Champions League: A Detailed Analysis and Look at the Round of 16

The Champions League is back! On Tuesday 12th February, the best club competition in the world re-starts with the Round of 16 featuring the greatest clubs and players on the planet. The likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich will all be fighting it out to lift the famous trophy.

When the draw for the Champions League Group Stage was made, PowerTableSports created the Champions League PowerTable to predict which teams would qualify for the Knockout Rounds and which would be eliminated from the competition. This prediction is based on our unique ‘tier effectiveness’ system where we calculate how effective different teams are against each other based on 4 tiers. If you’re handy with odds and enjoy the challenge, the Jackpot Capital odds are worth testing your skills on. How did we get on?

 

 

Underachievers

Man City and Chelsea were the big underachievers – PowerTable predicted that they would qualify for the Round of 16 and classed them as Tier 1 teams, however they both failed to qualify.

• Man City were the biggest underachievers – PowerTable considered them Semi-Finalists but they finished bottom of their group.
• Chelsea were considered Quarter-Finalists but they finished 3rd and only qualified for the Europa League.

 

Overachievers

Malaga and Celtic were the big overachievers having qualified for the Round of 16 despite being regarded as Tier 4 teams.

• Malaga were the big overachievers having qualified for the Round of 16 by finishing as Group Winners despite being originally regarded as a Tier 4 team.
• Celtic were also one of the big overachievers having qualified for the Round of 16 by finishing 2nd in the Group despite being originally regarded as a Tier 4 team.

 

After successfully predicting 75% of the teams who have gone through to the Round of 16, PowerTableSports has yet again used our unique ‘tier effectiveness’ system to calculate which teams will be eliminated and which will progress to the Quarter Finals. Tier 1 and 2 teams are those that we predict will go through, whereas Tier 3 and 4 teams will be those whose European title ambitions are ended for another year.

Galatasaray v Schalke

Schalke are currently on a poor run in the Bundesliga. The signing of experienced duo Sneijder and Drogba will swing the tie in Galatasaray’s favour.

Celtic v Juventus

Celtic have outperformed all expectations, including a fantastic win against Barcelona. Lightening is unlikely to strike twice though and Italian Champions Juventus will go through over both legs.

Arsenal v Bayern Munich

A mouth-watering tie between an inconsistent Arsenal against an unstoppable Bayern in their domestic Leagues. Bayern’s quest to become European Champions will be a step closer.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund

Shakhtar and Dortmund both set the competition alight during the group stages. Shakhtar have sold key player Willian though, which puts Dortmund as favourites (just!).

AC Milan v Barcelona

Barcelona are still favourites to lift the title. AC Milan will prove a stern test, but the Italian giants have a relatively inexperienced squad who Barcelona will dispose of over both legs.

Real Madrid v Man Utd

The tie of the round sees Ronaldo face his former club and Ferguson come face to face with Mourinho again. Close game, plenty of excitement but a United away goal should swing it their way.

Valencia v Paris Saint-Germain

Both teams were impressive during the Group Stage. Valencia will fancy themselves in the 1st leg, but PSG and their attacking flair will be too much over both legs.

Porto v Malaga

Malaga remained unbeaten in their Group and their inclusion in the Round of 16 will have surprised a few people. Porto will fancy their chances, but expect Malaga to pull off another surprise over both legs.

 

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