UEFA Champions League Predictions: Round of 16 Games

The UEFA Champions Round of 16 finally got underway last week, with the first set of games which saw Paris Saint-Germain win over Chelsea 2-1, Benfica topple Zenit 1-0, Wolfsburg beat Gent 3-2, and Real Madrid victorious over Roma 2-0.

The action continues tomorrow Tuesday, February 23rd with two more games which you can read the preview and predictions just below.

Bayern Munchen vs Juventus F.C.

• Time: Tuesday, February 23, 2016 2:45 PM ET

The Italian giants, Juventus made it to the finals last year, where they fell to Barcelona and now they face an even more difficult road ahead in the Round of 16 as they confront the mighty Bayern, the favorites to move on ahead to the quarterfinals.

Betting on Bayern

Though Pep Guardiola’s time with Bayern are coming to an end, as he’s moving to Manchester City next season, he’ll take a shot at crowning the German team as the UEFA Champion as the cherry on top in a glory-filled career.

Bayern easily passed through the group stage as the leader, winning five of six games played and scoring 19 goals and only giving up three.

Their Achilles heel however, might be in playing away from Allianz Arena, where they’ve struggled to win, losing, in fact, this year to Arsenal in their only away game.

They also could face some difficulties at backfield, being riddled with injuries which could open up scoring opportunities for opposing teams. However, with a solid front line, with the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, who have combined for 12 goals, the Germans could counterbalance this lacking. It also shouldn’t go without mentioning they also have Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa as wingmen who open up the sides for scoring opportunities.

Betting on Juventus

Juventus made it to the Round of 16 without too many difficulties. However, an away loss against Sevilla earned them this match against Bayern.

The Italian giants are in a good place at the moment however, winning their last 15 games and the lead in Serie A. They’ve pretty much been unstoppable at Juventus Stadium, where they’ve only given up an incredible six goals, defended by a backfield that does not allow but a trickle of goals to be scored in their net.

With Argentinian Paulo Dybala heading the attack, the Italians could penetrate a weakened Bayern midfield and create many scoring opportunities. Paul Pogba and Alvaro Morata could open up the midfield and wreak havoc for Bayern’s defenses and throw a wrench in Guardiola’s plans to beat the Italians at home.

Free Prediction: The Italians will once again defend their home pitch. This game ends in a 0-0 draw.

F.C Barcelona vs Arsenal FC

• Time: Tuesday, February 23, 2016 2:45 PM ET

Arsenal drew the short straw, even after clawing their way to the Round of 16 as they now face the defending champions, Barcelona. And, in doing so, they have the monumental task of attempting to stop arguably the best front line ever assembled.

Betting on Barcelona

It wasn’t hard for Barcelona to get past the group stage at the top of Group E. Having only lost the first and last of their group games, the Spanish giants won all four games in between, scoring a total of 15 goals while conceding only four.

Though super star Lionel Messi missed most of the group matches, it didn’t stop Barcelona, or Luis Suarez, from picking up the slack and finding the net on many opportunities. The front line of Messi, Suarez and Neymar Jr has been deadly effective for Barcelona, cutting through opposing defenses without too much difficulty and scoring a total of 89 goals between them.

The trio struggles seem to come when they play away from Camp Nou, as they’ve only scored 16 goals in 10 away games in the league and only four in Champions’ matches. However, it shouldn’t worry too much Barcelona fans as they can be pretty much be guaranteed at least one goal from one of the players.

Betting on Arsenal

It’s Arsenal’s 13th straight appearance in the Champions Round of 16. Though losing their first two group games, against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos, they then won all their return matches by a score of 3-0 which earned them their ticket as the Group F runners-up.

But, it’s way too early for Arsenal to be patting themselves on the back. Despite their track record of reaching the knockout stage, it’s also a fact that they haven’t made it past to the quarterfinals for the past five years. And, obviously, having drawn Barcelona doesn’t bode well for the English squad.

As the heavy underdogs, even in London, the Gunners have a difficult task ahead of them and it’ll take a titanic effort to defend the back of their nets from the talented trio of Messi, Suarez, and Neymar Jr.

This isn’t to say that Arsenal doesn’t have their own star lineup of a front line, that could even rival that of Barcelona’s. With Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, the Gunners could break through Barcelona’s defenses. While Aaron Ramsey, Oliver Giroud, and Theo Walcott could very well add to the attack and open up many a scoring opportunity.

Arsenal also has a strong backfield, having conceded only eight goals in 13 home games, even shutting out the mighty Bayern Munich 2-0 during the group stage.

Free Prediction: Arsenal surprises and shocks Barcelona, winning 1-0 at home.

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