The draw for the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League round of 16 is done, and the five Premier League sides all had contrasting fortunes. But who fared best? Who did the worst? We rank the five ties from easiest to hardest.
5. Manchester City vs. Basel
It’s been a wonderful few days for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. First they win a huge derby at the weekend whilst all of their alleged title rivals drop points, and now they get the cushiest possible draw in the Champions League.
Basel are a good side but nowhere near the whirling dervish they used to be when Mohamed Salah, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri played for them. They won’t be easy, but with the second leg in Manchester and his side playing well, Guardiola can start thinking about the quarter-finals already.
4. Liverpool vs. Porto
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool sealed qualification with a roaring 7-0 victory and their reward is a trip to face a Porto side that hasn’t won the Portuguese title since 2013.
Whilst new coach Sérgio Conceição has them playing better than they have in a while (they are currently joint-top of the Portuguese Primeira Liga) it’s unlikely they will be able to hold Liverpool’s dynamic attack at bay, even if Coutinho departs for Barcelona in January. Expect lots of goals going in at both ends here.
3. Manchester United vs. Sevilla
The last four Europa League trophies were won by these two teams: so the winner of this should get to keep the thing for good! This is an alright draw for Manchester United. Sevilla are nowhere near the side that won three Europa Leagues, nor even the wonderful vibrant outfit they were under Jorge Sampaoli last season.
They will still offer some threat at home, and the atmosphere at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán will be intense as anything United will face all season, so this isn’t an absolute gimmie. But as Liverpool showed in the group stages; Sevilla are vulnerable to pace, and United have lots of that and a defensive solidity that the Reds didn’t have.
2. Tottenham vs. Juventus
This represents a huge challenge and also a huge chance for Tottenham Hotspur. Juventus have won Serie A for the last few years, and even though they sit two points off the top right now, by February they will have found that Champion groove they so often do. They’re a top side built for conquest and have the experience to snuff out Spurs.
But they’re an old side, they can be simply overwhelmed with pace and power. Should Paulo Dybala be injured or Gonzalo Higuain be out of shape in February, then the lean, mean Tottenham machine will fancy their chances. Spurs showed against Real Madrid that they can compete with anyone, and whilst they’ll have to be at their best against Juve, there’s a chance.
1. Barcelona vs. Chelsea
Chelsea were the only English side to not win their group, and their rewards for such sloppiness was the toughest draw out of all the Premier League.
With Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata running the counter-attack, Chelsea will always have a chance in any tie. And with Barcelona playing less than excellently right now the Blues could get confident of an upset, but they should consider that the Blaugrana are a side dealing with injuries and an out-of-form Luis Suárez and yet they’re still unbeaten and top of La Liga.
By February they will have Ousmané Dembélé and Samuel Umtiti back, and Suárez will have found his form. Then there’s Leo Messi, the greatest player in the world, hungry to get his first goal against Chelsea after 8 scoreless appearances against them. Add in Chelsea’s own defensive frailties plus their squad’s relative inexperience in Europe, and this could be a very difficult couple of games for the Premier League Champions.
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