Can Spain make it a clean sweep of sides in the last 16 of the Champions League?

The dust has settled on the Champions League and Europa League draws which took place yesterday and for most people it appears the draw has been kind to the Spanish sides. Let’s take a closer look at some of the teams and their opponents and what lies ahead in February for Spain’s big hitters.

Atletico Madrid vs PSV

Diego Simeone’s men are experiencing a rich vein of form and find themselves in joint-1st place in La Liga. After a shaky end to September that saw them lose to both Villarreal and Benfica they’ve responded by going on a 14-game unbeaten streak with 11 of those being victories. In the Champions League the story has been largely similar: 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss meant they finished as group winners ahead of Benfica. They only conceded in 2 games – both vs Benfica – and scored a total of 11 goals.

Atletico Madrid are becoming hard to beat again. Jan Oblak is demonstrating the form expected of the most expensive goalkeeper in La Liga history. The boots of Thibaut Courtois are not easy to fill but he’s done a sterling job so far. Godin and Gimenez are like two peas in a pod with the master bringing his young apprentice up to speed in no time. Perhaps there is still work to be done further up the field where Correa, Jackson and Torres have shown glimpses of what they’re capable of but have been unable to display the consistency demanded by Simeone. Vietto could be the key to helping lessen the burden on Griezmann while Carrasco has started the best out of all the newcomers this summer. Even if they aren’t performing at 100% in the final third the side is still creating and scoring goals but once it clicks? Someone will get a real hiding.

PSV aren’t doing too shabby either. Phillip Cocu’s men are unbeaten in their last 12 matches, winning 9 and drawing the other 3. In the Champions League they finished 2nd to surprise winners Wolsburg and only lost twice, both away from home. It was at home where PSV showed their strength as they won all 3 matches at the Philips Stadio but a worrying factor must be their vulnerability at the back. They only managed to keep 2 clean sheets in their 6 matches.

Verdict: Atletico Madrid. Simeone’s men look like massive favourites here but PSV will be confident of getting a good result in Holland. Atletico Madrid’s defence should be strong enough to keep PSV relatively quiet though and at the other end you’d bank on Griezmann to score at least a couple of goals over the two legs.

Arsenal vs Barcelona

There’s a sense of inevitability when it comes to Barcelona being drawn against an English side. After back-to-back Round of 16 fixtures against Manchester City it’s now the turn of Arsenal again to try and avenge their 10/11 exit at the hands of Guardiola and co.

Barcelona lead the way in La Liga and head to Japan on a 14-game unbeaten streak, the same as Atletico, having won 10 of those fixtures including the humiliation of rivals Real Madrid in their own stadium. Barcelona have tasted defeat twice, both games away from the Camp Nou, against Celta and Sevilla respectively. And it’s their away form which needs improving after Christmas if they are to remain on course to retain all their trophies.

In the Champions League Barcelona finished unbeaten at the top of their group with 4 wins out of 6. After a draw in Rome they scraped by Bayer Leverkusen with 2 goals in the last 10 minutes to get their Champions League campaign on track. BATE Borisov didn’t trouble them before smashing Roma 6-1 in the Camp Nou. A largely second-string side drew against Leverkusen in Germany.

Arsenal can take solace in the fact Barcelona will have a heavy fixture list going into the tie. A trip to Japan to compete in the World Club Championship and no winter break this year in Spain will mean they’ll have their work cut out trying to juggle both domestic and European ambitions.

Özil has finally added consistency to his game and he’ll be needed more than ever if they’re to unlock a relatively solid Barcelona backline. Arsenal are unbeaten in 5 but against fairly weak opposition, with the exception of Olympiacos away. Another positive for Arsenal fans is that Barcelona also have some tough games before, between and just after the Round of 16 games so they’ll be no chance of Luis Enrique resting his men to keep them fresh.

Verdict: Barcelona. Arsenal need to take a victory to the Camp Nou if they have any chance of going through. Their Champions League form wasn’t good enough but the side showed great character (™ Brendan Rodgers) to respond from their pummelling at the hands of Bayern to qualify. Despite that the overall feeling is Barcelona’s attacking trio will be too much for Arsenal to handle.

Roma vs Real Madrid

There are more questions than answers when it comes to Real Madrid at the moment. Will Rafa still be in charge come February? Will Cristiano leave the club? Can certain players put aside individual achievements to aid the team? Can Florentino Perez admit he got it wrong by sacking Ancelotti? The answer to all those questions is: maybe, but probably not.

It had all started so well for Benitez until the side lost back-to-back league games to Sevilla and then Barcelona. He was never liked by certain sections of the fans and media, either because they didn’t rate him highly enough to manage Madrid or because they saw him as a poor alternative to Carlos Ancelotti. Victories over Eibar, Getafe and Malmo seemed to boost the side but defeat to Villarreal has made the situation ugly again.

Rafa has already received one public backing from Florentino Perez but I wouldn’t hold my breath if he expects another. In fact the only thing that is probably keeping him in the job is the lack of readily available replacements.

Real Madrid head into the games against Roma with a kind-looking run of fixtures. 6 of their 9 matches between now and then are at the Santiago Bernabeu that should allow Rafa – if he’s still there – to build up a good head of steam ahead of the competition’s return in February. The visit of Deportivo could prove tricky however as could their trip to the Mestalla to play Gary Neville’s Valencia.

The Champions League has been Rafa Benitez’s saving grace so far and they have the best record out of all the Spanish sides in the competition – 5 wins, 1 draw. I don’t think even a Champions League title could see Benitez stay for a second term but it would leave a lot of doubters with egg on their faces if he manages to pull it off.

Roma find themselves in a bit of a mess as well. A good start to the season which included a victory over Juventus and a draw against Barcelona has seen them go from inconsistent to unable to buy a victory. Impressive victories over Fiorentina and Udinese were followed by a defeat to Inter. They then beat Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League – their only victory in the competition – and city rivals Lazio but have since failed to win in their last 6 matches including being on the end of a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Barcelona.

A lot of their good stuff has come through Miralem Pjanic and he’s capable of causing Real Madrid’s soft underbelly damage. With 7 goals and 5 assists to his name he’s moved onto yet another level and it might prove to be his last in the Italian capital.

Verdict: Real Madrid. With 7 victories in 10 home matches this season it’s imperative Roma take a lead to the Bernabeu and not give any kind of boost to Madrid. The Bernabeu can be turned against the team and if that happens then Roma might dare to dream. It’ll be close but I can still see Real Madrid going through.