Champions League Round of 16 Preview
The Champions League Round of 16 action continues on Tuesday night with first-leg matches. Here`s what we`re keeping an eye on this week.
Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid
The first leg of this mouth-watering tie is taking place at the San Siro. Inter Milan go into the game in superb form, having won all of their 8 games in 2024. Sitting at the top of Serie A with a 9-point lead, the Nerazzurri have lost just 1/24 Serie A games this season and have lost just 1/13 games in UEFA`s top club competitions, suffering a defeat in the 2023 UCL final. Inter finished 2nd in Group D this season, and alongside their league success went on to lift the Italian Super Cup. The last time Inter faced Atletico was back in 2010, when Atletico took a 2-0 victory, although the result will be insignificant over a decade later, and with Inter`s current form it is no surprise they are the favourites in this fixture.
Although Atletico finished at the top of Group E, their season is not as inspiring as Tuesday`s hosts. Atletico currently sit 4th in La Liga, 11 points from the summit, but do go into the game after a confident 5-0 victory over Las Palmas – break a 3-game winless run. Diego Simeone does enjoy a clash against an Italian opponent – having won 5/6 previous knockout matches against Italian clubs in a European tournament and his side poses a serious threat having scored 17 goals in this season`s UEFA competitions. It is clear that Atletico can cause problems for Inter, however, they`ve struggled on the road in Serie A this season, having won just 4/12 away games, but are yet to lose an away game in the UCL.
Inter Milan is clearly in a high-flying form and does look like a strong side on the home soil. Atletico Madrid is more than capable of finding the back of the net in the Champions League, but considering their inconsistencies this season it is hard to see them overpower a confident Inter side. We expect both teams to score but Inter Milan to win.
Another mouth-watering clash is taking place in Italy. Napoli finished 2nd in Group C, but overall had a shaky season. The Naples outfit sit 9th in Serie A, winning just 10 of their 24 Serie A games and 27 points off the top, so a formidable Champions League performance is the minimum expected from the fans. Although they`ve won just 3 of their last 10 games in all competitions, Napoli do have some recent confidence on home soil, as they`ve avoided a defeat in their last 5 home games in Serie A, winning 3 of them. Unfortunately, they had little luck against Barcelona in recent meetings – having lost 5-3 on aggregate in the 2022 Europa League and losing 4-2 on aggregate in the Champions League in 2020. Considering their poor season, it`s hard to see their luck turn this time.
Barcelona finished 1st in Group H, with goal difference separating them from Porto, who also finished on 12 points. Barca struggled domestically this season, sitting in 3rd place and 8 points off the top. They`ve also crashed out of the Copa Del Rey and the Supercup, piling on more pressure to perform in the Champions League. They do have a stronger run of form going into the game, having avoided a defeat in 4 consecutive games and have been a strong outfit on the road this season – yet to taste a defeat on the road in La Liga, but they did lose 2/3 away games against Royal Antwerp and Shakhtar in the UCL. Luckily for Xavi, Barcelona enjoys playing against Napoli and has knocked them out in their last 2 European knockout rounds.
Although neither side oozes confidence, Barcelona do seem to hold a slight edge over Napoli. Considering they`ve gotten the best of Napoli in recent years, we expect them to do the same. Both of their last 2 first leg clashes ended in 1-1 draw, so we expect them to have a narrow game this time. Therefore, we anticipate under 2.5 goals, but ultimately Barcelona to win.