Football's greatest club competition resumes Feb. 14 with the beginning of the knockout stages. Accordingly, our 2022-23 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 predictions examine which eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals.
There's a lot of consensus around Manchester City vs. RB Leipzig and Napoli vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, but three matchups are almost too close to call: Chelsea vs. Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan vs. Porto and the big one between PSG and Bayern Munich.
Let's gaze into the crystal ball.
Champions League Round of 16 predictions (to advance)
RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City
The18 says: Manchester City (6 votes to 1)
Corey Basciano: Manchester City
Why? Because they're really frickin' good. But don't worry, they won't win the whole tournament ;)
David Moore: RB Leipzig
Why? Timo Werner goes VROOOOOOOOM.
Luis Vidal: Manchester City
Why? Haaland, Haaland, Haaland, Ha-ha-ha...
Daylon Schiffel: Manchester City
Why? Cuz they (Haaland) are unstoppable. (Except against Manchester United!)
Giancarlo Cornejo: Manchester City
Why? Another classic Ro16 blowout for the Citizens.
Joseph Reina: Manchester City
Why? City is the better side and tends to do well in the early rounds of the UCL.
Connor Fleming: Manchester City
Why? Leipzig has been unbeatable since Marco Rose was appointed manager, but Haaland's scoring at least three over two games.
Club Brugge vs. Benfica
The18 says: Benfica (5 votes to 2)
Corey Basciano: Club Brugge
Why? Simon Mignolet, Liverpool legend.
David Moore: Club Brugge
Why? People forget how dominant Brugge was in the group stage.
Luis Vidal: Benfica
Why? Because Club Brugge fired their coach to put Scott Parker in charge. You silly!
Daylon Schiffel: Benfica
Why? Brugge are just happy to be here.
Giancarlo Cornejo: Benfica
Why? Brugge struggled in their last group stage games, but I’m not sure how the loss of Enzo will affect Benfica. Benfica should win though.
Joseph Reina: Benfica
Why? Topped the group with PSG and Juve and Brugge have massively outperformed their xG.
Connor Fleming: Benfica
Why? Losing Enzo Fernández is a big blow, but Gonçalo Ramos is now him.
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
The18 says: Real Madrid (5 votes to 2)
Corey Basciano: Liverpool
Why? Because I said so.
David Moore: Real Madrid
Why? Real Madrid will do just fine against a mid-table Premier League team.
Luis Vidal: Real Madrid
Why? Incredibly, both teams stink right now. However, Real Madrid stink less.
Daylon Schiffel: Real Madrid
Why? Salah probably still has nightmares from 2019.
Giancarlo Cornejo: Real Madrid
Why? Liverpool is dull, but the game will be closer than people think.
Joseph Reina: Real Madrid
Why? Liverpool are fully in the mud and this is what Real does.
Connor Fleming: Liverpool
Why? You should never, ever go against Real Madrid in this sort of situation but I'm an idiot.
Milan vs. Tottenham
The18 says: Tottenham (5 votes to 2)
Corey Basciano: Milan
Why? Divock Origi, Liverpool legend.
David Moore: Tottenham
Why? AC Milan look like dog shit in a garbage bin filled with water on a hot summer day.
Luis Vidal: Tottenham
Why? I had my gallbladder removed a few years ago so I feel I now have something in common with Antonio Conte.
Daylon Schiffel: Tottenham
Why? Milan in a horrible run of form. THEY NEED ZLATAN BACK!
Giancarlo Cornejo: Tottenham
Why? Milan is in shambles and Spurs have Conte on their side.
Joseph Reina: Milan
Why? This is the battle of Mid so it could go either way but I think Spurs will find a way to bottle it.
Connor Fleming: Tottenham
Why? Harry Kane's going to tear the Rossoneri apart.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Napoli
The18 says: Napoli (7 votes to 0)
Corey Basciano: Napoli
Why? They're playing extremely well.
David Moore: Napoli
Why? Napoli are making a semifinal run in the Champions League this year.
Luis Vidal: Napoli
Why? I belong to Kvaradona's army.
Daylon Schiffel: Napoli
Why? First place in Serie A? One loss in 21 Serie A games? Fire.
Giancarlo Cornejo: Napoli
Why? Frankfurt can’t stop Napoli from making a deep European run.
Joseph Reina: Napoli
Why? Because Napoli is the best team in Europe right now.
Connor Fleming: Napoli
Why? I think this could be the most entertaining tie of the round — Napoli advances 7-6 on aggregate.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Chelsea
The18 says: Chelsea (4 votes to 3)
Corey Basciano: Borussia Dortmund
Why? Karma for all these transfers will bite Chelsea in the butt, and they can only play three of their new players.
David Moore: Chelsea
Why? If $600 million can't buy you a Round of 16 win then what are you doing?
Luis Vidal: Borussia Dortmund
Why? We need an upset and Chelsea has done everything in the last few months to deserve the fans' evil wishes.
Daylon Schiffel: Dortmund my dude
Why? You think I'm gonna bet against Gio AND cheer for that **** club from west London??
Giancarlo Cornejo: Chelsea
Why? People don’t like Chelsea at the moment, so I like them + Mudryk/Félix on the flanks? Good bye.
Joseph Reina: Chelsea
Why? Todd Bohley and his wallet need to win some games and this should be the first one in Europe.
Connor Fleming: Chelsea
Why? Dortmund's defense just isn't good enough.
Inter Milan vs. Porto
The18 says: Inter Milan (4 votes to 3)
Corey Basciano: Inter Milan
Why? Forza Milan.
David Moore: Inter Milan
Why? This will be a close game but Inter Milan will sneak through.
Luis Vidal: Porto
Why? Just a hunch.
Daylon Schiffel: Inter Milan
Why? You're a bad person if you don't want to see Džeko do well.
Giancarlo Cornejo: Porto
Why? Porto topped a good group, and Inter have shown they’re not yet made for KO clashes.
Joseph Reina: Porto
Why? Porto has a good squad and has the potential to pull off an upset.
Connor Fleming: Inter Milan
Why? Inter reaches the quarterfinals for the first time since 2011.
PSG vs. Bayern Munich
The18 says: Bayern Munich (4 votes to 3)
Corey Basciano: PSG
Why? Maybe this is the year that the big three actually work well together.
David Moore: Bayern
Why? No Mbappé no party.
Luis Vidal: PSG
Why? Copa América, World Cup... Champions League? Messi is on a mission.
Daylon Schiffel: Bayern
Why? I don't see how you stop them. Also, PSG never lives up to their potential. There will be goals, but Munich to advance.
Giancarlo Cornejo: Bayern
Why? The Germans have shown to be a more consistent team and PSG without Mbappé just doesn’t cut it for me against a team like Bayern.
Joseph Reina: PSG
Why? Even without Mbappé for the first leg, PSG has the skill to overcome what is a weakened and struggling Bayern side.
Connor Fleming: Bayern
Why? It's easy to imagine Messi willing PSG to victory, but it's just as easy imagining Messi with a thousand-yard stare while Bayern runs circles around Sergio Ramos.
