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!

The Champions League group stages have been extremely exciting this season, and as the knockout stages draw nearer, we’re beginning to see the sides which will take part in the latter stages of the competition. Right now, the sides which have qualified are: Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Schalke 04, Lyon, Manchester United, Valencia, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Manchester United – Valencia

Manchester United sealed their qualification in first place of the group after drawing 1-1 against Valencia at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side started with a bit of complacency, they were sloppy, and unable to transition quickly like they were able to do in their 7-1 victory against Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, mostly because Valencia closed them down quickly and efficiently. Berbatov and Anderson both had great opportunities to score, but poor finishing was what stopped United from taking the lead. Then Michael Carrick lost the ball (not for the first time) and allowed Pablo Hernandez to score the opening goal for Valencia.

What Manchester United were lacking was a bit of spark, a midfield maestro, or an experienced playmaker in the middle of the park. The second half began, and Rio Ferdinand had to be substituted in the 50th minute, when his hamstring seemed to be causing him problems. Chris Smalling was placed in the center of defence, and the big defender struggled against a Valencia side which was looking for another goal. But Manchester United got the final goal of the match, tying up the result which qualifies them in first place of the group.

It was the lively Anderson who got on the end of Park Ji-Sung’s parried shot, and the Brazilian tucked away his first goal at Old Trafford. It was a good game, and Valencia looked very dangerous against a slightly complacent Manchester United side. It’ll be interesting to see which side will have to face Valencia, and I’m sure that the Spanish club will give their next opponents a tough game.

FC Twente – Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur also qualified in first place of their group after their 3-3 draw, away against FC Twente. Harry Redknapp’s side had a lucky start when the FC Twente goalkeeper Boschker scored a comical own goal in the 12th minute. Boschker was about to clear a pass from his defender, Wisgerhof, and the keeper completely missed the ball, allowing it to roll into the back of his own net! But Twente recovered and eventually equalized when they were awarded a penalty about ten minutes later when the ball bounced off of Assou-Ekkoto’s arm.

In the second half the two sides alternated scoring goals, with Jermain Defoe scoring a brace, and Chadli scoring a fantastic free kick which equalized the score at 3-3. It was a great result for Tottenham, especially with their rivals for first place, Inter Milan, being humiliated 3-0 by Werder Bremen.

Other games

Barcelona had few problems defeating Rubin Kazan 2-0 at the Camp Nou. Josep Guardiola put out a very young side, and his youngsters proved him right with 21 year-old Andreu Fontas and 23 year-old Victor Vazquez scoring the two goals.

Copenhagen also qualified in the same group with Barcelona after their 3-1 win against Panathinaikos. The Danish side had no trouble until the 90th minute, when Kante scored a consolation goal for Panathinaikos, making the final score 3-1 for Copenhagen.

Schalke 04 qualified in first place of their group after a fantastic 2-1 away win against Benfica. Schalke were two up with Jurado and Howedes having scored the goals when Luisao scored a consolation goal for Benfica. This win is fantastic for Felix Magath’s side which hasn’t been playing too well this season. Maybe this is where their season turns around?

Lyon qualified second behind Schalke 04 after their exciting 2-2 draw against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Hapoel Tel Aviv thought that they’d managed to win when Zahavi scored their second goal with a beautiful bicycle kick to make it 2-1, but it was the youngster Lacazette who ruined their victory dreams. If the Israeli side had managed to hold on for the win, they’d have qualified for the Europa League, but instead it will be Benfica which will be playing in the Europa League this season.

Share your comments regarding the Champions League action below!

With just one more set of group stage matches to go, many teams have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages, but few did it better than Barcelona. Although Valencia destroyed Bursaspor 6-1, Barcelona played their usual brand of spectacular football, and they crushed Panathinaikos 3-0.Right now the teams which have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages are:

Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Schalke 04, Manchester United, Valencia, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Among the qualified teams you have some surprises, the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur fought well for their spot defeating the German side Werder Bremen 3-0 at home. Aaron Lennon was devastating on the right wing as he provided two assists with phenomenal runs. Eunice Kaboul netted the first with a great volley, Modric scored the second after Crouch headed it down into the Croatian’s path to control and volley, and then the big Englishman Crouch got a goal as well, tapping in from close range after Lennon had nutmegged a defender before passing it to him.

Inter Milan also qualified with their 1-0 win over Twente, and although the Italian side has been going through difficult times with a big injury list, Rafa Benitez’s side played excellently. Although the nerazzurri hit the woodwork a couple of times, the lone goal was scored by Cambiasso who reacted first to get on the end of a deflection off of Sneijder’s free kick. But Twente were dangerous as well, they clipped the crossbar late in the second half after a well worked chance, but the nerazzurri had already won. If you’re interested in a full breakdown of how Italian teams are doing in the Champions League, click here.

Manchester United also won, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team defeated Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox Stadium with a late penalty scored by Wayne Rooney. Rangers had played well throughout the match, and although the red devils had some good chances during the match, they never capitalized. But the win arrived with Wayne Rooney scoring the late penalty and celebrating with plenty of intensity.

What are your thoughts regarding the teams which have qualified? Make sure to share your thoughts regarding the Champions League matches below!

The penultimate matchday of the Champions League group stages is coming up, and it’s make-or-break time for some big clubs. These midweek matches could even decide the future for some coaches, like Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan, who’s been getting some bad results with the holders of the Champions League. Plenty of teams have the chance to qualify for the knockout round, but they’ll have to do the business, and see how they match up against Europe’s other elite sides.

Roma – Bayern Munich

This is a match of huge proportions for both sides, while Bayern Munich have already mathematically qualified, the Bavarian side has been having lots of difficulty in the Bundesliga. Louis van Gaal’s side is 8th in Germany’s top league, with 14 points to make up between them and the table-leaders Borussia Dortmund. So this match is relatively important if Bayern want to begin to string together some wins, and have a hope of retaining the Bundesliga title this season. Roma on the other hand have six points in the group, and they lead the other two sides by three points. Claudio Ranieri needs to win this match if he wants to go deep into this competition with the giallorossi, and it seems like his squad has the momentum. The frenchman Menez has scored great goals so far this season, and he looks like a very dangerous player for any opposition defence, the question is, will he be able to pierce Bayern’s?

All of the Group A matches

Group A is extremely tight right now, you have last season’s competition winners, Inter Milan, second only by goal difference to the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur, with both sides on seven points, and below those two, Twente have five points, while Werder Bremen only have two! So the matches taking place in this group are crucial to see who will pass through to the next round, and who will come first.

First you have Inter Milan hosting Twente, and the Dutch side get to face Benitez’s team at the perfect time. The nerazzurri are in total disarray, having not won once in their past five matches, and the team is devastated by injuries to many key players. So if Twente can pull off a surprise win away from home,they’ll have a good chance of going through to the next round in place of the holders of the competition.

The other Group A match is first placed Tottenham Hotspur hosting Werder Bremen, and it’s the German side which has been doing badly this season. They’re 12th in the Bundesliga table, just four points away from the relegation zone, and in the Champions League group, qualification would take a miracle. Tottenham on the other hand are coming in to this match having just won a fantastic North London Derby against Arsenal where they came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, away from home! So while on paper this looks like a pretty simple Tottenham win, Werder Bremen might pull out a sneak result, putting a stick between the spokes of Tottenham’s Champions League campaign.

I haven’t been able to adress all the matches which will be taking place this midweek, but if you have any comments or thoughts regarding any matches in the Champions League, make sure to share them 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!

Congratulations to Inter Milan on winning the 2010 Champions League Final. More pictures after the jump.

After Jose Mourinho’s triumphant Champions League semi-final victory against Barcelona over two legs, you have to wonder where he goes from here. If he’s able to coach his Internationale team to victory in the final against Bayern Munich, the world is Mourinho’s oyster. New manager at Real Madrid? Sure, if the price is right (and he would undoubtedly command a massive salary). Manchester City? The owner could afford The Special One, but would Mourinho want to step down to rebuild a club that would require 2-3 years of his guidance to turn into a top Premier League and Champions League contender.

If Mourinho can outwit Louis van Gaal and win the Champions League Final in late May, Chelsea will kick themselves for letting Mourinho go when they did. I don’t know about you, but I miss seeing Mourinho in the Premier League. Maybe he would be ready to replace Ferguson when he departs Manchester United? But that could be several years before that happens and who knows what could occur in that time.

Congratulations to Mourinho on being a masterful tactician who enabled his Inter Milan team to play a sound game, which suffocated Barcelona’s attacks. If he can beat Bayern Munich in the final, he will be remembered as one of the best managers in recent times. He could go anywhere, manage any team or country and they would welcome him with open arms.

(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?