UCL : Familiar foes renews rivalry and new rivalry to be established as the Champions League returns

On Tuesday, the Champions League will return as the round of 16 fixtures will be played with many top teams set to lock horns will another in order to establish an advantage ahead of the second leg in weeks time.

The group campaign saw a lot of upset as Benfica finished top of the same group where PSG only finished runner-up, while Juventus were dumped out and go down to the Europa League.

Elsewhere in another group, Barcelona were dragged out of competition having failed to get a win over two legs against Inter, and Bayern Munich continued to torture them as they always do, beating them both in the Camp Nou and Allianz Arena.

Xavi Hernandez’s side bowed out from the group stage of the competition for the second year running while their LaLiga counterparts, both Atletico and Sevilla were also dumped out in the group stage.

Sevilla at least make Europa League place but Diego Simeone’s Atletico were completely sent packing from any European club competition this season in a group of Club Brugge, Porto and Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool finishing second to Napoli in Group A was another shocker but after seeing how good Luciano Spalletti’s side have been and how poor Liverpool are this season, it isn't much of a shocker these days.

However, the group stage is now in the past and teams who have secured the tickets to the quartet finals can now look forward to the challenge in the future.

On Tuesday, two games will go down both in Milan and Paris, as Milan host Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and PSG Paris Saint-Germain entertain Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich and on Wednesday, Benfica travel to Belgium to face Club Brugge while Dortmund host Chelsea in Germany.

PSG Paris Saint-Germain vs FC Bayern Munich

So much history between the two teams and there is even between Bayern and some of the individuals in the ranks at PSG Paris Saint-Germain.

However, the teams have met eleven times in total and none has ended in a draw. PSG have been victorious six times while Bayern have won the other five.

Bayern Munich have won three in their four meetings in recent times so there are several reasons to be optimistic for the Bavarians heading into this double header.

But rather than the meeting between the two clubs, more focus will be on Lionel Messi and his meetings with Bayern when he was a Barcelona player in which Neymar Jr is also part of the history and has his own moments in it.

Lionel Messi has been directly involved in six goals in six meetings with Bayern, but he has been on the losing side more times, three, than he has won games, two.

Neymar has also been directly involved in seven goals in seven games against the Bavarians and just like Messi, he has lost more games, four than his wins, three.

Neymar's loss against Bayern include in the Champions League final, where PSG were denied their first ever title in the competition back in 2020.

Former Real Madrid captain, Sergio Ramos also has his own story against Bayern but his is more pleasing than that of the attacking duo. Nine times he has faced them and won five, drawing once.

He has also added two goals and assisted one, not bad for a defender against one of the best team in Europe.

Sadio Mané, Manuel Neuer and Lucas Hernandez have been ruled out for Bayern and Yann Sommer, who kept his first Bundesliga clean sheet as a Bayern Munich player will be in goal following his move from Gladbach in the winter.

Lionel Messi is expected to return for PSG having missed their 3-1 defeat in the league trip to Monaco while Kylian Mbappé is also back in training and is in line to start against Bayern.

An interesting clash awaits on Tuesday.

AC Milan vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Both teams share a history in this competition, meeting twice in this stage in the 2010/11 season and it was Tottenham, who came out on top after winning 1-0 in Milan thanks to a Peter Crouch goal.

The second leg ended goalless in London as Spurs progressed to the last eight at the time - Tottenham in their entire history have never lost a competitive meeting with Milan, winning two and drawing two in their four meetings.

However, much has changed since their previous meetings and the result of the past is not expected to in any way impact the one in the future.

Presently, both Milan and Tottenham are not at their best and their current form makes this clash much more interesting, because in the end, it will be anybody’s game.

For Milan, a 1-0 win over Torino in their last game sees them end a run of four consecutive losses and only their first win in eight games. Stefano Pioli knows that the team is not in a state he would want them, going into a Champions League knockout round match.

In London, the pressure on manager, Antonio Conte isn't getting any relieving following another disappointing outing last time out in the Premier League, which saw them beaten 4-1 at the King Power Stadium, by Leicester City.

The team hasn't been consistent and Conte's unimpressive Champions League record could spell another trouble for them, albeit they have everything on their side to edge Milan on the history front.

Aside Tottenham having a better head to head record over Milan, Conte has only lost to Milan once as a manager, winning ten of the 14 matches he has managed against them.

He also has a superior record against Milan manager, Stefano Pioli, winning seven and only losing one in their eleven meetings.

Players to watch are Rafael Leao for Milan and Harry Kane for Tottenham. Olivier Giroud is also an interesting player to watchout for as he has had a couple of goals against Spurs while play for their London rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Algerian midfielder, Ismaël Bennacer has been ruled out of the game by manager, Stefano Pioli due to an injury. A huge blow for Milan who already have Mike Maignan, Alessandro Florenzi and Fikayo Tomori on the sideline.

Club Brugge vs. Benfica

Two teams who both defy the odds to reach this stage. Not many could have given Club Brugge any chance of being here when the group draws were made but surprisingly, they conquered all in their path to become the first team to reach this round.

Though they finished runner-up in the end but their status has been confirmed after their fourth group game, because most of the job had been done in the first round of group games.

Benfica emerged winner of a group comprising PSG and Juventus so it needs no telling how good they have been this season, also considering they are top of the Portuguese league standing, five points ahead of Porto.

Club Brugge have fallen behind in the league but their performance in the Champions League so far has been impressive, and it is time for them to start producing such performances to go further in the competition.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Chelsea

Two teams who have enjoyed different fortunes since the turn of the year. While Chelsea have just one win in eight games, Dortmund have won each of the six they've played in the calendar year.

In the Champions League last year while Chelsea struggled under Thomas Tuchel at start, the appointment of Graham Potter has seen results in this competition improve, even it hasn't been positive elsewhere.

They managed to win the group ahead of Milan having beaten the Stefano Pioli side both home and away while also recording a good result against Dinamo Zagreb in their final group game.

Dortmund finished runner-up behind Manchester City in their own group and did earn a draw when they hosted the Premier in Wednesday's venue and they will hope for more than just a draw against a toothless Chelsea side.

This is the first ever competitive meeting between the two and with so much a stake for Graham Potter, including his status as the Chelsea manager, it will be interesting to see how the clash plays out.

Chelsea have the talents but the performances hasn't really been the way they would have wanted while Dortmund are on form and head into the match with lots of positives.

All four games coming up in Europe's top club competition this week promises to be exciting, from Tuesday to Wednesday. While those involved in the games are nervous, neutral will enjoy every bit of it, and that is the joy of the Champions League.

Author : Kehinde Hassan Afolabi