Arsenal
To top the group for once and still get drawn against the German champions who somehow managed to come second in their group is typical Arsenal. But you have to beat the big guns at some point, so we might as well start straight away – not that I think any unseeded team would have feared being drawn against us. We haven’t done anything to make Europe stand up and take note.
Our history of brittleness in the knockout stages means it’s hard for Arsenal supporters to be excited about this one – no matter how well the group stage went. We did what we had to do against PSG home and away but nothing more. Keeping it tight in the Allianz Arena is the key. I’d be more than happy with a draw from the first leg. Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern Munich side seem to be more fragile a team than they have been over the last five years, so progression isn’t beyond this Arsenal team. Cian Mulligan
Atlético Madrid
To top Group D in front of Bayern Munich was outstanding. The tight 1-0 wins over PSV, Bayern and FC Rostov, where our defensive qualities and clinical finishing shone through when it mattered, laid the foundation and, by the time we lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the last game of the group stage, it didn’t really matter.
The team needs to remain injury free. The golden quartet of Antoine Griezmann, Yannick Carrasco, Kévin Gameiro and Fernando Torres need to find the form they showed earlier in the season. They’ve looked a bit off the pace in recent La Liga games.
Atlético can easily reach the quarter-finals and quite possibly the semis. In the past five years under Diego Simone we have been nothing short of spectacular. Teams across Europe now fear having to play us. Simeone has turned an average side into a world-class powerhouse. Hopefully our European success can continue for a few more rounds at least. Pete
Barcelona
We have performed as well as we should have considering the quality of the opposition in Group C. Celtic and Borussia Monchengladbach weren’t teams to be feared, and our one setback in Manchester occurred without Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba and Andrés Iniesta. The irony is that Manchester City arguably have the easier of our last 16 draws facing Monaco. Paris Saint-Germain was only one of a few teams I was most hoping to avoid.
The most important factor is the fitness and availability of Barcelona’s key players. Without Lionel Messi, Iniesta, Luis Suárez and Piqué, the task of beating the French champions becomes a lot more difficult. If PSG create a new identity under Unai Emery, they have the quality to exploit Barcelona’s weaknesses if we don’t have those players available.
If Barcelona don’t make the semi-finals I’ll be disappointed, but the quality of the opposition means that I wouldn’t be surprised if we went out early because of bad luck or an injury crisis. Aidan
Bayer Leverkusen
Having gone six games unbeaten in Group E, we were perhaps a little unfortunate to only go through as runners-up. But the two draws against CSKA Moscow proved costly, and doubly so after we beat Monaco convincingly 3-0 in the last group game. But if we’d won the group we would have drawn Manchester City, so I’m not sure if that is much better than having to face Atlético Madrid.
I’m very pleased to have qualified from a group where it looked like all four teams had ambitions to progress. Our overall away performance and 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur was clinical and made us believe we could go through. Wembley seemed to just swallow them up!
If our Champions League adventure ends in the last 16, then so be it. We’ve had a good run. But it’s not certain that we’ll bow out, we’re capable of giving Atlético tight games. But we need to travel to Spain for the second leg with a substantial advantage. I don’t fancy our chances if we need to chase the game at the Vicente Calderon. Adrian
Bayern Munich
We’ve done OK. Our shock defeat in Russia to FC Rostov was a blow, but beating Atlético Madrid at home in the last group game was good for confidence at least. Finishing second wasn’t so bad as we have a good record against Arsenal.
A good result in the first leg at home is vital and a clean sheet will go a long way in securing our progress to the quarter-finals. We haven’t lost at home in the Champions League for 15 matches now so we’re confident of having a significant advantage before the return leg in London. We haven’t peaked yet, so I still think we have a good chance of winning the Champions League this year.
Bayern can win anywhere. Carlo Ancelotti has changed his formation recently and that suits the team much better. Come February this team will be a well oiled machine. The four-week winter break also means Bayern players have time to recover, while watching Arsenal go through a very busy schedule. Daniel Schaefers
Borussia Dortmund
We were absolutely excellent in the group stage. You can’t go wrong with 21 goals scored in six games, with 14 different goalscorers contributing. It was a joy to watch and a wonderful team effort. The irresistible, fluid play and tough mentality shown when coming from behind in the two Real Madrid encounters, which both ended 2-2, stand out.
Going forward we must not lose sight of our defensive stability and balance, but our extremely young team has already demonstrated they can keep their cool under pressure. And with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leading the line we will always find opportunities to score.
I would say we are 70/30 favourites against Benfica. If we progress further it will depend on the draw, but we know we can hurt anyone on our day. I would love to say we are going all the way, but I think we are conceding too many goals for that and maybe our team is a little bit unexperienced at this level. Stefan
Benfica
We didn’t do as well as we had expected, but considering the amount of injuries we’ve suffered this season we have to be happy with still being in the competition. We lost two points in each of the games against Besiktas that were ours for the taking. In the end we got lucky with Dynamo Kiev’s victory against Besiktas.
We’ll have to be very good to hold Borussia Dortmund’s incredible attacking firepower at bay, and also be very effective on the counter-attack. We have to be brave enough to press their defence at the right times. With key players like Jonas, Jardel and Grimaldo coming back from injury, I think we have a 1/3 chance of reaching the next round. The odds are against us and it might be a challenge too far this year. Antonio Oliveira
Juventus
Juventus have been there or thereabouts for the past three seasons and it was especially galling to watch Kingsley Coman come on and help knock us out last year. Add in the departure of Paul Pogba and you’d think things would be difficult, but there’s a renewed vigour around the team as evidenced by the unbeaten group stage.
Porto represent a tough but winnable challenge; we should have too much for them over the two legs. I’d like to see more goals from Miralem Pjanic; he can score and needs to show it more, but otherwise he’s been a solid acquisition. I’d also like to see the rest of the team chipping in a bit more; Higuain is world class, but nobody else has reached double figures yet. We have to alter that between now and the round of 16.
We also have some notable records that are nice to see. Moise Keane becoming the first player born in the 21st century to play in the Champions League was lovely, and if we can make it to the final, it will be Evra’s sixth, which I believe is a clear record. I expect Barcelona, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid and Sevilla to join us in the quarter-finals, and I would welcome any of them. LeftPegger
Leicester City
We had a relatively easy group stage but it was annoying to hear fans and pundits saying we were “lucky”. Sorry, but we earned that group as English champions and consequently a place as one of the eight group seeds. Despite the 5-0 drubbing against Porto in the last game, where Claudio Ranieri put out a much weakened team, we have a chance over two legs against Sevilla – especially if they set up to attack us on the basis of that anomalous result.
We need to stick to what we’re good at: soaking up the pressure and hitting teams on the break. Once we were crowned champions there was perhaps a different mindset for the players this season - that we now had to play like champions and tippy-tappy our way to victory. We need to utilise our strengths, our overlapping full-backs and wingers (Christian Fuchs and Marc Albrighton on the left, Danny Simpson and Rihad Mahrez on the right) and Danny Drinkwater in the centre of the park. They can all be devastating if we win the ball on the edge of our area. A dash forward for Jamie Vardy and Islam Slimani and either a beautifully weighted cross or a threaded through ball will see us home.
I’m under no illusions that we’ll win the competition but, being at home for the second leg of the last 16 against a good but not great side, I think we can make the quarter-finals. At that point it will entirely depend on the draw. If we get Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG, who I expect to win their ties, we have little chance over two legs. But if we’re lucky enough to get the winners of Benfica v Borussia Dortmund, then an unlikely place in the semi-finals is not out of the question – and our European tour can extend into the spring! Ben Smith
Manchester City
The Barcelona game was City’s best night in Europe since the takeover, but overall the group stage was a mixed bag. The games against Celtic and the away performance against Borussia Mönchengladbach were hugely underwhelming.
We need to find a defensive structure that doesn’t repeatedly offer chances to our opposition. Aside from the Barcelona game at home, we have presented our opponents with far too many chances. In the knockout stages these errors will be heavily punished. Hopefully Pep Guardiola will have decided upon a settled formation and line-up by the time the business end of the season kicks off.
Despite our recent struggles, I still think City can be a match for any team, especially if our defensive issues can be resolved. The semi-finals beckon if we can iron out the mistakes at the back. Hawkhurst
Monaco
We’ve played well so far and deserved to go through as Group E winners. It was nice to teach Tottenham a thing or two about the Champions League. Even if we crashed out of the competition now, at least we’ll always have Kamil Glik’s screamer against Bayer Leverkusen!
Manchester City will be a tall order for us. Once occupying the same super-rich stratum as their English opponents, Monaco have changed tack in recent years and promoted youth talent while cutting back on the spending. The result of this is a distinct lack of galacticos lining up for us in comparison to Pep Guardiola’s side. Radamel Falcao needs to turn up, as does Joao Moutinho; lesser-known squad players such as Mathieu Kowalewski and Patrice Boivin will probably be key, once the inevitable injuries hit. Good luck Jemerson trying to keep Sergio Agüero quiet for 180 minutes.
There’s a saying among Monaco fans: “Our club promises nothing and delivers less.” I don’t have high hopes, but perhaps that’s just the pessimistic nature of our fans. We never really got over that loss in the final to Porto in 2004. Sadly, I think City will get the better of us over two legs. But we’re not the favourites, so with the pressure off – who knows? Woolie Madden
Napoli
Our two previous Champions League appearances both ended cruelly, so having progressed from Group B as winners we were hoping for third time lucky. However, drawing Real Madrid in the first knockout stage wasn’t part of the masterplan.
We will be hoping for a low-scoring match and a precious away goal at the Bernabéu then the atmosphere at the Stadio San Paolo will take care of the return leg. Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Arsenal and Borrussia Dortmund have all failed to win there in recent years.
I’m keeping everything crossed for a huge upset and a place in the quarter-finals. If Trump can win the US Presidency, then anything is possible, right? Napoli will upset Real Madrid – you heard it here first. Nestor Nicolas
Paris Saint-Germain
PSG is clearly a club in transition. We produce some good football, like against Arsenal, where we deserved better results, but the performances against Basel and Ludogorets were clearly not good enough. Those disappointments might still cost us dearly. Key players are struggling; Lucas Moura keeps missing chances, Hatem Ben Arfa does not pass the ball enough, Ángel Di María still hasn’t played a good game this year. On top of that manager Unai Emery counted on Javier Pastore to be the go-to offensive midfielder and game-changer this year but he’s been injured for most of the last 12 months.
The best way to beat Barcelona would be to play a pressing game. PSG will not have the ball very much so it’s important to be very effective on the counter. Players need to step up. And Messi might have a couple of bad nights, you never know. Alex
Porto
Porto has the youngest squad in the Champions League. This and a new manager meant a slow start. The home draw to Copenhagen was a nadir: a team adrift and bereft of ideas. But once Nuno Espírito Santo finally settled on a system and the younger players became more confident in their roles, the team developed. The 5-0 trouncing of Leicester is deceptive, as the Foxes were playing a second-string team. But it was a great way to end the group stage.
At least we didn’t draw an English team; Porto have a terrible record in England. But we’ll have a tough enough time containing Juventus’s stellar forwards. But the real key will be how the squad performs in the first game at home. Can this very young squad hold its nerve against the Italian champions? We need a positive result going into the return leg in Turin that’s for sure.
Realistically, the round of 16 is probably as good as it will get this season. The team is very talented but also very, very young. Porto are the only club to have won the Champions League in the last 20 years from outside of the big four countries (Spain, Italy, Germany and England). And the odds of winning it this season, low as they are, would certainly be higher than in 1987, when we took our first European title by beating Bayern Munich in Vienna. You just never know. Alan Gomes
Real Madrid
We should have won the group. There’s no doubt about that. Borussia Dortmund played some wonderful attacking football, but we should have beaten them on both occasions. They found our weak spots defensively, but we went through the group stage unbeaten and hopefully we can keep that run going into the knockout stages.
We shouldn’t feel too down about the draw. With Bayern Munich also finishing second in their group it’s clear that the big guns are saving their very best for the knockout stages. Napoli will be a tough nut to crack in Naples, but by then we should have a significant advantage from the first leg in the Bernabéu to encourage us to push on. Defensively we need to be focused though. “We’ll score one more than you” is an even more dangerous tactic with the away goals rule lurking in the background. I thought that we had a chance of retaining the Champions League trophy this season and I stand by that. We just need a bit of fine tuning. Augustin
Sevilla
We’ve had an excellent season so far both domestically and in Europe. Our pressing game has been very impressive and the work ethic is admirable. To only be one point behind Barcelona in La Liga so close to Christmas is a great achievement, but we need to continue our fine form into the New Year.
We shouldn’t underestimate Leicester. It’s clear that they sacrificed their league form for a good run in the Champions League. I fully expect them to pick up in the Premier League now and grow in confidence before the round of 16 ties. But we have nothing to fear either. Jorge Sampaoli has created a competent side and has installed a new self-esteem and self-confidence in his players. This is not a competition that allows you to get distracted though, and although I expect us to go through to the quarter-finals we need to make sure we don’t fall to the underdog. Rober
