Last 16 Uefa Champions League Preview

By Oladapo Okeowo

Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid

8:45pm

The Uefa champions league returns this week with Bayer Leverkusen taking on Atletico Madrid at the BayArena in what looks like one of the underwhelming ties of the round.

Despite languishing in 8th position on the Bundesliga table, Leverkusen has impressed in the champions league as they are still unbeaten and cost Tottenham a place in the knockout stage of the competition.

However, extra work would be expected of them to knockout Atletico Madrid, who finished above Bayern Munich at the group stage.

Atletico have reached at least the quarter-final stages in each of the last three years, including in 2014/15 when they beat Leverkusen 3-2 on penalties.

Atletico are the favourites for this tie though their form has been spotty in the La Liga.

Manchester City vs Monaco

8:45pm

Manchester City go into this game after having rested the bulk of the first-team players over the weekend.

City boss Guardiola is a veteran of this competition.

He has won it both as a player (1992) and as a manager (2009 and 2011) reaching at least the semi-final in each of the seven seasons as a manager.

Manchester City are aiming to pass the second round for the second time in their history.

Monaco are on a fairy tale run this season in all competitions. They currently top the French league, leading PSG by three points.

They won both legs of the games against Tottenham Hotspurs during the group stage.

Monaco are the in-form team of both sides but Manchester City should nick this one.