UPDATE 3: The full listing of matches is below. Porto-Sevilla, with the winner likely to play CSKA Moscow, is my pick of the ties. Depends on which Sevilla shows up, of course.
Benfica/VfB Stuttgart | v | BATE Borisov/PSG |
Besiktas/Dynamo Kiev | v | Aris Thessaloniki/Manchester City |
Rubin Kazan/FC Twente | v | Young Boys/Zenit St Petersburg |
PAOK/CSKA Moscow | v | Sevilla/FC Porto |
Lille/PSV Eindhoven | v | Rangers/Sporting Lisbon |
Metalist Kharkiv/Bayer Leverkusen | v | Napoli/Villarreal |
Anderlecht/Ajax | v | FC Basel/Spartak Moscow |
Sparta Prague/Liverpool | v | Lech Poznan/SC Braga |
UPDATE 2: If we were to advance to the round of 16, we would host the second leg against either Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine) or Bayer Leverkusen (Germany). Luck of the draw to play the return leg at home in both instances, so let's take advantage of it.
UPDATE: Villarreal has been paired with SSC Napoli (Italy), Maradona's old club. Not a long trip, but a dangerous opponent featuring Cavani, Hamsik, and Lavezzi up front. No easy opponents at this stage...
The draw is underway. Will post the fixtures as soon as they are available...
For now, here are the Champions League matches to whet your appetite. Lots of talking points, but I'm most attracted by Milan-Tottenham.
AS Roma | v | Shakhtar Donetsk |
AC Milan | v | Tottenham Hotspur |
Valencia | v | FC Schalke |
Inter Milan | v | Bayern Munich |
Lyon | v | Real Madrid |
Arsenal | v | Barcelona |
Marseille | v | Manchester United |
Copenhagen | v | Chelsea |