EXCLUSIVE | Former Manchester City defender picks Champions League ‘dark horses’ – football

The knockout phases of the UEFA Champions League are set to kick off this week on Wednesday. The draw for the Round of 16 took place in December and the fans have been eagerly anticipating the return of the European elite. There are some big matches taking place in the Round of 16. The biggest could potentially be a match-up between English champions Manchester City and 11-time winners Real Madrid. The two-year ban on City enforced by UEFA has further added intrigue to the heavyweight clash.

Another big game is the repeat of the 2011 Champions League final. Chelsea take on Bayern Munich in knockout phases with Frank Lampard’s team struggling for form in their domestic league. Then there is Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid and Paris-Saint Germain vs Borussia Dortmund. The knockout phase of UCL is sure to start with a bang from Wednesday.

However, with so many big teams facing each other in the initial stages only, which fixture could turn out to be the biggest and most entertaining of them all? Former English midfielder Ashley Westwood thinks Chelsea vs Bayern would be trump the other matches.

“Liverpool are going back to the stadium where they won the trophy last year. It doesn’t really come much bigger than Manchester City and Real Madrid. My personal favourite which would be the best game to watch is Chelsea vs Bayern Munich. I am quite looking forward to that one,” said Westwood.

Meanwhile, former Manchester City and Chelsea defender Terry Phelan had a much more varied response.

“There are very good games in the Round of 16. Real Madrid vs Manchester City will be an excellent game. The talent is outstanding and with the thing going on with City, it could spur them on to lift the trophy this time. Chelsea- Bayern is also going to be a big game. I think they all are big games. There is Atletico vs Liverpool also.”

Chelsea facing Bayern is surely a big match-up in the Round of 16 with a lot on stake for both teams. Lampard has brought freshness to the Chelsea side with a lot of focus on youth this season. On the other hand, Bayern have struggled to get going in their domestic league. However, they have recently found their groove winning 5 out of 6 since their loss to Nurnberg. So does the young Chelsea side have a chance against the Bundesliga leaders? Both Phelan and Westwood seem to think so.

“I really think Chelsea can upset Bayern. They have young attacking players and are playing well. Bayern are also in good form and scored four in their last game. They are top of the league. It is a tough game but Chelsea have a chance for sure,’ Westwood commented.

“If you look at Chelsea, they couldn’t really bring any players in due to the transfer embargo. That has been great for Chelsea as they have brought in the young lads now. Young footballers have no fear, they will be relishing the chance to play Bayern. This is the repeat of the final where Chelsea were the real underdogs. The pressure is on Bayern Munich more than Chelsea. But Bayern has got great players and it will be a very entertaining fixture. If Bayern doesn’t come guns blazing then there could be a shock at Stamford Bridge,” said Phelan.

Westwood thinks Chelsea needs to brush up on their defence if they want to overcome Bayern.

“First and foremost, Chelsea need to stop Bayern from scoring. They haven’t defended that well. Players like Tammy Abraham have been in good form, Mason Mount is a good player. You always expect Chelsea to score but it is going to be about keeping clean sheets, as this has been their problem.”

Last year, Tottenham and Ajax went on a dream run and upset a lot of heavyweights. Ajax overcame defending champions Real Madrid in the Round of 16 while upsetting Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus in the quarters. On the other hand, Tottenham defeated Dortmund and Manchester City before facing Ajax in the semis. Spurs looked out of the game against Ajax before an extraordinary comeback in the second half of the second leg. Their dream run was halted by Liverpool in the final.

So looking at last year’s results, which are teams who be dark horses for the title this time? Phelan picks RB Leipzig while Westwood goes in favour of Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham.

‘I think RB Leipzig could be the dark horses. They are a young side and you can see what they are doing in the Bundesliga. There is Atlanta also but if you look at the Leipzig side, they are doing very very well in Bundesliga. Valencia also could be outsiders to win the trophy this time,’ Phelan said.

“Mourinho knows how to win. They don’t play the most attractive football but they can grind out results. Especially over two legs. Although they have lost Harry Kane and Son, Spurs still got a manager that is very practical and knows how to win two-legged football matches,’ Westwood reverted.

Another team that has intrigued the imagination of the fans is PSG. They have got world-class players in Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Mauro Icardi, Angel di Maria and Thiago Silva. But still haven’t been able to get past the Round of 16 fixture in the last three seasons. Thomas Tuchel’s side are up against a dangerous Dortmund team who have free-scoring attackers like Erling Braut Haaland, Marco Reus, and Jadon Sancho in their line-up.

Westwood and Phelan both believe that this PSG team has it what it takes to finally break the Round of 16 jinx.

“PSG year in and year out, go out and spend money. They have signed Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, you expect them to do well. They are top of Ligue 1. They have some big-name players who make life miserable for any team. So for me, PSG could press the pedal this time. There is no team playing really well except Liverpool,” said Phelan.

“I think they can beat Dortmund. PSG are too strong and score goals. They concede a lot also but players like Icardi, Neymar and Mbappe push them on. I can’t see Dortmund keeping a clean sheet at home,’ Westwood continued.

The winner of the 2020 Champions League is going to be among these 16 teams. However, Phelan and Westwood were put on the spot to choose the teams that could make it to the finals of the tournament this season and both made some identical choices.

“I would love to pick Liverpool and Manchester City. I think Liverpool could do get to the final because of the way they are playing at the moment. They are fearless and play some great football. Teams like Juventus and Bayern also cannot be counted out. I believe Liverpool would definitely be in the final. The other finalist could be PSG or Juventus. It is difficult as a lot of them are not playing really attractive football at the time. If I had to choose then I would go with Juventus vs Liverpool,” concluded Phelan.

Westwood on the other hand also picked Liverpool to be in the finals but the other team he chose was Manchester City.

“I believe Manchester City. I am a little biased but I think on their day, they are one of the best sides in the world. Liverpool fans might argue that but the form that they are in is incredible. It is almost not real. You can never count Barcelona and Bayern out. But if I had to choose then I would go with Manchester City and Liverpool.”

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