Live

LIVE: Off The Ball

07:00 PM-10:00 PM

LIVE: Off The Ball
Advertisement
Soccer

Champions League Round of 16 begins on Tuesday night

After six predictable matchdays in the group stages, the Round of 16 in the Champions League begi...



Champions League Round of 16 b...
Soccer

Champions League Round of 16 begins on Tuesday night

After six predictable matchdays in the group stages, the Round of 16 in the Champions League begins on Tuesday night, with two matches taking place in Paris and Lisbon.

One of the ties of the round, is undoubtedly Paris Saint-Germain against Barcelona. The teams meet for the seventh time since the 2012/13 season. From the previous six matches, Barcelona have advanced from two quarter-finals, with the teams winning a match a piece in the group stages in 2014.

Despite finishing second in their group, behind Arsenal, PSG are the only unbeaten side in the tie. With three wins and three draws, the French side kept only one clean sheet in the group stages.

Barcelona on the other hand, sauntered to the top of Group C, scoring 20 goals, winning five games and losing away to Manchester City.

After years of domestic dominance in Ligue 1, PSG are in second place but are unbeaten in seven league games, 12 in all competitions. Barcelona are a point behind Real Madrid in La Liga, despite playing two matches more.

Luis Enrique's side are unbeaten in 11 games, but only six of those have come in the league.

Tuesday's other match sees Benfica and Borussia Dortmund meet in European competition for the first time in over 50 years. The teams met in the first round of the 1963/64 European Cup, with the German side winning 6-2 on aggregate. Dortmund were eventually knocked out in the semi-finals by Inter Milan.

Thomas Tuchel's side scored the most goals in the group stages (21), largely helped by an 8-4 win over Legia Warsaw. The German side remained unbeaten in the group including two draws with Real Madrid as Dortmund topped the group.

For Benfica, a record of two wins, two draws and two losses, saw the team finish in second place behind Napoli. Their two losses came at the hands of the Italian side.

Domestically, Dortmund are at risk of missing out of the Champions League next season. They are currently in fourth place, and lost to bottom-placed Darmstadt at the weekend.

In Portugal, Benfica are top of the Primeira Liga having won their last two league games, having suffered their second loss of the season last month.

Despite hosting one of the ties of the round, Tuesday's fixtures are the warm-up act for Wednesday, with Real Madrid, Napoli, Bayern Munich and Arsenal in action. 

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Soccer