Two nights, four football games, only the strongest will survive.
Of all the last 16 ties, these two seem the most straightforward of which to make a football prediction.
Sports betting really points to last season’s beaten finalists and one of the defeated semi-finalists to progress to the 2017 quarter-finals.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid
Too far adrift in La Liga, out of the Copa del Rey, the Champions League is the only realistic target for Atletico – beaten finalists both last year and in 2014.
Most neutrals would love to see Diego Simeone guide the club, for so long the unfashionable neighbour in Madrid, to ultimate European success.
Perhaps with the pressure off domestically, this year could be their chance.
Certainly, they warmed up for their trip to Germany in fine style with a 4-1 success at Sporting Gijon.
Kevin Gameiro made history by bagging a hat-trick in just four minutes and 45 seconds, the quickest ever in La Liga history – not bad for a substitute!
Leverkusen, mid-table in the Bundesliga, should not be underestimated, however.
Not when former Man Utd frontman Javier Hernandez is in such a rich vein of form.
Five goals in four games, including a double in their 3-1 league victory at FC Augsburg, shows what damage ‘Chicharito’ can do.
The BayArena will need to be bouncing though if a surprise first-leg result can be pulled off.
Manchester City vs Monaco
Monaco may be the paradise of the rich and famous.
But Man City is the plaything of rich and famous owners who, since 2008, have ploughed money into the club that most could only dream of.
The headline story will be the return to Manchester of Falcao, who has shown glimpses of the form that prompted United and then Chelsea to take him on season-long loans which didn’t work out.
The reality is the Colombian has never been the same player since sustaining a cruciate ligament injury which sidelined him for six months in 2014.
Monaco may lead Ligue 1 but Man City have match-winners in every department, and Pep Guardiola’s side has impressed, for the most part, in this competition so far.
Five clean sheets in their last six away games also suggest they are tightening up at the back, and with free-scoring options galore in the attack, this experienced City outfit should have too much European know-how.
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