Champions League Last 16: Predicting All 8 Ties

The draw is complete. Now we wait—and make our predictions.

The 16 teams left in the UEFA Champions League know the identity of their opponents in the first knockout round. The eight round-of-16 ties will be played Feb. 14-15 and Feb. 21-22.

Until then, there's not a lot to do besides speculate over who will advance. And that's exactly what we're doing here today.

Without further delay, here are our predictions for the winners of all eight Champions League round-of-16 pairings.

Lyon over APOEL

APOEL, a Greek club based on the island of Cyprus, are technically the favorites as the winners of a weak Group G.

But Lyon will win this tie easily.

You might recall that Lyon qualified for the knockout stages somewhat miraculously, beating Dinamo Zagreb 7-1 on the final matchday as Ajax lost to Real Madrid. That experience—facing both Real Madrid and Ajax twice in the group stage—will give Lyon the edge.

That's not even mentioning Lyon's superior roster and pedigree. Bafetimbi Gomis probably won't replicate his four-goal performance from the Dinamo game, but Lyon should have more than enough firepower to get past APOEL.

Fearless prediction: Lyon advance with a 3-0 win at home and a scoreless draw on the road.

Chelsea over Napoli

It won't be easy, though.

Napoli's Edinson Cavani, scorer of 33 goals in all competitions last season, will give Chelsea fits. That'll be especially true if the English club return to their strategy of using a high line in defense.

Andre Villas-Boas knows better than that, though. At least, we hope so.

Chelsea have turned around their season after a disastrous run in October and November. The outcome of this tie could depend on whether they've continued their progress or regressed back to their early-season form.

With the January transfer window looming, Chelsea's roster might look significantly different come February. But as long as guys like Petr Cech and Juan Mata are around, they'll still be favored.

Fearless prediction: Napoli win 2-1 at home in the first leg, but Chelsea advance on the away-goals rule after a narrow 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal over AC Milan

This is the most attractive pairing of the round, and it will probably be an excellent two-legged tie.

Arsenal must travel to Milan first, but while that might sound daunting, the Gunners actually have a good record in Italy in recent seasons.

In 2008, Arsenal beat Milan 2-0 at the San Siro in the round of 16. The previous season they defeated Roma on penalties at the same stage, and in 2006 they produced a scoreless quarterfinal draw at Juventus on their way to the final.

But that's just history. In the present, Milan have a strong, organized team that Arsenal will find difficult to break down. Thiago Silva provides a towering presence in defense, while the Rossoneri have several potent attacking options including Alex Pato and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Arsenal will have to win this tie in the midfield, a position where Milan's squad is talented but either aging or injured. With Jack Wilshere (hopefully) back from his own long-term injury, Arsenal could have just enough to go through.

But not without a defensive misstep or two.

Fearless prediction: The teams serve up an entertaining 2-2 draw in the opener at the San Siro. Arsenal advance after coming from behind for a 2-1 win at the Emirates.

Bayern over Basel

Basel reached the knockout stages for the first time by beating Manchester United at home on the final matchday.

It's been a nice run for the Swiss club, but the run ends here.

Bayern Munich won Group A easily over Napoli, Manchester City and Villarreal—qualifying with a match to spare. In Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillipp Lahm, Thomas Müller, Mario Gomez, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, they have a solid core of experienced internationals.

In Manuel Neuer, they have perhaps the best keeper in the world, and in Jupp Heynckes, they have an excellent manager.

The pieces are in place for Bayern to make a deep run.

Sorry, Basel.

Fearless prediction: Bayern win both matches, 1-0 in Switzerland and 2-0 in Bavaria.

Barcelona over Bayer Leverkusen

Barcelona are the favorites, again, to win it all.

Even with David Villa out of the lineup for an extended period, the Spanish giants won't miss a beat.

Remember, they still have Xavi and Iniesta to boss the midfield.

And, of course, they still have Messi.

Fearless prediction: Barca win both matches, 2-0 in Germany and 1-0 with a weakened team in Catalonia.

Real Madrid over CSKA Moscow

Don't dwell too much on the result of El Clasico. Real Madrid still have a world-class team.

CSKA Moscow shouldn't pose too much of a problem. Leading scorer Seydou Doumbia can be dangerous, but the Russians still struggled to advance from a group that contained Inter, Trabzonspor and Lille.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, were the only club to win all six group matches. Jose Mourinho's men dominated Lyon, Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb, scoring 19 goals and allowing only two.

If Cristiano Ronaldo plays his best, Real Madrid can still challenge Barca for Spanish and European supremacy.

Fearless prediction: Real Madrid struggle through a miserable night in Moscow, but still draw 1-1, then blow away CSKA 3-1 in Madrid.

Zenit over Benfica

We want to call the upset here (would it even be one?), but we just can't.

Benfica won Group C almost by default over an out-of-sorts Manchester United, an overachieving Basel and an over-matched Otelul Galati.

Their reward is a difficult trip to Russia to open the knockout phase. It will be a tough trip, but Zenit—another member of the laughable Group G—just don't have enough to knock them off.

Fearless prediction: Zenit stun Europe and Benfica with a 1-0 win in the first match. Benfica respond with a 1-0 win in Portugal and advance on penalties.

Inter over Marseille

Like Lyon, Marseille conjured its own miracle on Matchday 6 to advance.

Down 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund, Marseille came all the way back to win 3-2 and claim second spot in Group F behind Arsenal.

Their run will end here, though.

Inter have struggled in Serie A but they're turning it around lately under new coach Claudio Ranieri. The squad is still loaded with talent, and with Ranieri pulling the strings, Inter shouldn't struggle too much with Marseille.

Fearless prediction: The teams draw 1-1 in the first match before Inter take a 2-0 decision at the San Siro.