A Quick Read and Early Prediction of the UEFA Champions League Draw
RRRRIIIIIIIGGGGGEEEEDD!!!! Just kidding. I was however halfway through the post before finding out that the draw will be redone.
There isn't much to say here as we still have to wait 2 months for the matches to be played and 3 months for the fixture to be over, but here is a quick read.
The Mismatched
There are three matches that could be described as a mismatch.
Bayern Munich vs RB Salzburg
While RB has the likes of the talented Karim Adeyemi along with other talents, Bayern Munich is a different beast. Bayern's mentality is just different than that of any other team in the draw. Bayern seeks to outpower the powerful and bury the weak. Although Adeyemi will seek to make his name with that match, I don't think it will happen with a win.
PREDICTION: Bayern to go through
Sporting CP vs Manchester City
Sporting is pretty much in the same boat as Salzburg, a team made up of talents aiming to punch up. Pedro Gonçalves, the talented attacker might manage to cause a few waves of panic for City but City might even be signing in an attacker by the time they meet. So, we might be even looking at an even stronger City side by the time of the game.
Prediction: Manchester City to go through
Chelsea vs LOSC
While yes, Lille did top their group going into this match, but it was one of those groups that are more described as the "Europa League" group. Even in second place, Chelsea still had more points than Lille who also seem to be spiraling domestically as, Chelsea while 2 points away from the league title, still have room to improve in the two months leading to the match
Prediction: Chelsea to go through
The Complicated games
Benfica vs Ajax
While Ajax has gone into this round with a perfect mark, with Haller having more goals than games, Benfica won't be that easy of a catch. The Portuguese will be going into this match with a confidence boost considering they are the team who took Barcelona's place, almost beating them in the second leg and beating them 3-0 in the first one. It is a tough one, but for now, Ajax seems to be a close favorite to win since what we saw from Benfica's games with Bayern, they might not be able to defend against the constant attacking, something Ajax are good at.
Prediction Ajax to go through
Villarreal vs Juventus
While Juventus topped their group, one that included Chelsea, their entire season leaves room for a lot to be desired. They're sixth in the league, their wins seem unconvincing. Villarreal are a mood swing themselves, they come from a group that was largely affected by moments of brilliance by Cristiano Ronaldo, a man Juventus lack now. While Juventus' room for improvement is vast, so is Villarreal's room to stabilize and be consistent without having moments of sleep during their matches. It is a tough one, but Juventus' solid performance in the UCL and general experience in the competition see them edge through in my opinion.
Prediction: Juventus going through.
Inter Milan vs Liverpool
This one seems in the middle of this and the previous category, while it doesn't seem to be that complicated, it would also be disrespectful to call it mismatched. Inter Milan is the best prepared Italian team in the Champions League, or all of Europe to be honest. This match won't be easy for Liverpool. Yes, Inter lost in both group legs to Real Madrid but both matches weren't easy.
Inter's shape will also be problematic for Liverpool, the 352, the 343, the 532 are shapes that proved problematic for Liverpool this year. Despite the formation being problematic for Liverpool, the Reds still have better names, a better manager, better atmosphere.
Prediction: Liverpool to go through
Marquee Matchups
Atlético vs Manchester United
A game between a manager called "Old fashioned" and another, despite the age, is considered "Modern". Atletico has been trying to play more offensively in recent years, to be honest. But they're still the team to search for results rather than performance. Atletico Madrid in specific is the team to suffer the most from the new away goals rule being canceled. They used to defend and counter-attack until the 75th minute when they switch to be more offensive or vice versa. They're now demanded to do it differently all of the sudden.
When it comes to players' quality, there isn't much difference in the overall quality of both teams. For Cristiano, there are also Griezmann, Suarez, Felix. Atletico has names to match that of Manchester.
Both teams are still yet to find their formation and style. This means there's a race against time for both teams to find their rhythm. If this tie was to be played now, I wouldn't be surprised if it went to penalties with 0 goals scored in both legs. Manchester United do seem likely to find that change in rhythm quicker with a leader like Cristiano calling for it.
Prediction: Manchester United, but it is very close
Paris vs Real Madrid
This is a game of revenge and proving points all around. Ramos will seek to prove how wrong Real were to sell him. Real Madrid will seek to prove that Madrid is the better capital for Mbappe, Wijnaldum to avenge Liverpool's loss in the final at Real Madrid's hands. Also, Hakimi and Carvajal will seek to prove whether Real Madrid were right or wrong with their right-back pick. And Finally, Messi and his pursuit to prove himself on new ground as he seeks to match Cristiano's five UEFA Champions League titles.
If this match was to be had today, Real Madrid are the favorite. A game with Messi, Neymar, Mbappe, each of those three can carry a match. On the opposite side, Real Madrid has an excellent midfield that could outperform the current PSG midfield with ease, that is an issue since PSG's front three are less efficient without the ball. Vinicius Junior has been impressive, however, in this tie he will be going against one of the best right-backs in the world, Achraf Hakimi. Same with Benzema and the PSG center-backs.
What makes this tie so predictable is that there are so many individual points to prove, the kind that motivates these types of individuals. What makes this bad for Real Madrid is the current form they're having, as much as that doesn't make sense, but Benzema has never been the type of player with consistent performance, so with the attack system depending on him, that might come costly. How long could Modric and Kroos, 36 years old and 32(by the time the game comes) respectively, keep their form? Messi's form usually picks up during that time of the year, as well as a world-class keeper in Kaylor Navas seeking to prove Real Madrid wrong.
The number of variables from here until February makes this game the toughest to predict, especially when we consider a possibility of a manager change, style change, players getting into form as we slowly see with Messi, and other variables. However, under an experienced hand like Carlo Ancelotti, it is hard seeing Real Madrid drop that much in form.
Prediction: Real Madrid to go through unless one, two, or all three of the PSG front trio say otherwise.
In Conclusion
As per every round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, we get easy matches, difficult matches, and early finals. My reading and predictions could prove useless come matchday. In case this was a long read for you. Here are the predictions in a quick fashion.
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I think PSG vrs Real Madrid is the toughest among the groupings...well my early predictions,,Real Madrid at Their full squad will win over PSG