This Tuesday and Wednesday are the stage for the final four first legs of the round of 16 in this year's Champions League. The only result that went against my projections last week was Zenit's win over Benfica, despite two errors by goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov. Lyon sneaked by APOEL despite the Cypriots being on the back foot for nearly the entire game. Barcelona take a sizable lead back to Spain after scoring three away goals and Milan simply hammered Arsenal, all but ending the tie at the San Siro. Milan was quite impressive, but Arsenal were woeful in every aspect of the game.
This week's main event features Napoli hosting Chelsea in Italy. Napoli have shown inconsistent form this season but boast one of the most dangerous attacking trios in the world in Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Marek Hamsik. The three could be a major problem for a Blues defense that could be without its leader John Terry. Despite the team's inconsistency in Serie A, Napoli have been strong in Europe and defeated Manchester City on aggregate in their two matches. Chelsea have been struggling, showing consistent unspectacular play against weak and strong opponents. AVB has come under intense scrutiny from the media of late, while Roman's true plans are unknown. Another defeat would certainly raise eyebrows in the Chelsea hierarchy, and nothing in their recent form suggests victory could be achieved. However, Chelsea have played far better in the Champions League than in the EPL, so a result is certainly not out of the question.
Marseille and Inter face off in what should be a very tight tie. Inter have taken one point from their last five matches in the league, scoring in just one of those five games. Inter have been able to put their domestic form to the side when playing in Europe, especially away, where they took seven points out of nine in Group B. Marseille endured a horrid spell at the beginning of the season, but have risen to fourth in Ligue 1 and have played pretty well lately. Marseille have a number of attacking options but can struggle defensively, and Inter have the strikers to punish a leaky defense, despite their recent futility. I find these two teams to be some of the hardest to project in the competition, so I think Inter will find a good result to take back to the San Siro.
The other two ties showcase underdog-superpower matchups, with CSKA hosting Real Madrid and FC Basel hosting Bayern. While I believe both favorites will win their matchups, Basel look like a much better shot in the dark as an upset. Their victory over Manchester United showed they could contend and play with a big club, not merely sit back and hope to get lucky on the break. Bayern has seemed a little off recently, falling five points behind Dortmund at the Bundesliga summit. Bayern does have a great record against Swiss opposition and are still likely to take a one or two goal advantage to Munich. I think CSKA are a better side that Basel, but Real Madrid have been a steamroller to any opposition not called Barcelona, and it will be very difficult to stop Madrid even in the freezing Moscow temperatures. There are simply too many attacking options for Jose Mourinho to choose from, all of which are experienced, top-level strikers.
Format: Teams (Ranking) : Result
CSKA Moscow (21) - Real Madrid (2) : AWAY WIN
Napoli (25) - Chelsea (6) : DRAW
FC Basel (NR) - Bayern Munich (4) : AWAY WIN
Marseille (18) - Inter Milan (15) : DRAW
Rankings coming tomorrow night
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