The 2016-17 UEFA Champions League round of 16 will welcome eight new teams this week as the likes of Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Manchester City and AS Monaco look to boost their chances of a quarter-final spot.
Atleti have made it to the competition's last eight in each of the last four seasons, but they travel to Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday hoping to make progress toward a fifth in the first leg of their clash with the Germans.
Monaco travel to Manchester City on Tuesday in the belief their good form this term can surprise Pep Guardiola's Premier League giants.
The Citizens aren't the only English representatives in action, either, as Premier League champions Leicester City look to down Sevilla in Spain on Wednesday, while Serie A champions Juventus travel to face Porto.
Read on for all the essential viewing information ahead of this week's round-of-16 action, complete with predictions and a preview of the most enticing matches on offer.
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Juventus Extinguish Dragons' Flame
Porto finished second in Group G, and their reward was a round-of-16 matchup opposite a Juventus side that's rediscovered its charm under manager Massimiliano Allegri—if it was ever lost—and is unbeaten in Europe this season.
Centre-back Medhi Benatia—on loan from Bayern Munich—isn't expecting an easy trip to Portugal come Wednesday, however, and he told Sky Sports Italia (h/t Football Italia) of the challenge facing the Turin club:
There are no easy games in the Champions League and Porto are accustomed to playing at this level and in this tournament.
We are well aware it won’t be a simple task. There are strong ambitions for this season and we want to go all the way in the Champions League. This is a very important period of the campaign for us and we’re ready for it.
That being said, with the Bianconeri enjoying a six-match winning streak, it's fair to say Juventus enter the Estadio do Dragao as fancied favourites to take a result from the first leg.
The Dragons have scored in every home league fixture this season, however, and the Champions League Twitter account recently noted it's mostly Juventus' home form that's made them terrifying this season:
Porto sit second in the Primeira Liga while Juventus currently rule the Serie A roost, meaning this round-of-16 duel could be between two teams who go on to collect their respective domestic crowns this term.
However, Italian titans Juve hold the aces up their sleeve in terms of world-class quality across the pitch, and their form of late suggests Allegri won't allow his side to crumble at this stage.
Prediction: Porto 1-2 Juventus
Sevilla Dampen Leicester's European Spirits
Leicester City are hoping a fairytale run in Europe akin to the one that netted them last season's Premier League title can salvage what's been an otherwise horrific season thus far, typified by Saturday's FA Cup exit at Millwall.
Sat 17th in England's top flight, Leicester's title prospects look slim, while a 2-0 victory over Eibar saw Sevilla's shock charge on La Liga continue as they temporarily moved into second in the standings:
Two teams having near opposite campaigns as far as silverware hopes go, Leicester need to clinch a result at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Wednesday if their Champions League dream is to endure, but that may be a stretch too far.
Saturday's 1-0 defeat at 10-man Millwall was but the latest chapter in a worsening plummet in form for the club, leading former Fox Gary Lineker to criticise manager Claudio Ranieri's decision to prioritise Europe so heavily:
Having beaten the likes of Porto, Club Brugge and Copenhagen in Group G, Leicester are likely to find the level of competition will take on a drastic increase in the round of 16.
Sevilla have conceded just 11 times at home in La Liga this season, while Leicester failed to bag in their trips to Copenhagen and Porto, meaning we could see another one-sided scoreline emerge on Wednesday.
Prediction: Sevilla 3-0 Leicester City