UEFA Champions League: What to expect at the knockout stage

The FIFA World Cup ended a few months ago, and now it’s time for the European leagues. It's time for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. 

Starting next week, the creme de la creme of European teams will face off in some of the most intriguing matches. The games with top billing will be, of course, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) versus Bayern Munich and Real Madrid versus Liverpool, followed by Chelsea versus Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City versus RB Leipzig. 

However, for the neutral, my pick would be Napoli versus Eintracht Frankfurt.

With Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, and Kylian Mbappe, PSG is the perennial favourite besides Manchester City. However, both have failed so far. PSG faces its bogey team in the competition, the mighty Bayern—a team it has consistently lost to in the last few seasons. 

PSG’s main man Mbappe is out for the first leg, at least. The question remains, will Messi and Neymar step up? Will Messi—back from achieving the last remaining trophy that eluded him—be in the mood? And Neymar, who has been in a terrific form before the World Cup, can make up for Mbappe's absence? Moreover, can PSG fire up after getting dumped out of the French Cup by rivals Marseille?

Bayern has problems of its own. The team is still atop of the Bundesliga, yet with internal distractions. Manuel Neuer is out after injuring himself while skiing, much to the dismay of the Bayern hierarchy. 

While Bayern has an able replacement in Yann Sommer, rumblings within—the goalkeeping coach who happens to be Neuer's buddy is also sacked and other injuries—worry the team. 

However, it always had the upper hand in this fixture, and with the addition of Joao Cancelo from Manchester City, it has addressed its injury problems well. Sadio Mane and young star Jamal Musiala will lead the attack, crashing PSG's hopes again.

The clash of the Titans

Real Madrid and Liverpool—the two clubs with the most wins in this competition—clash again, while they struggle for form. 

Liverpool, especially, has been dreadful this season. Its defence has been torn apart by all and sundry, and the goals have dried up. Mohamed Salah is out of form, and Darwin Nunez is firing blanks. Virgil van Dijk is a pale shadow of his old self, and Trent Alexander-Arnold has lost his mojo. 

Real Madrid is yet to recover from the World Cup hangover. So much so that, the team has asked linchpin Luka Modric to retire from the Croatian national team—if he wants a contract extension. 

Now, will Vinicius Jr. and Rodrigo Moreno Machado be too strong for Liverpool's shaky defence? I think, Liverpool would need to play brilliantly to overcome Real Madrid, who seems to be unstoppable in the Champions League.

Chelsea and Dortmund are quite an open tie, even after Chelsea went out and splashed crazy money on World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez—a British record fee of 106.8 million pounds—and Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk for $108 million, besides others. 

A well-balanced Dortmund team has striker Sebastian Haller, who is back after his cancer diagnosis.

Normally, Manchester City would be the odds-on favourites. However, it is dealing with way too many distractions off the field. Facing a ban from the Premier League for financial irregularities has definitely affected Man City's form. 

Can Erling Haaland rediscover his red-hot goalscoring form against his old club? Manchester City should win, but if Leipzig is up for it, it could spring a surprise.

Milan and Tottenham Hotspur is a balanced match-up—both teams have been very inconsistent this season. Milan, after winning Series A last season, has had a dip in form. On the other hand, Spurs, despite having Kane and Son, has struggled for consistency. The defeat of Manchester City could spur them on and start as favourites.

The two Portuguese teams—Benfica and Porto—always seem to get favourable draws, and this time is no exception. Although their opponents, Club Brugge and Inter Milan, may see things differently.

The neutrals should look out for Napoli and Frankfurt. Napoli is running away with the league in Italy and is probably the in-form team in Europe currently. 

With its stadium renamed after its favourite son Diego Maradona, the team is ready to rekindle the glory years. Nigerian Victor Oshimen and Georgian winger Khvicha "Karadona" Kvaratsheklia have lit up Maradona with other emerging stars, including North Korean Kim Min Jae and Italian Giacomo Raspadori. 

Could Napoli be a force in the Champions League this season? Why not? However, it needs to get past a spirited Frankfurt side—winners of last year’s Europa Cup—now playing some wonderful football themselves, and found in French striker Randall Kolo Muani, a top goalscorer for the team. 

Muani, who said he will never forget his miss at the World Cup final, seems to be back on track and firing on all cylinders, along with Japanese forward Daichi Kamada.

This will be an exciting match-up, as with all the other games. It's back to those truly magical mid-week late-night games, with all the drama of the knockout stages, where it's all to play for. 

Who can build up the right amount of momentum, or will it be the mighty Madrid in May who will come out triumphant? 

Late, late weekdays are here, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: The author is a football intermediary, a certified coach, a talent scout, and a keen follower of the beautiful game. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.