Champions League Preview

This week sees some interesting clashes in the 16 of the Champions League. Perennial Greek champions Olympiakos take on French champions Bordeaux at the Karaiskakis Stadium on Tuesday night.

Both sides qualified for the knockout stages unexpectedly and will now fancy their chances of progressing into the next round. It’s their first ever meeting in Europe with the home side the favourites to progress after eight games unbeaten on home turf.

European champions Barcelona visit Stuttgart’s Mercedes Benz Arena also on Tuesday night. The Bundesliga side have had an inconsistent domestic campaign this season and are currently sitting midtable in the German Bundesliga.

They are currently way off the pace in the race for Champions League places. This looks like it could be their last home European tie for awhile. However their recent form has improved and won their last game 5-1 against Cologne at the weekend.

Barcelona are unbeaten in European away games since 2008 and look like a good bet for the trophy. Although their form this season hasn’t been as good as last they are still top of La Liga and haven’t yet hit top form this season.

They are still seen as a dominant force in European football and will be expecting to beat the Bundesliga side. However with their form returning in recent weeks Stuttgart won’t be pushovers.