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!

The 2010-11 Lique Un season is around the corner and in preparation for the new season, we thought we’d share with you some of the new jerseys from a selection of French teams.

The above photograph features the new home, away and third jerseys for AS Nancy, but below you can see photographs of the new shirts from top French clubs such as Bordeaux, Lyon, Lille, Rennes, Olympique Marseille and St. Etienne.

Here are the rest of the Lique Un shirts mentioned:

Bordeaux home shirt shown above.

Bordeaux away shirt shown above.

Bordeaux third shirt shown above.

Lille home shirt shown above.

Lille away shirt shown above.

Lyon home shirt shown above.

Lyon away shirt shown above.

Olympique Marseille away shirt shown above.

Rennes away shirt shown above.

St. Etienne away shirt shown above.

Matchday 3 sees some crucial match-ups but none may be more important at this stage than the Standard Liege – Olympiacos fixture. Arsenal look to be a lock for top spot in Group H but second place is wide open. A win today for Olympiacos would put them in the driver’s seat.

If they lose at home today against Arsenal, last season’s Eredivise champions AZ Alkmaar could be done. AZ are struggling this season, having already lost five of their ten Eredivisie matches and have only collected one point from the first two Matchdays. Coach Louis van Gaal, who guided them to the title last season, left in the summer to take over at Bayern Munich, and his successor Ronald Koeman, formerly of Barcelona, has not got the team playing at their best yet. Another loss would severely dent their hopes of even making the Europa League parachute spot.

Another club that has under-performed in recent outings is Liverpool. Life was not a beach for the Reds as a loss to Sunderland in the English Premier League on Saturday followed on the heels of a loss in the domestic league to Chelsea and a defeat in the Champions League to Fiorentina. The once-solid back four has many critics now and a loss to Lyon could have the fans and media calling for change.  Rafa Benitez  might be looking ahead to a crucial clash against Manchester United this coming weekend so it will be interesting to see what his team selection and formation will be. Benitez did indicate in his press conference on Monday that Fernando Torres would not be available so that will likely mean Dirk Kuyt starting up front on his own.

Full Tuesday schedule (my predictions in bold):
AZ v Arsenal
Barcelona v Rubin Kazan
Debreceni v Fiorentina
Inter Milan v Dynamo Kiev
Liverpool v Lyon (DRAW)
Olympiacos v Standard Liege
Rangers v Unirea Urziceni
VfB Stuttgart v Sevilla (DRAW)

This season’s Champions League and Europa League has its usual cast of superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery but I wanted to feature a few names that I think you’ll be hearing a lot more about as the January transfer window approaches.

1) Miralem Pjanic — midfielder — Olympique Lyonnais
The “new Juninho” (pictured above) has actually lived up to the moniker thus far. He has become a fulcrum for the French side, pulling the strings in midfield and scoring from free kicks. He was even handed Juninho’s old No8 shirt for this season. Many clubs will be inquiring about him come January but they must keep in mind that the talented youngster rejected interest from Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid to move to Lyon from Metz in 2008.

2) Gergely Rudolf — striker — Debreceni VSC
The 24-year-old is in the final year of his contract and was a bright spot in a losing effort against Lyon. Rudolf made a second-half appearance after recovering from a knee injury and forced Lyon’s keeper into making several good stops. Rudolf has blossomed at Debreceni after spending 5 seasons with AS Nancy’s B team. He has recorded a good strike rate since returning to his native land and could be a target for many clubs this January.

3) Patrick ‘Paddy’ McCourt — winger — Celtic FC
McCourt has yet to appear in the Europa League for Celtic but one feels its just a matter of time before he’s given a chance to shine. McCourt has shown flashes of what Jinky Johnstone used to thrill Celtic supporters with week-in and week-out — terrific weaving runs past defenders. The former Derry City player has been outstanding at times and even managed to get Falkirk supporters to give him a standing ovation for this sublime goal. He scored an even better one against St Mirren.

4) Bryan Ruiz — striker — FC Twente
Fans of the US national team will recognize this name as he scored two cracking goals against them in the most recent World Cup qualifier. Costa Rica is currently on the outside looking in but still have a shot to qualify if they can beat Uruguay in a playoff. Ruiz’s skill and creativity will be vital if they are to have any hope. For his club, FC Twente, he has gotten off to a flying start with five goals in nine appearances. The 23-year-old was signed from KAA Gent for a reported club record fee of €5m during the summer transfer window.

5) Eliaquim Mangala — centre back — Standard Liege
I realize that this article has predominantly focused on midfielders and strikers but I would be remiss if I did not give this young man a mention. The French youngster with Congolese roots has a strong work rate and can be used as a holding midfielder or centre back. He has some technical skill as well. He scored just two minutes into his Champions League debut match against Arsenal FC with a clinical finish.

After strong showings in the first leg of the playoff round, both Lyon and Arsenal are in a comfortable position to enter the group stage. Lyon can claim a tenth consecutive group-stage appearance unless they completely fall apart. The French club overwhelmed RSC Anderlecht 5-1 last week, while a 2-0 deficit would appear insurmountable for Celtic FC as they travel to London to take on Arsenal.

Celtic have to overcome a Gunners side in top form if they are to progress – they must win away in Europe for only the second time in 24 matches. Celtic have fought back from a home defeat once already in this season’s qualifiers, beating Dinamo Moscow 2-0 in Moscow on goals from Scott McDonald and Georgios Samaras to make overturn a 1-0 first-leg loss in Glasgow. It was Celtic’s first away win in Europe in 23 matches. A win for Arsenal will mean a 12th successive appearance in the UEFA Champions League. On current form, I simply cannot see Arsenal losing 3-0 at home to Celtic

Despite their gutsy performance, Panathinaikos find themselves needing to make history on two fronts to book a place in the group stage of the Champions League. Beyond needing to win on Spanish soil for the first time in their history, they must also mount a first successful comeback from an opening home loss in Europe competition. On the five previous occasions Panathinaikos have entered a return fixture after a defeat in Athens, they have go on to lose the tie. Atletico are sitting in a good spot having scored 3 away goals in the opening leg with strikes from Maxi Rodríguez, Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero.

I think there is simply too much stacked against the Greek side and that we’ll see Atletico celebrating a return to the group stage. Henk ten Cate, the Panathinaikos manager, admitted to uefa.com that he felt some of his players would be affected psychologically by the fires in Athens. The club doctors told the team to refrain from training because the smoke in the air could have been hazardous for the players. I certainly feel for the players and their families and I hope the wildfires are brought under control.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the losers in this playoff round as they will continue their European campaigns in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

With only three places left in the next round of this seasons Champions League and with only five teams capable of filling those spots it seems like a good time to look ahead to the draw for the knockout stages.

Once again all four English sides look set to qualify for the next round, with only Chelsea yet to confirm their place with the Blues needing a victory over Cluj in the last match to make sure. However that would seem to be a formality (famous last words!) and along with La Liga the Premier League will once again be the dominant force in the knock-out stages.

With the last four finals being contested by English sides the teams from the Premier League have become the ones to avoid and once again this season won’t be any different.

Whilst there have been a couple of impressive performances by the English sides, Arsenal’s 5-2 win in Fenerbache being the standout one, all four look like they will qualify at a canter. In truth only Chelsea have been really tested in qualifying for the next round, that mainly coming from their trip to Rome.

We have already seen Liverpool and Manchester United up against the other big force in the Champions League, the Spanish sides, and really in all four games the English sides should have taken all three points.

The only side capable of challenging the Premier Leagues dominance of Europe will be Barcelona. The Catalan giants have been in remarkable form this season, destroying all of those in front of them and if you are drawn against Pep Guardiola’s side in the knock-out stages then good luck!

Barcelona looked a shade of the side you might have expected when they took on Manchester United last season but with Lionel Messi leading the way the Premier League sides will be wary. Apart from Barca though there doesn’t look to be any series contenders to the English dominance.

Looking through Europe you still have the big names in the next round, such as Inter Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Lyon but not even these sides look good enough to upset the football odds and claim Manchester United’s crown.

Despite all four sides leading their respective leagues, or being in second place, and having on paper the quality to challenge for the Champions League you just can’t see it happening. Inter and Juventus play in a league where the quality of football is dreadful amongst the sides outside of the top seven. Bayern Munich still have a good side on paper with Franck Ribery, Miroslav Klose and Bastien Schweinsteiger good enough to walk into any side. However they aren’t playing like a team, with disjointed performances being a hallmark of their season. As for Lyon they will probably walk the French league again but once again there resilience on Juninho means if he doesn’t play well they will crumble.

All four are good sides and there are more teams left in this seasons competition that you would group in that category but they aren’t great like United where last season. I don’t believe them to even be good enough to upset Chelsea (if they make it), Liverpool and Arsenal.

How the tide has turned from ten years ago when those English sides left in the competition would be wary of whoever they drew in the knock-out stages. Whoever the Premier League sides draw I would expect them to all go through to the quarter finals and I wouldn’t be surprised to see two or three sides make up the semi-finals as well with the winners once again coming from Premier League.

Marseille president Pape Diouf announced today (via the club’s official website) that 21-year-old winger Hatem Ben Arfa is set to officially join from Lyon on Wednesday following the completion of a medical. Terms have not been announced but are thought to be in in the region of 15 to 20 million euros. Lyon also admit that a deal has been reached but Ben Arfa and Lyon still have to work out “details” according to a note on the French Football magazine’s website.

Ben Arfa, a French international, will sign a four-year deal, the Marseille website claimed, adding that the player will be officially unveiled on Thursday or Friday.

Ben Arfa is believed to be a replacement for fellow French forward Samir Nasri, who is expected to join Arsenal shortly, and is one of a number of young French talents who have emerged in Ligue 1 this year. Despite that standing, Ben Arfa admitted to being unsettled at the end of last season due to the lack of first-team football at Lyon.

Despite the fact Marseille and Lyon are rivals, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas revealed in May that he would prefer to see the talented youngster play for a Ligue 1 side and remain in France rather than let him move abroad. That revelation paved the way for negotiations between the two clubs to open and for a deal to be struck. Paris Saint-Germain were also thought to be interested in the winger but there is no word if they ever officially approached Lyon.

Lyon are undergoing significant changes this summer as new boss Claude Puel looks to put his own stamp on the team. Midfielder Kim Kallstrom has revealed he is interested in a move to Spain (rumoured to be Sevilla) but conceded that a deal will hinge on more than his wishes. Goalkeeper Gregory Coupet has already said that he has played his final game for the club and is reported to be on the brink of joining Atletico Madrid but has also been linked to AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur.

As for Nasri, he has been the subject of rumours since last summer. Those rumours have only intensified this year with his inclusion in France’s Euro 2008 squad. A deal appeared imminient last week when Nasri’s own website claimed (albeit briefly) that he had signed a four-year contract with the Barclays Premier League club.

It is believed the midfielder – who can play down the centre or on the wing – is likely to cost Arsenal around 15 – 20 million Euros as well. Nasri would be Arsenal’s second major signing of the summer following the capture of promising Welsh teenager Aaron Ramsey. Ramsey was also courted by Manchester United but rejected their approach after being flown to Switzerland to meet Asene Wenger personally.

“I met with Arsene Wenger and he was a big factor in my decision to join Arsenal,” Ramsey said in a statement. “He talked to me for a long time about the club and the plans for the future, which really excites me.”

Ramsey was Cardiff City’s youngest ever player, debuting at 16 and this past season showed immense versatility in playing central midfield (his favoured role), on each flank, at full-back and also in a free role behind the striker. He is an an excellent all-round athlete who excelled at many sports, including rubgy, before concentrating on football. He should be a good fit in the Arsenal system.

Alain Perrin, who guided Lyon to their first domestic league and Cup double last season, will be replaced by Lille coach Claude Puel according to reports circulating in the French news media. Nothing official has been posted on the official Olympique Lyonnais website. Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas refused to comment. “No decision has been taken”, he told reporters.

One Lyon deal that can be confirmed, and adds to the Puel speculation, is that one-time Arsenal target Jean II Makoun has signed a four-year contract with Lyon after completing a 14m Euro transfer from, you guessed it, Lille. Mathieu Bodmer and Kader Keita joined Lyon from the northern club a year ago, so Puel would be familiar with a few players at the Stade Gerland.

Makoun was buoyant about his moving,  telling reporters “I opted for OL, who showed more interest to me than Juventus and Arsenal. Lyon are a club that can’t be refused, most of all because they have been following me for quite a long time. When OL come and knock at the door, you just go for it!”

The talented Makoun, a 25-year-old defensive midfielder, will wear the number 17 shirt, previously the property of fellow Cameroonian Marc-Vivien Fore, who tragically died from a heart attack while competing in an international game for his country.