It’s that time of year again, when club soccer begins the knockout rounds of its most exciting tournament: The UEFA Champions League. The winner of the Champions League is largely considered to be the best club on Earth because European clubs attract the best players in the world. It’s almost like the World Cup, with clubs competing instead of countries. Now, the best 16 teams left from an initial 32 compete for Europe’s best club award: The European Champion Clubs’ Cup.

Paris-Saint-Germain (France) v. Barcelona (Spain)

Easily one of the most highly anticipated matches of the knockout rounds, this tie sees two domestically underachieving teams face each other in a spot in the next round, in a tournament that could save their respective seasons. Barcelona obviously head in as favorites, with some of the world’s best attackers in Lio Messi and Luis Suárez lining up against an inconsistent but dangerous Suárez-compatriot Edinson Cavani. Paris have started the new year well, however, with the newly signed Julian Draxler providing a spark in the attack. Paris have scored 16 goals in 2017 alone while only conceding one. In the end, PSG may enter the match with good form on their side, but a surplus of South American talent in Barcelona’s frontline may prove too deft for the French champions.

Benfica (Portugal) v. Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

One of the more one-sided fixtures of the knockout stages, Dortmund enter the tie as hefty favorites, despite domestically underachieving thus far. Benfica, however, are not to be taken too lightly, with terrific league form catapulting them to the top of the Primeira Liga in Portugal. Benfica have sold their attacking starlet, Gonçalo Guedes, to French champions PSG but have been relying heavily on the goal-scoring talents of Pizzi, a 29-year-old midfielder with eight goals this season. Dortmund, on the other hand, have not been up to par during the first half of the Bundesliga campaign, with manager Thomas Tuchel often criticizing his side though the press, but topped a Champions League group featuring last year’s champions, Real Madrid. Ultimately, Dortmund must remain confident entering the matches but cannot underestimate Portugal’s leading team.

Real Madrid (Spain) v. Napoli (Italy)

Defending champions Real Madrid enter February fresh off a record-breaking 40-game unbeaten run; their last loss came against Wolfsburg in last year’s Champions’ League campaign. Similarly, Napoli enter the Champions League tie with similarly good form, with their last loss coming all the way back in October, following an abysmal start to the season, starting in August. Such a run has propelled Napoli to third place in the Italian league, the Serie A, while Real Madrid have spent almost the entire season at the top of La Liga, the annual campaign in Spain. Madrid had a wobbly end to their unbeaten streak, relying on some late Sergio Ramos goals to stretch the streak all the way to 40, winning only two out of their last five games post-streak. Such worries should still prove minimal for the competition’s defending champions against Italy’s current third-best side.

Bayern Munich (Germany) v. Arsenal (England)

Before the draw was made, Arsenal fans watched with optimism because their team finished top of their group, meaning they could only be drawn against second-place teams from other groups. This optimism soon turned into incredible disappointment as Arsenal drew Germany’s hallmark team, four-time consecutive champions Bayern Munich. Bayern enter the knockout stage as the bookmakers second favorite to win the competition outright, as experienced manager Carlo Ancelotti attempts to guide the team to a long-awaited Champions League trophy, a cherry on the top of a constantly dominating club. Arsenal, on the other hand, have not been nearly as successful: their last league trophy came in 2004, and they haven’t been able to make it out of the round of 16 (the current stage) since 2011. Arsenal fans have developed some buoyancy as of late, believing that the constant rotten luck might finally come to an end during this matchup. Despite such a build-up of optimism from Arsenal fans, few would claim themselves as favorites coming into a match against one of the competition’s biggest threats.

Bayern Leverkusen (Germany) v. Atletico Madrid (Spain)

Such a game could be classified as “one of the purists” because the matchup between Spain’s fourth best-side and Germany’s ninth-placed side can hardly be seen as a matchup between European superpowers. Atletico Madrid, however, have grown to become a superpower, but their defensive play style, along with a lack of starpower and global fan base, has restricted them from being classified with “the big boys” of Europe. Such a low standing could be considered unfair for the Spanish club, who have reached two of the last three Champions League finals, more than the “big boys” Munich and Barcelona have combined. Leverkusen, on the other hand, could be considered the worst team left in the competition but have been able to reach this stage for three years straight, so they are not newcomers to such a big stage. In the end, an unfashionable Atletico Madrid should easily take care of Germany’s underperforming club.

Manchester City (England) v. Monaco (France)

The draw saw Manchester City, England’s strongest team left in the Champions League, facing Monaco, league leaders in France. Monaco, one of many surprises in this year’s French league, the Ligue 1, topped a relatively easy group in the group stage of the competition while Manchester City finished second in what many considered to be the hardest group, or the “group of death.” Although many consider England to have the best league in the world, a team from England has not won the competition in four years while teams from Germany and Spain have, putting pressure on City to mount a challenge for the competition in order to add pride to the English league’s status. Although Monaco has seemed to consistently be a team of little worry in the Champions League, City should be wary of France’s dark horse and make sure they don’t also become a dark horse of the Champions League.

Porto (Portugal) v. Juventus (Italy)

Juventus’ new logo has become the main focus of the team as of late because for the Italian giants, it has largely been business as usual; the Turin-based club is atop the Italian league, the Serie A, and topped their fall Champions League group. Juventus feature world-class players from head to toe, such as Leonardo Bonucci, veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, star Italian attackers Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain, and many more, as the Italians perhaps possess the best depth of any team in the world. Porto, in contrast, are involved in their entertaining yearly battle with Benfica for the overlooked Portuguese title, a battle they are narrowly losing thus far. Although Juventus may appear as heavy favorites for a match against a club from a largely considered “lesser” country, Porto should enter the Juventus draw with plenty of optimism, as Juventus’ domestic domination can be misleading since as the league in Italy lacks the quality it used to have in abundance.

Sevilla (Spain) v. Leicester City (England)

The Leicester story has become the biggest fairytale in all of sporting history, the story of how one of the poorest clubs in the Premier League was able to win the title in one of the richest leagues in the world, against the famed “5000-1” odds. However, the fairytale has abruptly shut this year, with the defending champions currently sitting five spots from the bottom of the Premier League. Sevilla, however, have done almost the opposite; the Europa League champions finished last year’s Spanish campaign seventh but currently sit in third, breaking the traditional top three of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Although this match may feature two of the weakest teams left in the competition, the match surely shouldn’t be a dull one, as the result could go either way.