Can the top eight clubs survive the next Champions League round?

The Champions League round of 16 draw has finally been made and there are big games to watch.

Eight more clubs have joined the original eight which finished the league phase of the competition as the automatic qualifiers for the round of 16.

Several top clubs have left the competition, most notably Manchester City who could not stop Real Madrid.

PSV also reached the final 16 after earning a surprise and impressive win against Juventus in the playoff round.

We are now at the more serious end of the competition, and the draw for the round of 16 leaves us with some interesting matches to follow between now and the end of the season.

Most eyes would be on the performances of the team who made the top eight in the league phase. Will all of them make the quarterfinals of the Champions League this term?

In this article, we will discuss each team and talk about their chances of beating their round of 16 opponents to reach the next stage of the competition.

Liverpool

Very few teams have sold Champions League tickets in its history like Liverpool, especially in England, where they have won the honour the most times.

It would take a long time for another Premier League club to overtake the Reds in terms of the amount of UCL trophies they have won among Premier League clubs.

Slot’s team won the league phase after delivering some terrific performances and their only defeat came in the final game against PSV, a match they played with mostly teenage stars, having rested their main men.

Their reward for doing so well in the league phase of the competition is a round-of-16 game against PSG, a mouthwatering clash.

The Frenchmen have been terrific, and they beat Brest 10-0 on aggregate in the playoff round, so they will be tough nuts for Liverpool to crack.

Barcelona

Barcelona was the second-best team in the league phase, and they earned some big results along the way.

The Catalans have been brilliant and sometimes unstoppable, especially in La Liga, which they might win.

Hansi Flick won the Champions League with Bayern Munich five years after Barca last won it in 2015.

Their fans have been hungry for that trophy in the post-Lionel Messi era and that could happen at the end of this season.

Their next Champions League opponent is Benfica, a team that they controversially won in the league phase.

Benfica is one of the toughest teams to beat in Europe, but we expect Barca to eliminate them over two legs because the Catalans are simply the better team.

Arsenal 

Could this be the season that Mikel Arteta finally wins a major trophy for Arsenal? This is a question that most Gunners would ask now that they have just two trophies to play for.

Their injury-hit season has forced them to have at least two breakout stars in England in this campaign and they will try to make the most of what they have.

The Gunners have never won the Champions League, so it is a dream that most of their supporters hope they can achieve at the end of this campaign.

However, they have to beat PSV in the round of 16, and that game would be tricky because the Dutchmen are a strong team.

They beat Liverpool in the league phase and eliminated Juventus in the last round of the competition. Arsenal simply cannot underestimate them for any reason.

Without a striker in their squad, it would be interesting to see how far Arsenal can go in the competition, but they should eliminate PSV in the next round.

Inter Milan

Inter reached the final of the Champions League in 2023, which they lost to Manchester City, and they are the only Italian club left in the competition this season.

Bologna was kicked out at the end of the league phase, while Juventus, AC Milan and Atalanta were all knocked out in the playoff round.

Inter will hope to go very far in the competition and in the league phase, they proved to be one of the best teams to watch in it.

They secured some big wins and would now face Feyenoord in the round of 16 of the competition.

Despite losing Arne Slot to Liverpool in the summer, the Dutchmen have been doing well, and they knocked out AC Milan in the playoff round to set up this game.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid is hoping to win the La Liga title at the end of this season if Barcelona and Real Madrid fail to win it.

Both giants are struggling with inconsistent form this term, so Atleti could have a real chance of becoming the champions of Spain, but how far can they go in the Champions League?

They did well in the league phase, but their reward is a big clash with their rivals, Real Madrid, which would be a difficult game for them to win.

We rightly predicted that Real Madrid would improve in the second half of the season, and we can see that happening already.

They were unstoppable as they eliminated Manchester City in the playoff round, and Atletico will have to be perfect to beat the defending European champions.

Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen reached the final of the Europa League last season and were unbeaten in all domestic competitions.

However, this term, they have not been invincible, but can they make an impression in the Champions League?

Xabi Alonso’s team has been paired with their biggest domestic rivals, Bayern Munich and that is a match ticket everyone needs to buy.

Leverkusen eliminated Bayern from the German Cup and are set to lose the Bundesliga title to the Bavarians.

However, their fans would be delighted if they could beat their fellow countrymen and reach the quarterfinals of the competition.

Lille 

Lille has been one of the finest clubs in France over the last few years, and they were expected to become champions of their domestic league now that Kylian Mbappe has left PSG.

They did well in the league phase of the Champions League, earning some big results along the way as they qualified inside the top eight.

Lille has been handed a draw to face Borussia Dortmund in the next round of the Champions League, and they will be tested.

Although Dortmund is struggling domestically, they have been brilliant in Europe and their fans would feel they can beat Lille to reach the quarterfinals.

Aston Villa

Villa has recovered from the curse of playing in the Champions League, and they are now showing great form in domestic and European competitions.

Unai Emery is a manager who knows how to deliver in Europe and his current team has some players who can make an impression in the UCL.

Their reward for making the top eight is a two-legged tie against Club Brugge, a team that beat them in the league phase.

Brugge eliminated Atalanta in the last round with some fantastic performances in both legs of the game, and it would be interesting to see how they perform in the round of 16 games.