EA Sports FIFA 13 Champions League Round of 16 Week 1 Predictions

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What better way to predict the upcoming Champions League games than CPU vs. CPU simulations run through EA Sports FIFA 13.

There were certainly a few pitfalls in the process, like one team not even being in the original FIFA setup, but it was fun to watch.

Shakhtar Donetsk is the team in question, but with the help of a well set up user-created side they made an appearance.

That meant that the game's MatchDay feature, which adjusts form of players and teams based on their real-life performances, couldn't come into play.

That along with the fact that some teams weren't in their actual stadiums were factors that diluted the authenticity somewhat.

Still, just like predictions in normal articles, these simulations took into consideration suspensions and injuries.

That meant that even though the players' individual form weren't affected, the team was as close to a real-life team as possible.

So here are your predictions for this first week of the 2013 Champions League knockout rounds brought to you by EA Sports FIFA 13.

Celtic vs. Juventus

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Celtic starting lineup: Fraser Forster; Mikael Lustig, Efe Ambrose, Charlie Mulgrew, Emilio Izaguirre; James Forrest, Scott Brown, Victor Wanyama, Kris Commons; Giorgios Samaras, Gary Hooper

Juventus starting lineup: Gianluigi Buffon; Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Martin Caceres; Mauricio Isla, Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Stephan Lichtsteiner; Sebastian Giovinco, Mirko Vucinic

Scoreline: 1-1

Possession: 40-60

Shots (on goal): 4 (2)-9 (6)

Standout performers: Hooper, Forster, Vucinic, Pirlo

As expected, Juve dominated throughout in terms of possession and chances created.

Giovinco got on the scoresheet for Juventus after 34 minutes but couldn't capitalize on their possession after.

Celtic buckled down defensively and got an equalizer after a solid individual effort from Gary Hooper at the 54-minute mark. 

Forster proved the hero for the Hoops, however, as he denied Vucinic from a point-blank header and stopped a Pirlo free-kick.

Valencia vs. Paris Saint-Germain

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Valencia starting lineup: Vicente Guiata; Joao Pereira, Adil Rami, Ricardo Costa, Aly Cissokho; Tino Costa, Ever Banega; Sofiane Feghouli, Jonas, Andres Guardado; Roberto Soldado

PSG starting lineup: Salvatore Sirigu; Jallet, Alex, Mamadou Sakho, Maxwell; Lucas, Marco Verratti, Blaise Matuidi, Javier Pastore; Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ezequiel Lavezzi

Scoreline: 1-0

Possession: 59-41

Shots (on goal): 8 (5)-2 (1)

Standout performers: Feghouli, Rami, Jonas, Sirigu

Judging by this simulation PSG will greatly miss the presence of Thiago Silva and Thiago Motta.

Valencia absolutely dominated PSG in this encounter as the stats show.

Sofiane Feghouli popped up with the game winner on 90 minutes after a number of chances for the hosts.

The score could have been worse for PSG had it not been for Sirigu making some important saves and Guardado missing an easy chance. 

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Borussia Dortmund

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Shakhtar Donetsk starting lineup: Andriy Pyatov; Darijo Srna, Oleksandr Kucher, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Razvan Rat; Tomas Hubschman, Fernandinho; Alex Teixeira, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Douglas Costa; Adriano Luiz

Borussia Dortmund starting lineup: Roman Weidenfeller; Lukasz Piszczek, Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer; Sven Bender, Sebastian Kehl; Jakub Blaszczykowski, Mario Gotze, Marco Reus; Robert Lewandowski

Scoreline: 0-1

Possession: 52-48

Shots (on goal): 9 (5)-7 (4)

Standout performers: Weidenfeller, Hummels 

Borussia earned a tough away win through a Kehl strike that put themselves in the drivers seat for the tie.

Shakhtar had more possession and more shots, but Dortmund had the better chances.

Lewandowski could have added to the German side's tally late in the second half but was thwarted by Pyatov.

Shakhtar substitute Eduardo had two chances to change the scoreline, but Roman Weidenfeller stood up to the task.  

Real Madrid vs. Manchester United

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Real Madrid starting lineup: Diego Lopez; Alvaro Arbeloa, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso; Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo; Karim Benzema 

Manchester United starting lineup: David de Gea; Rafael, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley; Antonio Valencia, Wayne Rooney, Nani; Robin van Persie 

Scoreline: 1-1

Possession: 48-52

Shots (on goal): 6 (3)-9 (6)

Standout performers: Shinji Kagawa, Ozil 

Shinji Kagawa came on at half-time and rescued Manchester United after Mesut Ozil put the home side ahead.

Real Madrid were lucky to come away with the draw as Manchester United, with Robin van Persie proving troublesome, created some dangerous chances.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema did have chances to break the deadlock but were stopped by David de Gea.