule was discriminatory, pointing to players who can play in two European competitions when their clubs drop from the Champions League into the UEFA Cup. Huntelaar and Diarra have already played in the UEFA Cup this season for Ajax and Portsmouth respectively.

Chelsea have secured the loan signing of Ricardo Quaresma from Internazionale after the Portugal international winger was left out of the club’s squad for the knock-out phase of the Champions League by manager Jose Mourinho. Quaresma has worked with Luiz Felipe Scolari with the Portuguese national team and will look to get some confidence back after being labelled as a ‘flop’ by Inter fans. He was heckled during recent matches after failing to make the desired impact at the San Siro since joining from Porto for around £15m last summer. Worringly, the Portuguese’s spell in Italy mirrored the one he endured at Barcelona in his one season at the Catalan club and there will now be questions about his ability to “step up to the big time”.

(photo courtesy of uefa.com)

Wow. There are some really great match-ups that have emerged from today’s draw at UEFA headquarters. I’m going to give a quick rundown and early predictions though I reserve the right to change my mind before kick-off of the this round!

The tie that will likely generate the most press is the Inter Milan – Manchester United clash. It is a return to English soil for former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. Mourinho and Alex Ferguson have always been cordial but there have been tense moments between the two. One was brought on by Mourinho’s celebratory run down the touchline at Old Trafford in March 2004. Jose celebrated Francisco Costinha’s last-minute equaliser as if he had scored it himself. That goal knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League and Porto went on to victory in the final, which elevated Mourinho to the status of being one of the eilte managers in the game.

In another interesting twist, Chelsea will welcome back another one of their former bosses as Claudio Ranieri’s Juventus have been paired with Chelsea. Completing the Anglo-Italian showdown is the clash of two attack-minded sides as Arsenal take on AS Roma.

A thought for poor Lyon who were matched up against the current form team in Europe, Barcelona. It’s going to be a tall mountain to climb for the French champs but it is not impossible.

I will do a more thorough breakdown in the weeks leading up to the next round but for now, here are my early predictions based on current form:

Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v FC Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United

Who do you think will advance? Which match-up are you most anticipating?