Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund all found out who they would face in the round of 16 of the Champions League today.
Let’s analyse the ties:
Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich
From a German football perspective, the biggest tie is Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich. This will be the fourth and fifth time the teams will meet this season following the two league games, which ended in draws and the DFB Pokal round of 16 games which Leverkusen won 1-0. According to Opta Franz, this is the fourth time that an all-German fixture will take place in the Champions League. In 1997-98, Borussia Dortmund beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the quarter-finals. A year later on their way to the final in 1998/1999, Bayern beat Kaiserslautern 6-0 in the quarter-finals. Dortmund and Bayern met once again in the 2013 final, which was one by Bayern.
If the games earlier this season are anything to go by, this tie will be a tense affair. In both of the league meetings, the home team dominated the other in a draw. While the Pokal game was a strange one due to Manuel Neuer’s early red card. For Leverkusen, it will be interesting if they maintain the style of play that allowed them to dominate Bayern last weekend or revert to the style they used earlier on in the season. While Bayern will have to find a way to beat Leverkusen as they have yet to beat Leverkusen since Xabi Alonso has been in charge. On top of this, Bayern have not looked 100% convincing in any of their games following the turn of the year and apart from a win against PSG have struggled against teams of equal quality to them.
With the final being at the Allianz Arena, the pressure will greatly be on Bayern to get a result, while the high-intensity games could also affect their league form if the form following games against Celtic is anything to go by. The same can be said for Leverkusen who face a tough run of league fixtures sandwiching these Bayern games.
Whoever progresses from this round, you would think they have a good chance of reaching the semi-finals and even the final.
Borussia Dortmund vs Lille:
Dortmund were always going to avoid one of the big boys in the draw as they were set to face either Lille or Club Brugge.
On paper, these games against Lille are winnable, but who knows what iteration of Dortmund will turn up during these ties. If they play like they do in the league, they will easily be eliminated. If they perform like they have done in Europe at times, such as the second 45 minutes against Sporting in the first leg of the playoff, they will set themselves up for a quarter-final against Barcelona or Benfica.
However, Lille are no pushover. They finished in the top eight for a reason only losing twice (to Liverpool and Sporting) whilst drawing with Juventus and beating Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
At the moment, it is fair to say that Lille are the favourites for this tie, but if Dortmund actually turn up, they can book themselves a quarter-final ticket.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
