As some of you may know, the UEFA Champions League is the premiere European soccer competition, contested every year by 32 teams beginning each August and ending in May.  For  those not familiar with its intricacies, the Champions League starts out with what is called the group sage, where the 32 teams are divided into eight groups, playing each team in their group twice.  This produces 16 teams that move on to the knockout rounds, with the two teams with the highest point totals in each group moving on.

This Friday featured the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League.  Teams were randomly picked against each other, with the only caveats being that a team could not meet a club from its own domestic league or a club against whom it had played in the group stage.  What follows are my predictions of how the last 16 matchups will turn out. Keep reading…