Who Could Liverpool Face In The Champions League Round Of 16?
Liverpool have already clinched top spot in Group B in the UEFA Champions League. With that, they go into the knockout stages of the competition. Let us find out who their potential opponents for the round of 16 could be?
After Liverpool beat FC Porto we all could hear the Anfield crowd singing…
We’ve conquered all of Europe
We’re never gonna stop
From Paris down to Turkey
We’ve gone and won the lot...
Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly
The Fields of Anfield Road
We are loyal supporters
And we come from Liverpool
Allez Allez Allez...
Allez Allez Allez...
Allez Allez Allez...
Allez Allez Allez...
(Photo by PA Images/Sipa USA)
Well, Liverpool are European royalty and rightly so. When the groups were announced before the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 season began, Liverpool were part of the “so called” group of death. To be fair, I for one was nervous about the chances of going through.
Liverpool have proven, both home and away, that they are a force to be reckoned with. Jurgen Klopp has rotated the squad, asked players to dig deep and executed every plan to perfection.
This season is trickier than ever. Especially the Champions League. Top teams like Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid have all found it incredibly tough to make a mark in this year’s competition.
Klopp’s men have managed Five wins in their five group games. AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and FC Porto have not been able to handle Liverpool whether they have played home or away.
Only three teams can boast of having the perfect start to the Champions League this season. They are Ajax, Bayern Munich and obviously our very own Liverpool.
But, the fact is, all these results are in the past. Let us now take a look at what lies ahead. Let us try and figure out who are the potential opponents for Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.
Let us begin with the teams that Liverpool are exempt from facing in the next round
Liverpool finish their group in top place. This means, irrespective of the outcome of the sixth and final group game, they will face one of the teams that finish second in their respective groups.
Given this, we can rule out the chances of facing Bayern Munich and Ajax as well.
Alongside Liverpool in Group B, any of the other three teams have the chance to go through to the next round.
However, it’s a known fact that Liverpool can’t face any of the teams that they faced in the group stages. Hence that rules out any one of FC Porto, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid.
Given the restrictions of facing a team from your own association, Liverpool will also not face either Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea.
So, moving ahead, let us see which teams finish the group stage in second spot.
GROUP A
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Given that Group A qualification has concluded and Manchester City are finishing the group as winners, there is a chance that Liverpool can play against Paris Saint Germain.
Personally, this is a fixture I would like to avoid as much as possible. It might be the homecoming of a certain Gini Wijnaldum, but the prospect of facing the attacking quartet of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Angel Di Maria is somewhat scary.
(Photo by J.E.E/SIPA/Sipa USA)
GROUP C
Group C has concluded with Ajax taking top spot and Sporting Lisbon finishing in second. The Portuguese outfit are confirmed in second spot given a superior head to head record against Borussia Dortmund after beating them in gameweek five.
This means, Liverpool have a chance to face Sporting Lisbon in the knockout round.
GROUP D
The fight in Group D of the Champions League is between Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Group winners and second spot will only be confirmed after the final gameweek.
There is a high probability of Real Madrid finishing first and Inter staying in second. They face each other at the Bernabeu in gameweek six.
Liverpool have the chance of facing either Real Madrid or Inter Milan in the knockout round.
GROUP E
Barcelona are enduring their worst ever start to the Champions League group-stages.
After losing their first two games and drawing the third, they have clawed their way back with back-to-back wins over Dynamo Kyiv. Courtesy of those results, they occupy second place in the Group E.
Barcelona will hope that Benfica drop points to ensure that they go through to the knockout round. The other way they can progress is if they beat Bayern Munich in gameweek six at the Allianz Arena.
IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
GROUP F
Life after Ole has begun for Manchester United. They finally managed to win a game due to which they clinched top spot in gameweek five of Group F. The fight for second spot is now between Villarreal and Atalanta.
Villarreal face Atalanta in the final group game with the Spanish club currently a point clear of the Serie A side. A draw for Villarreal is enough for them to secure a spot in this season’s knockout stages..
GROUP G
Group G is one of the closest groups this season. Currently, Lille sit pretty at the top with eight points. However, with one a gameweek to go, all four teams have the chance to go through to the next round.
GROUP H
Group H is much simpler than Group G. With Chelsea unable to face Liverpool in the next round, Juventus are the only side from Group H they could be drawn against.
However, if Juventus leapfrog Chelsea in gameweek 6, Liverpool might avoid Juventus till later on in the competition.
(Photo by IPA/Sipa USA)
So, in conclusion, Liverpool could face either of the following in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds.
- PSG
- Sporting Lisbon
- Real Madrid
- Inter MiIan
- Barcelona
- Benfica
- Juventus
- Villarreal
- Atalanta
- Sevilla
- Red Bull Salzburg
- VfL Wolfsburg
- Lille
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