Being crowned the champions of Europe is one of the finest honors in the world of football and the race to the crown kicks off again Tuesday. After an entertaining Champions League group stage, teams are rested up for the back end of the season and looking to make a run to book their place in the final in Kiev. Will we see another Inter Milan shocker like 2010? Or will Real Madrid prove to be too dominant once again? Let's take a look at the headliners of the Round of 16.
PSG travel to the Santiago Bernabéu
In a star-studded clash of two of the best teams in Europe, Paris Saint Germain travel to Madrid looking to dethrone the back-to-back Champions of Europe.
PSG come into this one high on confidence, winning their last six matches and sitting at the top of Ligue 1. Now the leader of his own team, Neymar has shown he's more than ready to be the main man after leaving Barcelona in the summer. Neymar has the ability to change a match on his own and has some serious firepower alongside him in Kylian Mbappé, Edison Cavani, and Ángel Di María.
The PSG attack is blistering and it will take everything to slow them down. Meanwhile, Real Madrid hasn't been up to their usual standards, sitting fourth in La Liga and 17 points behind rivals Barcelona. They've shown flashes of their form from the last two seasons, but not consistently enough and it all starts with Cristiano Ronaldo.
After rumors of leaving in the summer, Ronaldo started off the season poorly but has turned it around lately, including a hat trick over the weekend. Look for Madrid to come out and make a statement against PSG.
Messi looks to exorcise his Chelsea demons
Lionel Messi has an outstanding record of scoring against English teams with 17 goals in 16 games but has never found the back of the net against Chelsea in eight games.
Barcelona topped Group D but didn't look convincing at times. Messi struggled to find the net, only netting three times in Europe so far. He had ten goals at the same point in last season's Champions League.
Barcelona has plenty of firepower in their attack, especially after signing Philippe Coutinho in January, but haven't been in tip-top form as of late and playing at Stamford Bridge is never easy.
While Barcelona hasn't been playing well lately, Chelsea has been just as bad if not worse. Since the new year, they've only won four of their 11 matches, including losses to Watford and Bournemouth.
Antonio Conte's leadership has come under question and it couldn't have come at a worse time for Chelsea as Barcelona, Manchester United, and manchester city are three of their next four opponents. Chelsea does get a boost as Alvaro Morata has returned to full fitness and they will need his experience against Barcelona along with Eden Hazard at his best if they want to provide a shock in the Round of 16.
Can Manchester City be stopped?
Basel will have all the odds against them in their tie against Manchester City, who have at times looked unstoppable.
Pep Guardiola has his City squad playing like the best side in Europe having already found the back of the net a staggering 79 times in 27 EPL matches, and they look to carry their blistering goal-scoring pace over to the knockout stages.
In January, they bolstered their defense, bringing in Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao. Basel impressed in the group stages finishing second behind Manchester United but took a hit in January, losing their top CB Manuel Akanji to Dortmund. Guardiola will look to have key men Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, and Kevin De Bruyne penetrate the weakened Basel backline. The first leg will be held in Basel at St. Jakob-Park and if they want any chance of advancing, they'll have to bring the energy at home against this strong Manchester City side.
The Champions League kicks off tonight at 2:45 p.m. ET with two games today and two Wednesday. The other four games kick off next week.
