With the world's most anticipated club competition entering its knockout stage, it's time to look at the matchups. The previews will be in order of most intriguing matchups to least intriguing. The first leg of each matchup will be played at the stadiums of the teams that are listed first.

For those not familiar with how the Champions League works allow me to explain. Each of these teams have advanced out of their group as a winner or runner-up. The rules of the draw are as follows; winners will face runners-up, teams from the same country can not face each other in the round of 16, and winners and runners-up from the same group in the previous round can not face each other. Teams that are listed first are runners-up and the first of two matches will be played at their home stadium. The total score from both matches will determine the winner. In the event of a tie the team who has scored more goals away from their home stadium will advance. If both teams have the same amount of away goals (Team A wins 2-1 at home and loses 1-2 away) then the second match will go into two 15 minute extra time periods. If neither team is ahead after extra time, the match will be decided by penalty kicks.

Liverpool v Inter Milan

The biggest matchup of the Round of 16 is the one that we're going to have to wait the longest to see the result of. With AC Milan playing Arsenal at the San Siro on March 4, Inter and Liverpool will have to wait an extra week for their showdown. As great as Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are, it probably isn't going to be enough for the Anfield side to advance. Anfield is a very intimidating atmosphere and Liverpool could come away with a victory at home which would be the only way they would have a shot at advancing. However, Inter's organization is what will keep Liverpool from scoring any more than one goal and with Julio Cruz, David Suazo, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic heading up the Italian's attack it wouldn't surprise me if they get the crucial away goal and have it end up 1-1 going into the second leg. Rafa Benitez's refusal to change his rotation policy will hurt him most when he travels to the San Siro. Inter is on top of the tactically-gifted Serie A because of the organization that I mentioned and there is no reason why they won't hold up at home against Liverpool. The lack of cohesiveness is what will really hurt Liverpool and will certainly stop them from banging at Inter's door enough to get a goal. Julio Cesar will prove why he is the future in goal for the Brazilian national team and make a few key saves; expect a first half goal from Inter and a very dull second half. Inter will take this one 2-1 on aggregate and move on to the quarterfinals.

Arsenal v AC Milan

As an Arsenal fan, this draw was tough to swallow. I have read a few forum posts on soccernet.com and it seems that most Arsenal fans are very pleased with the draw and think that the Gunners match up very well with the Rossoneri. I beg to differ. AC Milan's blend of experience and young talent will ask a lot of the young Gunners. Although Arsenal is one of the best passing teams in the world, AC Milan will be looking to get something out of their season as they, unbelievably, sit in the bottom half of the Serie A table. A team with Clarence Seedorf and Kaka at the helm with nothing else to play for is going to be very difficult. Look for Marco Ancelotti to put out a soft side out for their Serie A games preceeding both legs of this Round of 16 matchup. The first leg at the Emirates could bring a 2-1 result in favor of the Gunners but look for a 1-0 win at home for AC Milan which will propel them to the next round on the away goal tie-breaker (if both teams aggregate scores are tied after regular time in the second game, the team that scored the most goals away from home advances.) This is heartbreaking to say as a Gunners fan but I don't see them getting a two goal win at home and I really don't see them scoring at the San Siro.

Roma v Real Madrid

While these two teams are among the best in the world, it seems that they are not being mentioned among the favorites to win this competition. However, that certainly doesn’t mean this match isn’t worth watching. Roma has been impressive in the Serie A with their only defeat being a 4-1 slaughtering at the hands of Inter Milan. With that defeat coming at home, it does not give me much confidence that Roma will get the performance out of their team necessary in the first leg. Real Madrid is an on and off team but it’s hard not to get excited for a Champions League matchup. With Real Madrid’s 100% home record at the Bernabeu this round of 16 matchup will surely be theirs to lose. Look for a 0-0 draw or 1-0 result in favor of Real Madrid in Rome and a much more lopsided result in Spain. I don’t think Madrid will be able to get it done in the later rounds but they will still be around for the quarterfinals.

Lyon v Manchester United

This one is pretty simple. The reason it’s not lower on the list is that it’s the team that has won the French Ligue 1 title six leagues in a row against a team that has, arguably, the best starting XI in the world. Unfortunately for the French, their league has become more of a feeder to the bigger leagues (Spanish, Italian and English) which means that players don’t really go through the peak of their careers in the French league. Manchester United will be more creative and more successful on the attack. As I see it, the only goals Lyon will score in this matchup will come from free kick-specialist Juninho. Since Manchester United will not give up any more than one such goal, they will have an easy time advancing against the reigning French champions. Manchester United’s performance will be fun to watch, especially for those of you that are only semi-interested in soccer and only find enjoyment in seeing goals…because there will be a lot of them. Look for Manchester United to ring up 5 or 6 goals on aggregate while only giving up 1, if that.

Celtic v Barcelona

As much as I’d like to believe that Celtic has a good chance of advancing, they don’t. If anyone has more individual talent than Manchester United it’s Barcelona. The difficulty for Frank Rijkaard will come in choosing the correct line-up and combination of attackers. If the Spanish side doesn’t figure things out in the first leg they could certainly make things difficult for themselves. I haven’t had much of a chance to watch Celtic this season but from what I have seen they have shown me that they can score.  Not through individual efforts but more from cumulative attacks. Celtic will have their hands full and those cumulative attacks are going to be much more difficult to piece together against a side as strong as Barcelona. The fact that Celtic doesn’t have near the individual talent that Barcelona does will require that they make their chances count. I think Celtic will play well enough at home to get a 1-1 draw but that will leave them the impossible task of having to win at the Camp Nou to advance. That won’t happen and Barcelona will get a 2-0 or 3-0 win. The Spaniards will move on and be one step closer to winning their second Champions League in three seasons.

Olympiacos v Chelsea

Many people believe that Chelsea got the best draw between all of the group winners but that doesn’t necessarily mean advancing will be easy for them. Olympiacos posts a 100% home record (8 matches, 8 wins, no ties, no losses) in the Greek Super League and did not lose a match at home in the group stages of the Champions League either. The Greek side tied Lazio and Real Madrid and posted an impressive 3-0 victory over a strong Werder Bremen side. Olympiacos needed at least a draw out of that game in order to move to the knockout stage and gave a great performance. All of that means that Olympiacos will be confident heading into the game and unafraid to move men forward to get much needed goals. However, look for Avram Grant’ss side to put up a strong performance and get crucial away goals on the way to a 2-1 victory in Greece. Chelsea has won all English competitions in their past but have failed to come away from the Champions League with silverware. This will prove to be enough motivation for Chelsea to come away with an impressive win. Look for a 4-1 aggregate victory for the English side.


Fenerbahce v Sevilla

Although, by my count, it's the second least intriguing matchup Zico has a chance of leading this Turkish side into the quarterfinals. Since Tottenham Hotspur stole Juande Ramos from Sevilla it has given me more and more reason to question whether or not they'll be able to get fired up for a European matchup against a side that may be looked at as a doormat. Brazilian born manager Zico led a Japanese team that surprised me in the World Cup so I believe he will give his side a great chance at advancing. Look for a 1-0 win at home for the Turks and the most boring 0-0 draw you'll ever see in Spain. This will be the surprise of the tournament thus far. They won't get any further but a Turkish team making it to the quarterfinals is impressive enough.


Schalke 04 v Porto

Germans and Portuguese are the only people that are going to be interested in this matchup. The rest of us know damn well that the winner of this match will be sent home in the quarterfinals. Regardless, Porto fielded a strong side that took advantage of Chelsea's run-around with Jose Mourinho early in the year and won the group. Although Schalke gets better competition week in and week out in the Bundesliga, Porto is the better team and will prove that in this matchup. While the Germans may get a 1-1 draw at home, they will be sent home on a 3-1 aggregate score.