Champions League Draw: Arsene Wenger Smoking, Rematches, Two Heavy Favorites

The draw for the Champions League knockout stage happened this morning. Here is a quick breakdown of the pairings.

Watchable

Manchester City vs. Barcelona: Soccer’s most expensive talent assemblage vs. soccer’s most aesthetically pleasant (and still quite expensive) talent assemblage. Man City staged a great escape to get out of the group stage in second place. They get rewarded with Barcelona in the Round of 16, again. Unfortunate, but you don’t spend a billion dollars to whine about a knockout draw.

Chelsea vs. PSG: Mourinho vs. Zlatan. Russian Petrogarchy vs. Qatari Petrogarchy. Glamour over tradition. This pairing is a fitting capsule for modern European soccer. It’s another rematch from last year, where Chelsea advanced 3-3 on away goals. It’s a chance for David Luiz to do David Luiz things against his former employer.

Arsenal vs. AS Monaco: After years of terrible fortune, the Gunners were rewarded for again derping away a group win, by being paired with perhaps the weakest group winner (just four goals scored in the group stage). Arsene Wenger made his name at AS Monaco in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Dated pictures, vines etc. will be coming hard and heavy. Tomas Rosicky was in a trolling mood.

Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund: This pairing at least reads as compelling. Opposite seasons so far in league play. Dortmund is flirting with relegation in Germany, with just 14 points from 15 matches. Juventus leads Serie A. That said, the Germans have impressed more in the group stage. Not clear what the result will be, but Jurgen Klopp will be GIF-able.

Not So Watchable

Porto vs. FC Basel: Porto won an easy group. Basel capitalized on Liverpool’s incompetence. One of these teams should make a quarterfinal matchup a fait accompli, unless drawn with Arsenal.

Atletico Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen: Atletico Madrid suffered a crushing blow in last year’s final. They lost star goalkeeper Thibault Courtois. But, they have not missed a beat this season and are hanging in the Spanish title race.

Bayern Munich vs. Shakhtar Donetsk: Bayern, among the world’s stablest clubs, is a co-favorite to win the Champions League. Shakhtar, exiled to Kiev by war, has the longest odds of any team left at 500-1.

Real Madrid vs. Schalke: Real Madrid annihilated its group, winning all six matches by a margin of 16-2. Schalke…is nowhere near that good. Per the Soccer Power Index, this is the most lopsided of the initial pairings.

Best Bets

Here are the odds of winning. European soccer has entered a definitive “Great Power” era. With Bayern Munich and Real Madrid so dominant, there is not much value elsewhere. Chelsea at 7-1 may be your best play outside the top two. They have the most complete team outside the two stalwarts. Jose Mourinho has lifted the trophy twice. For a true long shot, we would look at Atletico Madrid at 20-1. They have already beaten Real twice this season.

[Photos via Getty]