After the draws for the Champions League and Europa League knockout rounds were made today I thought I'd take a moment to look at what the five remaining Premier League teams are faced with.
Champions League
SSC Napoli v Chelsea
AC Milan v Arsenal
Chelsea have been handed a tough-looking assignment against Napoli, who were of course part of Manchester City's group and progressed at the Citizens' expense. Napoli are a team with a very creative and dangerous forward line. Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik are all top quality players who can cause problems. The commanding Cavani in particular could prove tricky for a shaky Chelsea defence - the Uruguayan is in decent form this season with goals in the double figures, and 4 in Europe. In addition to these three, Napoli can call upon Goran Pandev who they secured on loan from Inter, and who is more than capable of changing a game.
Napoli's quality does not stop there however. The highly rated Swiss player Gokhan Inler commands the midfield, alongside another Uruguayan in Walter Gargano. In defence Napoli are captained by Paolo Cannavaro, younger brother of World Cup winner Fabio - though at 30 years old, Paolo is something of a seasoned veteran himself. In goal, Morgan De Sanctis can be almost unstoppable on his day, and Chelsea may well need to be extremely clinical to put anything past him.
No doubt Chelsea will find it tough in Naples, but should they come away without being defeated then I can see them progressing. Napoli, as competition debutants, are making headlines at the moment but by the time these games roll around their foot may have come off the gas somewhat.
Prediction: Chelsea to win 4-2 on aggregate.
Arsenal return to the scene of one of their most famous nights in recent history when they visit the San Siro for the first leg of their tie against Italian champions AC Milan. I referenced that night in another blog, and one of the points raised there was that the Arsenal side this season is vastly different to the one that night. Milan themselves are in a better place now than they were then, and should provide a more stern test.
Compared to their 2008 defeat to Arsenal only one player, Alessandro Nesta, played in the recent 3-2 defeat to Barcelona. Only a further two more were in the squad at all. This is not the same Milan, nor the same Arsenal. So, can we expect a different outcome too? It will be tight, but I don't believe so.
Much has been made in recent times of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's lack of goals against English sides; yet it was against Arsenal when he put such doubts to bed with a fine brace, so they will be wary of him. Milan also feature two players who struggled in brief spells at English clubs - Robinho and Alberto Aquilani, and they still have the experience of Seedorf, Ambrosini and Van Bommel to call upon. Overall though, they may struggle to contain the pace of Arsenal and of course there is the Robin factor - Van Persie seems to score whenever he strikes the ball!
Prediction: Arsenal to win 3-1 on aggregate.
Europa League
Ajax v Manchester United
Porto v Manchester City
Stoke v Valencia
Both Manchester clubs have dropped into European football's second tier this season, and both will have had designs on winning the European Cup so they will be disappointed. However, what these ties show us is that there are still some other great teams left in the Europa League, capable of producing some tasty-looking encounters.
Manchester United, finalists in last season's Champions League, will play Dutch giants Ajax - themselves four-times winners of the European Cup. Ajax are 8 points off the pace in the Eredivisie, a league which is not overall as strong as it has been in the past. However, Ajax do feature several impressive young talents that could present different types of problem for the English champions.
Their captain, Jan Vertonghen, is only 24 but he flourished in the Ajax side under Martin Jol when the departure of Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal provided him with the opportunity. The Belgian is highly rated across Europe, and many rumours had him close to signing for Manchester City this past summer.
Other players for Manchester United fans to watch out for include the young right back Gregory van der Wiel and the Serbian right winger Miralem Sulejmani. Fellow Tweeter RutgerC030 said of Sulejmani: "Pace, skill, the occasional cracker, but tad inconsistent and very one footed too. #Goodplayer." Rutger also adds, of much-touted midfielder Christian Eriksen's season "Not very good, to be frank. Many mistakes, has been looking for better form almost the whole season." If Eriksen can find that form, he could present a threat to Manchester United too.
Prediction: Manchester United to win 4-1 on aggregate
For Manchester City, just days after Andre-Villas Boas inflicted their first Premier League defeat of the season upon them, they were drawn against AVB's former club Porto, holders of the Europa League. Porto are currently joint top of the Liga Sagres, but I don't see them offering too much of a problem to Roberto Mancini's men.
The danger man of course is Hulk. The Brazilian scored 36 goals last season and has 11 already this term including 4 goals in 6 European games. However, Porto's other strengths include defender Alvaro Pereira, and midfielders Joao Moutinho and Steven Defour (another of this exciting young generation of Belgian players).
So whilst there is genuine talent in this Porto side, I can't see how they will cope with Manchester City's superior squad depth and star quality. Over two legs, with the second in Manchester, I would expect City to progress more or less comfortably.
Prediction: Manchester City to win 5-1 on aggregate.
Finally, a word on Stoke City's draw against Valencia. This is a fantastic occasion for Tony Pulis' Potters - to host such Spanish giants in a competitive fixture is the culmination of what they have achieved over the last few years. Valencia, spearheaded by the very impressive Roberto Soldado, are likely to come out victorious in this tie.
However, we will at least get to see just how a top continental side copes in that cliche of an environment - Stoke on a Thursday night. Stoke will probably bow out of the competition at this stage but they can hold their heads high on a mangnificent achievement. They probably will score though, and the Britannia may explode with the noise from the fans' reactions!
Prediction: Valencia to win 4-1 on aggregate.
