SWEET 16

THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16 HAS THROWN UP SOME TIES TO SAVOUR IN THE PURSUIT OF EUROPEAN GLORY

- Nick Said

FC PORTO VS ARSENAL

Arsenal have never won the Champions League before, but FC Porto were winners under José Mourinho with a certain Benni McCarthy in their side in the 2003/04 season. The Portuguese side were also champions in 1986/87.

The Gunners will be favourites for this tie given the star-studded nature of their squad, but Porto are defensively sound and have several matchwinners in their team too. The sides have met six times before in the Champions League, but not since 2010, when Arsenal romped to a 5-0 success. Overall, the London club lead the head-to-head 3-2 with a single draw, but all three of their victories were at home without conceding a goal.

NAPOLI VS BARCELONA

Italian champions Napoli have not been able to rediscover their form of last season but come up against a Barça side who are nowhere near as dominant as they once were when Lionel. Messi used to run the show. Nigeria star Victor Osimhen is the obvious danger from the Napoli side, with his lethal finishing in the box and ability to create chances for others. He will relish this challenge. The first leg will be played at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, named after the man who represented both these clubs with such distinction. Napoli reached the quarterfinals last year, their best finish in the Champions League. They lost to Barça in the round of 16 in 2019/20. The Spanish giants are five-time winners of the competition, but not since 2014/15. They have won five of their eight matches against Napoli, with two draws and a single defeat.

5 Erling Haaland equalled Lionel Messi's tally for the most goals in a single UEFA Champions League round of 16 game when he scored five against RB Leipzig in 2022/23. Messi netted five against another German side, Bayer Leverkusen, in 2012.