CL 2nd Round Draw

The Champions League second round matches will be played on 20-21 Feb and 6-7 March.

Here is the schedule:

Draw Schedule

20th February / 7th March

PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal
Lille vs Manchester United
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich
Celtic vs AC Milan

21st February / 6th March

Roma vs Lyon
Barcelona vs Liverpool
Inter Milan vs Valencia
Porto vs Chelsea

Earlier Predictions

And just for reference, here’s the draw I predicted 2 weeks back:

Chelsea vs Inter Milan
Bayern Munich vs PSV Eindhoven
Liverpool vs Barcelona
Valencia vs Celtic
Lyon vs Roma
Manchester United vs Lille
Arsenal vs Real Madrid
AC Milan vs Porto

Out of these, I got Pool vs Barca, Lyon vs Roma and United vs Lille right.

Thoughts

PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal

Easy draw for Arsenal. They will have Henry back by then and should have recovered their form as well. Plus Arsenal have been able to lift their game in recent European competitions and should not have too much to worry about.

Lille vs Manchester United

The easiest tie. United will have one eye on the quarters, and while Lille can be a tough proposition United’s form at home virtually guarantees them safe passage.

Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich

Will be tough and scrapy. I think Madrid can edge it though.

Celtic vs AC Milan

Celtic’s away form is as bad as Milan’s current form in Serie A. Depending on how Milan are doing in February, this could be an even game or an painful mismatch. Milan to win.

Roma vs Lyon

Will be an interesting test of Lyon’s CL credentials. Lyon should shade this one, but Roma are capable of pulling an upset.

Barcelona vs Liverpool

Should be a fascinating game at Anfield, because Barca should win quite easily at Camp Nou.

Inter Milan vs Valencia

Even matchup. Should be interesting. I reckon Inter can shade it.

Porto vs Chelsea

Chelsea will easily go through.