UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Matchups and Predictions

Following a great group stage, the Champions League has now moved onto the knockout stages, as the Champions League Round of 16 draw took place today in Nyon, Switzerland.

The eight matchups for the Round of 16 are as follows: Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham v AC Milan, Valencia v Schalke, Inter Milan v Bayern Munich, Lyon v Real Madrid, Arsenal v Barcelona, Marseille v Manchester United and Copenhagen v Chelsea.

The first leg of each match will take place between February 5-16 or 22-23, with the second legs on either March 8-9 or 15-16.

Here is a preview of each of the upcoming Champions League round of 16 matchups, and who I believe will advance from each matchup.

Last Meeting: 2006 Champions League group stage.

Results: Roma won 4-0 at the Stadio Olimpico on September 12, 2006 while Shakhtar Donetsk beat Roma 1-0 at the Shakhtar Stadium on November 22, 2006.

Recap of Group Stage:

Roma: After a solid season last year in Serie A, Roma went into Group E of the Champions League with Bayern Munich, FC Basel and CFR Cluj.

Roma did have some problems inside of their group, but a thrilling comeback 3-2 win over Bayern Munich led them to the round of 16 against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Shakhtar Donetsk: After winning the Ukrainian Premier League last season, Shakhtar Donetsk were an automatic qualifier in Group H, as they faced Arsenal, Sporting Braga and Partizan Belgrade.

However, Shakhtar Donetsk were able to defeat the sides favored to advance (Arsenal and Braga) and put on a fantastic performance in Group H with 15 points.

Prediction: This is an even matchup overall and this will be a close result to see who will advance.

With the first leg in Rome, I have Roma prevailing 2-0, while Shakhtar Donetsk will win 1-0 in Ukraine.

As a result, I have Roma prevailing 2-1 on aggregate.

Last Meeting: 1986 at Gamper Tournament third place match in Barcelona.

Result: Tottenham won 2-1 to claim third place in the Gamper Tournament.

Recap of Group Stage:

Tottenham: After finishing higher than Manchester City to qualify for a qualification round in the Champions League, Tottenham were able to defeat BSC Young Boys of Switzerland to reach their first ever Champions League group stage.

Tottenham were placed in Group A alongside Inter Milan, FC Twente and Werder Bremen.

In their first ever group stage under the Champions League format, Tottenham proved to be one of the most entertaining sides in the tournament with some fantastic wins in White Hart Lane to finish first in Group A with 11 points.

AC Milan: Meanwhile for Milan, they took to the pitch in the Champions League with some new stars in Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but were put into a tough Group G alongside Real Madrid, Ajax and Auxerre.

Milan were able to only register two wins, both of which were against Auxerre. Milan also were nearly able to beat Real Madrid at the San Siro, but a late goal from Pedro Leon allowed Real to draw with Milan at two apiece.

Prediction: This will be a fantastic matchup to watch, as both sides are having strong seasons in Europe, and domestically, to date.

In the first leg, I have Milan winning at the San Siro 3-1, but Spurs will win 3-2 at White Hart Lane.

However, Milan will win on aggregate 5-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

Last Meeting: 2007 Champions League Group Stage

Results: Valencia beat Schalke 1-0 at the Veltins Arena on September 18, 2007. In their second group stage match, both sides played to a scoreless draw in Spain, but Schalke were able to eliminate Valencia from the Champions League with the draw.

Recap of Group Stage:

Valencia: After losing David Villa and David Silva over the summer, no one knew exactly what would come of Valencia this season in the Champions League after automatically qualifying for the tournament last year with a third place finish in La Liga.

In their Champions League draw, Valencia were paired with Manchester United, Rangers and Bursaspor.

However, Valencia were impressive in the group stage, getting several key results and were able to finish second in Group C behind Man United.

Schalke: Following the acquisitions of Raul and Klaus-Jan Huntelaar over the summer, Schalke became a favorite to win the Bundesliga and have success in the Champions League.

Despite a slow start in Germany, Schalke were able to be successful in Group B against Lyon, Benfica and Hapoel Tel-Aviv, gaining 13 points to win the group.

Prediction: This will be a pretty even matchup.

However, Schalke will finally live up to the expectations of having Raul and Huntelaar on their side, and will win 2-0 and 2-1 to advance 4-1 on aggregate.

Last Meeting: 2010 Champions League final.

Result: Inter Milan won 2-0 to complete first ever Italian treble.

Recap of Group Stage:

Inter Milan: After winning the Champions League last season, Inter have been hoping to repeat their Champions League triumph this season.

However, Inter first lost Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid before the season started, and were put into a tough Group A alongside Tottenham, Twente and Werder Bremen.

During the group stage, Inter were, at times, able to show their brilliance, but found themselves in second place behind Tottenham at the end of the group stage thanks in large part to some mediocre play.

Bayern Munich: Following their loss at last year''s Champions League final, Bayern have looked to rebound and win their first Champions League crown since 2001.

Despite a weak start in the Bundesliga, Bayern were fantastic in the group stage, gaining 15 points in Group E against Roma, FC Basel and CFR Cluj.

Prediction: Another fantastic matchup between two European superpowers, this will turn out to become a rather decisive tie for Bayern Munich.

Bayern will have Arjen Robben back by the start of this matchup, and that will certainly make Bayern even better than they have been so far in the Champions League.

Following a 1-1 draw at the San Siro, Bayern will win 3-1 at the Allianz Arena to advance onto the quarterfinals 4-1 on aggregate.

Last Meeting: 2010 Champions League round of 16

Results: Lyon win 1-0 at Stade de Gerland and draw 1-1 to advance 2-1 on aggregate.

Recap of Group Stage:

Lyon: Following a trip to the Champions League semifinal last year, many wondered if Lyon were going to make a similar run following their Group B draw with Schalke, Benfica and Hapoel Tel-Aviv.

Lyon were not able to play up to their full ability and finished second overall with ten points.

Real Madrid: After major disappointments in the Champions League over the last several years, Real Madrid came into this season with a new manager in Jose Mourinho and had the belief that they would dominate in Europe.

And Real were able to do that so far, after dominating a tough Group G by generating 16 points.

Prediction: Unlike the round of 16 matchups from the last several years, Real Madrid will finally advance onto the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004.

Real will win the first leg in France 1-0 before winning 4-1 in Madrid to advance 5-1 on aggregate.

Last Meeting: 2010 quarterfinal

Result: Both sides drew 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium before Barcelona won 4-1 at the Camp Nou to advance to the semifinal 6-3 on aggregate.

Recap of Group Stage:

Arsenal: Following a summer of rumors that Cesc Fabregas will transfer to Barcelona, Arsenal were able to put together some fantastic performances in Group H over the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Partizan Belgrade at the Emirates.

However, Arsenal had problems outside of London in the group stage by suffering two losses. As a result, they finished second to Shakhtar Donetsk in Group H with 12 points.

Barcelona: Following a painful semifinal defeat last year, Barcelona acquired David Villa during the summer and looked to continue on with their dominance from the last several seasons.

In an easy Group H, where they faced Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos, Barcelona were able to show that they are the best footballing side in the world by collecting 14 points.

Prediction: This matchup is probably the most hyped Champions League matchup in the round of 16, with Cesc Fabregas appearing that he will finally play in Barcelona, where many people expect him to go over the summer.

But in the matchup, Barcelona and Lionel Messi will continue on with their dominance of Arsenal from last year's second leg with another fantastic performance against the Gunners.

Barcelona will win at the Emirates 2-1 before prevailing 4-2 at the Camp Nou to advance onto the quarterfinal.

Last Meeting: 1999 Champions League group stage

Results: Manchester United beat Marseille 2-1 at Old Trafford on September 29, 1999 before losing to Marseille 1-0 on October 19, 1999 at the Stade Velodrome.

Recap of Group Stage:

Marseille: After winning Ligue 1 last season, Marseille went into the Champions League hoping to do better than their third place finish in Group C from the season before.

Marseille were drawn into Group F against Chelsea, Spartak Moscow and Zilina.

After a disappointing first two matches, Marseille were able to rebound with four straight wins to finish second in Group F.

Manchester United: After falling out in the Champions League quarterfinal to Bayern Munich, Manchester United looked to rebound this year in Group C against Valencia, Rangers and Bursaspor.

United were able to go five matches without conceding a goal before drawing 1-1 with Valencia to close out the group stage. United finished the group stage with 11 points and were first overall in Group C.

Prediction: This matchup will pair a great offensive side (Marseille) against a strong defensive outfit (Man United) and will either contain a large amount of goals or could be a couple of goals.

However, I feel that this matchup will have very few goals, and I predict Manchester United to advance after winning 1-0 win in France, before winning 2-0 at Old Trafford behind a resurgent Wayne Rooney.

Last Meeting: 1999 UEFA Cup Winner's Cup

Result: Copenhagen and Chelsea draw 1-1 at Parken before Chelsea win 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to advance 2-1 on aggregate.

Recap of Group Stage:

Copenhagen: A side that were expected to finish last in Group D alongside Barcelona, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos, Copenhagen were able to stun the experts with some great results at Parken to finish second in Group D with ten points.

In the process, Copenhagen are the first Danish side to advance onto the round of 16 in the Champions League.

Chelsea: After getting eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League last year to eventual winners Inter Milan, Chelsea were able to dominate the Champions League group stage by collecting 15 points overall.

Chelsea have not been as effective as of late, but they will probably be back at their best form once this tie begins.

Prediction: This matchup is a perfect matchup for Chelsea as they will probably be back to their old selves once this tie begins.

Also, Copenhagen will be getting off their winter break and will be not up to full strength for this matchup.

In the first leg, Chelsea will win 2-1 at Parken (becoming the first away side in Champions League play to win there) and will prevail 4-0 at Stamford Bridge to win 5-1 on aggregate.