The draw for the 1^st knockout round (Round of 16) of the UEFA Champions League takes place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday 12.00 CET.

The remaining 3 Italian teams (AC Milan, Inter, and Roma) will be eagerly awaiting to know their next opponents. While the Milan clubs have a limited list of “potential dangers” awaiting them (Arsenal, Liverpool, and Lyon notably), the Giallorossi have every chance of picking a very tough nut to crack (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Chelsea, or Porto).

Let’s have a look.
(note for a full preview of the knock-out draw team by team, see Soccerlens’ “2007/2008 Champions League 2nd Round Draw: Preview” post by Eddie Griffin)

Milan

AC Milan have made at least the Quarter-finals of the Champions League in each of the last 5 seasons, and you have to fancy their chances of doing so again, even with Arsenal, Liverpool, or Lyon potentially being paired with them. They’ve been atrocious at home in Serie A this term, but it’s been the complete opposite in Europe, where they won all 3 group matches at the San Siro. That prowess will come in handy if they do wind up getting one of the tougher matchups in the draw.

However, the recently-crowded Club World Champions will be counting on the morale booster that their victory against Boca Juniors provided, as well as their multi-award winning (FIFPro, Ballon D’Or, FIFA player of the year etc. etc.) star player Ricky Kaká.

In addition, Carlo Ancelotti will have the added striking power contribution of Ronaldo (who should back to full health by then), as well as their star youngster signing from Internacional de Porto Alegre, Alexandre Pato. Much-needed ammunition for the Rossoneri, who could very well be in for a repeat performance of their 2007 triumph in Athens.

Inter

Inter won’t have to worry about facing Roma, but much like the AC Milan cousins they could be paired up with Arsenal, Liverpool, or Lyon. In addition the Nerazzurri could have a tough tie with Olympiakos, who have won on Italian soil already this season, having beaten Lazio 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico on Matchday 5.

A pairing with Arsenal would be a bad run of luck for Roberto Mancini & Co., given the Gunners’ excellent form in the Premier League currently (just recent victors of Chelsea this week-end), but would be a chance to erase bad memories from the 5-1 demolition the Premiership giants inflicted the last time they visited the San Siro, in the group stages of the 2003/04 CL.

On an added note, the Nerazzurri will be without out of favor striker Adriano (who was not even inserted in the CL list in September, but who could have been added for the knock-out round) because the pesky Brazilian will be spending the next 6 months on loan to Brazilian club São Paulo. If Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Julio Cruz maintain their current form however, that should be plenty for Roberto Mancini.

Roma

Roma finished 2nd in their group, which means they any adversary they draw could provide a serious challenge. The biggest candidates are obviously Barcelona, Arsenal, or Chelsea, but the French Ligue 1 and Portuguese SuperLiga champions Lyon and Porto should definitely not be underestimated.

The Giallorossi’s main objective for the knock-out stage will be to have captain Francesco Totti ready at full fitness when the time is right, as the ex-Azzurri international has been struggling with a foot injury these past months, which limited his appearances with La Magica. In the worst-case scenario in which Totti would have to miss the knock-out round however, the Giallorossi have done fairly well in his absence (with striker Mirko Vucinic stepping up to the plate on more than one occasion). For a team that makes teamwork & deadly short passing their weapon of choice, Roma might be alright even without their captain.

Of course, if they have to face the likes of Leo Messi, Cesc Fabregas, or Frank Lampard… that would make for an even greater challenge, one that coach Luciano Spalletti would welcomingly do without.

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The table below outlines all the possible pairings in the Round of 16 draw tomorrow. As a reminder:

1. 1^st-ranked teams from the Group Stage will be drawn to play against 2^nd-ranked teams (i.e. the group winners cannot be drawn against each other, and the group runners-up cannot be drawn against each other).
2. The winners and runners-up of the same group cannot be drawn against each other.
3. Clubs from the same country cannot be drawn against each other.
4. The group runners-up shall play their 1st-leg match at home.

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Possible pairings in
Friday’s Round of 16 Playoffs Draw:
.

	AC Milan		Inter Milan
	Arsenal		Arsenal
	Liverpool		Liverpool
	Lyon		Lyon
	Schalke		Schalke
	Fenerbahce		Celtic
	Olympiakos		Olympiakos
.
.
	Roma		Schalke 04
	Barcelona		Barcelona
	Real Madrid		Real Madrid
	Sevilla		Sevilla
	Chelsea		Man Utd
	Porto		AC Milan
			Inter Milan
			Porto
.
.
	Arsenal		Liverpool
	Barcelona		Barcelona
	Real Madrid		Real Madrid
	AC Milan		Sevilla
	Inter Milan		AC Milan
	FC Porto		Inter Milan
.
.
	Man Utd		Chelsea
	Olympiakos		Olympiakos
	Schalke		Roma
	Fenerbahce		Fenerbahce
	Celtic		Celtic
	Lyon		Lyon
.
.
	Barcelona		Real Madrid
	Arsenal		Arsenal
	Liverpool		Liverpool
	Roma		Roma
	Olympiakos		Lyon
	Schalke		Schalke
	Fenerbahce		Fenerbahce
	Celtic		Celtic
.
.
	Sevilla		Porto
	Olympiakos		Olympiakos
	Liverpool		Arsenal
	Roma		Roma
	Lyon		Lyon
	Schalke		Schalke
	Fenerbahce		Fenerbahce
	Celtic		Celtic
.
.
	Lyon		Olympiakos
	Real Madrid		Barcelona
	Sevilla		Sevilla
	Man Utd		Man Utd
	Chelsea		Chelsea
	AC Milan		AC Milan
	Inter Milan		Inter Milan
	Porto		Porto
.
.
	Celtic		Fenerbahce
	Real Madrid		Real Madrid
	Barcelona		Sevilla
	Sevilla		Man Utd
	Man Utd		Chelsea
	Chelsea		AC Milan
	Inter Milan		Barcelona
	Porto		Porto

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Posted in Inter, Milan, Roma, UEFA Champions League |

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