The UEFA Champions League round of 16 kicks off on Tuesday with four intriguing first-leg clashes across Europe. Liverpool and Barcelona will both be playing away from home against teams they already met during the league phase, while Bayern Munich and Tottenham face tricky trips against strong opposition.
Here are the key statistics and storylines to watch ahead of the opening matches.
Galatasaray vs Liverpool
Galatasaray return to the Champions League round of 16 for the first time since the 2013/14 season, when they were eliminated 3-1 on aggregate by Chelsea. The Turkish champions are hoping to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012/13.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have been regulars at this stage of the competition, reaching the round of 16 in eight of the last nine seasons. However, the English side have lost their last two ties at this stage.
Historically, Galatasaray have had mixed results against English clubs in two-legged UEFA ties, winning two and losing two. Liverpool have also had limited encounters with Turkish teams in knockout ties, winning two and losing one.
The Turkish side have been particularly strong at home against English opposition, losing only one of their last nine UEFA matches in Türkiye against Premier League teams, with five wins and three draws. They are also unbeaten at home against Liverpool with two wins and a draw.
Their earlier meeting this season was decided by Victor Osimhen, who scored the winner on Matchday 2. The Nigerian striker has made a remarkable impact in the competition, scoring 16 goals in his first 25 Champions League appearances.
Liverpool’s away record in Türkiye is less encouraging. The Reds have won just one of their last seven UEFA matches away to Turkish clubs. However, they have historically been strong in round of 16 first legs, winning eight of their previous 12 and keeping seven clean sheets in their last nine first-leg matches at this stage.
Atalanta vs Bayern Munich
Italian side Atalanta have enjoyed considerable success against German opponents in UEFA competitions. They have won seven of their 13 meetings with Bundesliga teams and four of the last five.
Their most recent triumph over German opposition came in the knockout phase play-offs when they overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit to defeat Borussia Dortmund 4-3 on aggregate.
Atalanta have also been solid at home against German teams, losing only once in five such matches in UEFA competition. Overall, they have lost the home leg in just five of their 24 previous UEFA two-legged ties.
Striker Gianluca Scamacca has been key for the Italian side, scoring in Atalanta’s last three Champions League home games.
Bayern Munich, however, arrive with an impressive record at this stage of the competition. The German giants have won 13 of their last 14 Champions League round of 16 ties and have progressed in six straight seasons since their 2018/19 defeat to Liverpool.
Bayern have also lost only two of their last 16 UEFA matches against Italian sides, though both defeats have come in their four most recent meetings.
Harry Kane continues to be a major threat in the competition. The England captain has scored five goals across Bayern’s last three Champions League round of 16 matches and is just two goals away from reaching the milestone of 50 Champions League goals.
Newcastle vs Barcelona
Barcelona travel to St James’ Park having already beaten Newcastle 2-1 there earlier in the competition on Matchday 1. That result marked Barcelona’s fourth consecutive victory over the English side in European competition.
Newcastle’s only win against Barcelona came in their first-ever meeting, a 3-2 victory during the 1997/98 Champions League group stage.
The Magpies have traditionally performed well at home against Spanish clubs, winning five of their eight UEFA matches against teams from Spain at St James’ Park.
Newcastle also boast an impressive record in two-legged UEFA ties, winning eight of their last ten and losing the home leg only twice in their last 32 such ties.
Barcelona, however, have an outstanding history in Champions League knockout ties against English clubs. The Spanish giants have won the first leg in five of their last six such ties and have progressed in ten of their 15 two-legged encounters against English opposition.
They have also dominated this stage of the competition in recent years, winning 15 of their last 16 Champions League round of 16 ties.
Barcelona’s attack has been particularly consistent, failing to score in just one of their last 28 Champions League matches. Defensively, though, they have struggled, going 11 straight games without a clean sheet in the competition.
Teenage star Lamine Yamal could make history in this match. At 18 years and 240 days, he is on course to become the youngest player to reach 30 appearances in the Champions League proper.
Atletico Madrid vs Tottenham
Atletico Madrid have historically enjoyed success against English clubs in UEFA knockout ties, winning ten of their 14 two-legged matchups. However, they have lost two of their last three such encounters.
Tottenham, on the other hand, have struggled against Spanish opposition, losing all four of their previous two-legged ties against teams from Spain.
The two sides have met only once before in European competition, with Tottenham winning 5-1 in the 1963 European Cup Winners’ Cup final.
Despite their recent struggles against English teams, Atletico have been difficult to beat at home. They have lost only two of their last 17 European home games against Premier League sides.
Tottenham’s record away to Spanish clubs remains poor. Spurs are winless in their last six UEFA away matches in Spain and have managed just three victories in their last 15 matches against Spanish opposition overall.
However, the London club arrive with strong recent Champions League form. Tottenham have opened the scoring in their last five matches in the competition and have kept five clean sheets in their last six games.
There is also an interesting subplot involving midfielder Conor Gallagher, who joined Tottenham from Atletico Madrid in January after making 77 appearances under Diego Simeone. Gallagher scored seven goals for Atletico, including a Champions League knockout-stage goal early in a match against Real Madrid last season.
