Champions League Fixtures 2015: Schedule, Live Stream, Round of 16 Predictions
The round of 16 in this year's Champions League is headlined by tough tests for the Premier League's two top teams. More accurately, both Chelsea and Manchester City face difficult rematches from last year's tournament.
Elsewhere, reigning champions Real Madrid will hope their recent stuttering domestic form doesn't rear its ugly head in a tie Los Blancos won emphatically last season.
Here's the full schedule for the round of 16, including stream information and predictions:
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| Date | Time | Game | Live Stream | Prediction |
| Tuesday, Feb. 17 | 7:45 p.m. (GMT) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea | ITV Player / Fox Soccer 2Go | 2-1 |
| Tuesday, Feb. 17 | 7:45 p.m. (GMT) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Bayern Munich | Sky Go / Fox Soccer 2Go | 1-3 |
| Wednesday, Feb. 18 | 7:45 p.m. (GMT) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Basel vs. FC Porto | Sky Go / Fox Soccer 2Go | 1-1 |
| Wednesday, Feb. 18 | 7:45 p.m. (GMT) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Schalke 04 vs. Real Madrid | Sky Go / Fox Soccer 2Go | 2-3 |
| Tuesday, Feb. 24 | 7:45 p.m. (GMT) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund | Sky Go / Fox Soccer 2Go | 1-1 |
| Tuesday, Feb. 24 | 7:45 p.m. (GMT) / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Manchester City vs. Barcelona | ITV Player / Fox Soccer 2Go | 2-2 |
| Wednesday, Feb. 25 | 7:45 p.m. / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Arsenal vs. Monaco | Sky Go / Fox Soccer 2Go | 1-0 |
| Wednesday, Feb. 25 | 7:45 p.m. / 2:45 p.m. (ET) | Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid | Sky Go / Fox Soccer 2Go | 0-1 |
Manchester City vs. Barcelona
It's been a rough month and a half for reigning Premier League champions City. The Manchester club began 2015 trailing leaders Chelsea purely on alphabetical order. But a series of drab results at home have since seen the gap widen to seven points.
Dismal draws with Burnley and Hull City, along with defeats by Arsenal and Middlesbrough, the latter in the FA Cup, have exposed a fragility in manager Manuel Pellegrini's squad. The Citizens can't have a repeat of their recent problems at the Etihad Stadium when a suddenly rampant Barcelona visit.
The front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr. and maverick genius Luis Suarez has to be the most feared in Europe this season. Manager Luis Enrique has also been encouraging a style of play that's altogether more cagey than the ball-hogging tiki-taka Barca have made famous since the middle portion of the last decade.
Now Enrique's players no longer insist on always dominating possession. Instead, they can break quickly with pace and ingenuity in forward areas.
That just happens to be the perfect formula for winning away from home in Europe. Expect Barca to score more than once in the first leg.
However, Enrique's men won't find it so easy to keep City quiet. Pellegrini's squad served notice it hasn't given up on this season yet with a recent 4-1 away thumping of Stoke City.
Key players such as striker Sergio Aguero and attacking midfielder Samir Nasri were on the scoresheet. The latter was in particularly fine form, per Who Scored:
Nasri and Aguero have timed their returns to form perfectly. Along with mercurial playmaker David Silva and returning powerhouse Yaya Toure, City have ample firepower to cause Barca a few headaches of their own.
This one's primed for a high-scoring first leg, with the La Liga side set to eventually win the tie.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea
It took a dramatic late show at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea to see of PSG at the quarter-final stage last season. The Ligue 1 giants had won the first leg 3-1, courtesy of a moment of individual brilliance from Javier Pastore.
Things are likely to be just as close this time around. PSG still boasts a deep and powerful squad with most of the strength coming in midfield.
Veteran anchor Thiago Motta and pint-sized pass-master Marco Verratti are key figures B/R writer Jonathan Johnson believes manager Laurent Blanc will rely on a shape that puts three in midfield:
He also notes how Blanc is already making preparations for the visit of Jose Mourinho's Premier league table toppers:
With towering titan Zlatan Ibrahimovic in typically inspired form up front, PSG has the ammunition to cause problems for a Chelsea defence that's been surprisingly vulnerable on Mourinho's watch.
At least the Portuguese gaffer can count on his own forward-thinking players making an impact. In particular, gifted winger Eden Hazard should be a key figure.
The one-time Lille star who used to dominate Ligue 1, has the pace and trickery to tie PSG defenders in knots. Mourinho has recently touted the 24-year-old for big things, per the competition's official Twitter feed:
Blanc has upped the ante for this tie by goading Mourinho with a claim Chelsea were intentionally bounced out of the FA Cup by Bradford City, per Mirror reporter James Whaling: “Jose Mourinho is a genius – he lost a cup game 4-2 and has given himself a week to prepare for our Champions League encounter."
Expect a typically feisty encounter to be narrowly edged by PSG before the French team encounters yet more heartache in the return in West London.
Best of the Rest
If there's potential for a shock, it will come from Dortmund's trip to Juventus. It's a rematch of the 1997 final, won by the Bundesliga club 3-1.
Things are different this time as Dortmund are fighting to escape the wrong end of the league table. That fight has received a kick-start by the return of outstanding forward Marco Reus.
He has made an immediate impact, per the Champions League Twitter account:
Dortmund may be floundering on home shores, but Jurgen Klopp's team are an old and capable hand in Europe's premier club competition. By contrast, Juve are typically dominant domestically, yet again leading the way in Serie A.
However, the Turin club has flattered to deceive in this competition for some time now.
At the other end of the spectrum is the club that's owned this competition. Madrid won its 10th European Cup last season.
A 1-6 thrashing of Schalke in Germany was part of the route to the final. But things should be a little closer this time.
A 4-0 beating from neighbours Atletico Madrid has punctuated a recent run of indifferent form. Los Merengues are looking decidedly fragile at the back.
However, manager Carlo Ancelotti's team still has far too much quality in attack to lose this tie. With Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Isco in the fold, Madrid will still make it through with some room to spare.
There won't be too many surprises at this stage of the competition. You can expect the big guns to make it through, with few of the main contenders making hard work of it.
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