Champions League Round of 16 Preview

UEFA Champions League 2022-23 season round of 16 will be starting on the 14th of February, 2023. %%sep%% %%sitename%%

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Staff Reporter
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The hectic February sporting schedule rumbles on over the next few days, with major events taking place in North America and Europe.

All eyes will be on the Super Bowl on Sunday as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs go head-to-head in the NFL's championship decider.

The latest NFL Super Bowl odds rate the Eagles as narrow favourites to win the title, but the Chiefs are unlikely to go down without a fight.

The big game attracts plenty of interest worldwide – a point recently hammered home by several members of Tottenham Hotspur's soccer squad.

They took part in the NFL Teammates Challenge as a way of building team spirit ahead of their last-16 tie in the Champions League against AC Milan next Tuesday.

Tottenham will undoubtedly fancy their chances against Milan, with the Serie A side currently in the midst of a dismal run of form in the Italian top flight.

Their first leg meeting in the San Siro will likely be a tight affair, but Tottenham should have enough about them to bring home a positive result to take into the reverse fixture.

There are three other Champions League matches taking place next week, with the clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich the pick of the bunch.

PSG are desperate to win this competition and have invested heavily in their squad, but could have their work cut out against the perennial German champions.

There has little to choose between the two sides in their most recent meetings, but Bayern look a good bet to progress to the quarter-finals.

Big-spending Chelsea are also in action next week as they travel to face Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Dortmund made things difficult for Manchester City in the group phase and will fancy their chances of causing an upset against the Blues.

However, having splashed the cash during the last two transfer windows, Chelsea should possess too much quality for the Bundesliga side.

Next week's other fixture sees Club Brugge host Benfica. The Portuguese side were excellent during the group stage and should progress to the last eight.

The four remaining ties are scheduled to take place the following weekend and feature a rematch between last season's finalists – Liverpool and Real Madrid.

The Reds have underperformed massively this season and it is difficult to imagine them having too many problems against the reigning champions.

Napoli are also in action as they travel to face Eintracht Frankfurt, while Inter Milan welcome Porto to the San Siro.

Both Italian clubs should progress to the quarter-finals if they produce their best form, although each of their opponents are capable of causing an upset.

The remaining last-16 tie sees RB Leipzig take on Manchester City. The two sides have met twice before, with each recording a victory in the 2021 group stage.

However, given the respective strength of their current squads, it would be a massive surprise if Man City failed to make it through to the quarter-finals.

Uefa Champions League Real Madrid Bayern Munich Inter Milan Chelsea Fc Manchester City Psg Fc Bayern Munich Benfica