After a 2-2 away draw Wolfsburg have set themselves up for a very manageable 2nd leg fixture at home. Expect Wolfsburg to play a tight well-organized game with the main focus being on not conceding any goals. Villareal will have to go for the win if they will have any realistic shot of advancing to the next round. An early goal off a set piece will give Wolfsburg the advantage and a late equalizer will make it close for Villareal but not close enough. Wolfsburg 1 Villareal 1.
Juventus vs. Ajax
Juve's quality finally showed last week after getting two away goals in a 2-1 win at the Amsterdam Arena. With the return leg being played in Turin, look for a very strong performance from a Juve side coming off of a 2-1 win against Bologna over the weekend. A young Ajax side will most likely be outmatched by the home team and Bianconeri will pass through to the next round with a comfortable 1-0 victory.
Galatasaray vs. Atletico Madrid
Frank Rijkaard's club has the clear advantage after a 1-1 draw in Madrid last week. Another disappointing loss to Almeria over the weekend won't do anything Atletico's confidence. As much as I like Kun Aguero and his Portugal-linked teammates there is slim chance they will be able to advance to the next round. A loss here will most likely mean a coaching change for Atletico in the near future. Not too big of a surprise considering Quique Flores, their coach, is no stranger to late season collapses (Benfica last year). Expect Galatasaray to play well at home and come up with a 2-1 win.
Sporting C.P. vs. Everton (Seam's Dream Matchup)
Its no coincidence that the Dream Matchup has including a Portuguese side over the past two weeks. The importance of this game is HUGE for the Lisbon side and keep in mind the counter for Sporting's current winless streak at the top of our page. Sporting did in fact end up with a decent result in the first leg at Goodison Park losing 2-1, but getting the much needed away goal. I'm just going to be blunt about this... Sporting has been terrible this year and like Poppa has mentioned the streak will continue to grow if they do not come up with a win tomorrow night at home. Having said all that, I still cannot get myself to believe in a team that hasn't even shown a glimpse of hope in months. Everton will win, hopefully not by much. Sporting 1 Everton 2
Since it is very difficult to predict exact scores for all these matchup with aggregate and away goals in mind, here are the my predictions for the teams I believe will advance to the quarter finals.
Ruben Kazan over H. Tel-Aviv
Valencia over Club Brugge
Red Bull Salzburg over Standard Liege
FC Twente over Werder Bremen
Fenerbahce over Lille
Athletic Bilbao over Anderlecht
Marseille over Kobenhavn
Roma over Panathinaikos
Shaktar Donetsk over Fulham
Liverpool over Unirea Urziceni
Hamburger SV over PSV
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