Champions League Round of 16: Part two

After a week that saw Celtic downed in Scotland and Real Madrid battle Manchester United to a 1-1 draw, the Champions League round of sixteen still has much to offer in it's second week.

Though there may not be a match up with the same weight or interest as the Real-United tie, there are still some juicy pairings. 

Tuesday pits the bipolar Arsenal against the Bundesliga leading Bayern Munich and Spanish Club Malaga against Porto from Portugal. 

Arsenal Bayern is the match of the day as it sees two very poplar clubs fighting it out and has many great story lines. One of those story lines is the one of Lucas Podolski. Podolski had a long history with Bayern and came to Arsenal in  the off season. His return to Germany is only overshadowed by Ronaldo's return to Manchester. 

Another big story line will be the one of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Pressure has been mounting on the man that has been the brains for over a decade at the historic London club. After this past week's FA Cup loss to Blackburn many are calling for his head. A big win against Bayern could fix that. 

The Porto-Malaga tie should be an interesting one as well. The Portugal-Sapin rivalry is always interesting and both clubs have a huge opportunity to get to the next round. 

As for Wednesday, the matches are just a little more interesting. First, there is the classic matchup of AC Milan and Barcelona. The two have formed a 'rivalry' in the Champions League because of their frequent meetings. 

Barcelona has seen the upper hand of many of the most recent meetings, but Milan's new found form could change that. It will be a sight to see Balotelli and Messi on the same field. I'm a huge fan of both players and I'm eager to see what they can do for their respective sides.

The other Wednesday game features the Turkish club Galatasaray and the German club Schalke 04. Both can be considered dark horses for the semi-finals  and I'm sure many clubs see them as a huge threat. 

Schalke has the German tenacity and fight to get through and players like Klaas Jan Huntelaar will surely supply some spark. 

Galatasaray loaded up on star power during the transfer window. Signings like Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba will be eager to show their worth to the club. 

With all that said, here are my picks. 

Arsenal vs Bayern - The German side will be too much from start to finish. Arsenal will create a few goals, but ultimately they will be out maned and lose 6-2 on aggregate. 

Porto vs Malaga - Porto look to be back in shape for a deep run. They will take an early lead and keep it to the end. I got Porto 3-1 on aggregate. 

Barcelona vs AC Milan - Milan will make it interesting early, but Messi and the passing offense of Barcelona will be too much. Barca win 5-2 on aggregate. 

Galatasaray vs Schalke 04 - The Germans take care of business at home, but the start power will show it's worth for the Turkish. Gala win 3-2 on aggregate. 

UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Part One

To a commoner, February is a month filled with love and gifts for many people. For soccer fans, February marks the return of the Champions League. Since December's match draw, millions have been drooling over eight of the best soccer games you will see all year.
The first two days of the knock out round are filled with match ups that are sure to thrill any sports fan. On Tuesday, the hard nosed Scottish club Celtic takes on the high flying Italian club Juventus and the big spending French club Paris St. Germain takes on the forgotten Spanish club Valencia. Wednesday is the big day because Manchester United and Real Madrid face off in an epic pairing while Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine takes on the upstart Borussia Dortmund from Germany. As many of you may know, these matches will take place over two legs (a home and home series if you will) with the winner being determined by the aggregate score.
On the eve of these huge games, I will give you my predictions of both legs and who will be moving on to the quarter finals.

Celtic vs Juventus 
This is an interesting match up between two teams dominating at the domestic league level. Celtic fought through a group that included Barcelona and had success against them in Scotland. The Bhoys are currently leading the Scottish Premier League by 18 points. They play a tough style of soccer and get some scrappy goals at times. They will rely heavily on striker Gary Hooper for goals. He has scored 13 times in the SPL and usually comes up big for the Hoops. Juventus got through a group that included Chelsea  the reigning European Champions. Juve currently leads Serie A by 5 points. They use a more spread out style on play than Celtic and have many scoring options.
In the end, I think these two legs will come down to the Celtic defense. They allow an average of 1.33 goals per game, but only allow .67 at home. If they can stand up and play their physical style against Juve, I think they will grind out the win. They will take the lead early in the legs and take a 2-0 lead going to Italy because of their great home crowd. In the second leg, they will fall behind 0-2 early, but score an aggregate winning goal in the final 15 minutes.

Celtic 3-2 (agg.)

PSG vs Valencia 
PSG did a lot of big spending in the off season and January transfer window. They brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva and everything has turned around from there. After a rough start in Ligue 1, the mega spenders find themselves up 6 points and on a hot streak. The only issue for the club from Paris is that they live and die by Ibrahimovic. He has scored 21 goals in Ligue one this year and is their only frighting attacker. Valencia is not the same team that earned the Champions League spot last year. They are in 5th place in La Liga and are 9 points behind third place. They allow more goals than they have scored and have a hard time scoring on the road. This spells death in the two leg system.
I think PSG earns a 2-1 win in Spain and demolishes Valenica in France 4-0. As a side note, Ibrahimovic will score 4 of PSG's goals.

PSG 6-1 (agg.)

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Borussia Dortmund 
Donetsk is not well known even by soccer fans. Though they have been one of the top Ukrainian clubs for most of the 21st century, the Ukrainian Premier League is not respected as well as others. They are currently dominating the UPL and have won 4 out of their last 5 matches. To be honest, I don't know much about them. I do know they made things hard on Chelsea, so this team has what it takes. Borussia Dortmund won back to back Bundesliga titles and are currently sitting in second place. They are a young team with a lot of promise. Striker Robert Lewandowski will be the man to watch. He has 14 goals in the Bundesliga and has created chances for others.
I think Donetsk will gave Dortmund some issues and that these games will be closer than many fans would like to see. Donetsk will earn a 2-2 tie in Ukraine, but Dortmund will take a 2-1 win at home and win in the aggregate.

Borussia Dortmund 4-3 (agg.)

Manchester United vs Real Madrid  
If you get the chance to watch one Champions League match, make sure it's this one. Two historic clubs clashing in the early rounds makes for one huge match. Manchester United, winners of three Champions Leagues, come in with a mighty league in the English Premier League. They are one place to set one of the highest point totals in EPL history, but have been letting in a surprising number of goals. Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez are all guys to watch out for. Rooney and RVP both have double digit goal totals in the EPL and Chicharito isn't far behind. Real Madrid, winners of nine Champions Leagues, come in having a down year. they are essentially out of the La Liga race and are in third place. They play a spread out style of soccer and have plenty of dynamic players. United will have to watch out for Cristiano Ronaldo, who transferred from Manchester in 2009. His quick feet and dazzling footwork will really test the shaky Red Devil defense. United will also have to watch out for Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema. These two supply most of Madrid's assists and are vital in the passing game.
When the smoke clears after this battle, I think Real Madrid will come out on top. United's defense will get torched by the Madrid attack and they won't be able to keep up. I see Real Madrid winning 4-2 at home before going to England and winning 3-2.

Real Madrid 7-4 (agg.)

Thanks for reading!