Champions League: Charlie Nicholas' predictions for round of 16 fixtures involving Premier League sides
Charlie Nicholas takes a look at this week's round of 16 ties, with success predicted for Tottenham as they face RB Leipzig.
Atletico Madrid v Liverpool
It is a cracking tie. You could see at the weekend that the efficient Liverpool was evident again. They were very classy at times, and other times they got the balance and grind right where they can take the sting out of the game. They were not quite as clinical but just wanted to get the job done.
I am finding it tough to pick the Player of the Year this season. My early tip was Sadio Mane. You could see the boost it gave them coming off the bench. No other player in his side could have scored that. His movement and agility allowed him to do that. Others would have been more vigilant of what was happening off the ball. Do all the players have to be from Liverpool? I have mentioned others, but it is the greatness of where they are.
Atletico Madrid are nowhere near the team they were. Despite Diego Simeone still being in charge, the goalscoring, commitment and quality ha all dipped. They have lost the likes of Diego Godin and the authority he brought to the team. They do have the same aggression, but they are struggling in La Liga.
In all honesty, the two giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have been average, which tells you everything. Atletico have drawn 10 of 24 games, which is simply not good enough. Diego Costa has dried up in front of goal, while Alvaro Morata has gone cold once again.
This is the game where Simeone will roll his sleeves up and warn his players of reputation. The reputation of turning over the future Premier League champions, but this is an awkward tie for Liverpool.
Their personality is awkward, but I am going to go for Liverpool to get a draw. It will be brutal but it will be a great result for Liverpool going back to Anfield.
Prediction: Atletico Madrid 0-0 Liverpool (Sky Bet odds: 7/1)
Tottenham v RB Leipzig
Again, to be fair to Tottenham, they did not deserve to beat Southampton. They did not deserve it against Aston Villa. Mistakes were given to them and they took advantage, but they are getting results.
Jose Mourinho’s face is no disguise for the way they are performing. Including Manchester United, he has no dealt with a worse defence, in terms of understanding what the shape and what the demands are. He just has to see what happens. If he upsets them, it could be a long way back. He is caught in an awkward place.
RB Leipzig got an excellent draw at Bayern the other week, and they have goals in them that is for sure, with pace to burn. Christopher Nkunku and Tino Werner will cause a lot of problems. They all have a great working attitude and real assets. It is yet another awkward game.
They should have beaten Bayern, so there are promising signs. Leipzig will play on the counter-attack, but I can only see goals.
It will be an open game but Jose knows he must get a win from this one, and I think they will just about get there.
Prediction: Tottenham 3-2 RB Leipzig (Sky Bet odds: 22/1)
Odds correct as of 1020 GMT (18/02/20)
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