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FTW has few enough reasons to get up in the morning. That nice girl at the bar, the thought of beer and of course the prospect of outliving Sepp Blatter. Anyway, after the night of wild esctasy that was El Clasico FTW has been hiding away in a cave of despair waiting for the only football that will compete with that. The Champions League knock-out stages:Roma Vs. Shakhtar: Real battle of the big boys is this one. Roma have hardly been setting Serie A alight and while Shakhtar did manage to win their group, it was full of the minnows of Europe; Partizan, Braga and Arsenal. After running Inter very close to the title last year Roma have fallen off somewhat this time around and find themselves in 6th place, ten points behind AC. Shakhtar meanwhile are runaway leaders in Ukraine. A suming they maintain close to the 12 point gap theyve established at the top of the table prior to the knockout clashes this should provide a slight boost as they Wesley Matthews Jersey will be able to rest players whereas Roma look set for a long struggle to try and retain Champions League football may be forced to play their strongest XI. Overall, this is a fairly balanced tie but hardly the mouthwatering clash of the round.Prediction: Shakhtar to progre sAC Milan Vs. Tottenham: Very definitely the clash of the round. Spurs have been the most exciting team to watch by a long distance this year in the competition and will at least fancy their chances against Milan. Although the front line of Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Pato is fairly intimidating, Allegri will not relish the thought of Bale and Lennon charging down the wing. Arrys side have conceded fair too many in this tournament and will need to be more defensively savvy in the knock-out stages. That being said, going forward they have been unstoppable at times and Kostas Antetokounmpo Jersey they have great resilience. Not a team to be discounted even if the first leg in Italy doesnt go their way. A lot will depend on the injury situation of both clubs between now and then. Spurs have a horrific injury list currently which will hopefully easy up before February while Milan should wrap Zlatan in cotton wool for the later stages.Prediction: Amazingly enough, Tottenham to progre sValencia Vs. Schalke: Two teams with very strange seasons. After last season Schalke were expected to push on under Magath and make a serious bid for the title. Instead they find themselves mid-table having stuttered and fluffed their way through the first half of the season. Meanwhile Valencia, having sold off Silva and Villa were expected to struggle but flew out of the traps and enjoyed a superb start to the season. Since then they have slowed down and the results have been mixed at best. Last week they went 3-1 up against Osasuna only to finish 3-3, conceding late goals. Their season in a microcosm. Very difficult to predict which way this one will go and it doesnt look to be a thrilling tie.Prediction: Valencia to reach the QFsInter Vs. Bayern: What a difference six months makes. Last seasons finalists meet in the last 16 and both look pale shadows of last year. The all-conquering Inter of Mourinho has been replaced by the ineffective and injury-ravaged Inter of Benitez. Slumping down into 7th place in Serie A Benitez looks to be the first coach since Calciopoli to lose the title with Inter. Sneijder and company look jaded and in need of a rest. Jerry West Jersey While the Dutchman claimed he would walk into hell for Jose his relationship with Rafa seems far le s close and his form reflects that. Bayern on the other hand also have their problems. Mario Gomez is having a very good season for the Bavarians but Ribery looks out of sorts, Robben has been plagued by injuries and the club is nearly 20 points of the top of the Bundesliga.Prediction: In the battle of the two clubs in crisis expect the Germans to show more grit and winLyon Vs. Real Madrid: After spending nearly 240m on players last summer the sight of Real losing to Lyon was po sibly the sweetest imaginable. The joke doing the rounds was Alex Caruso Jersey It looks like Ferguson did sell them a virus after all. This Real are a different proposition. With additional quality in the form of Di Maria and Ozil along with the only Galactico coach in the world they should easily see off Lyon. The French outfit have neither the ability nor the character to compete with the nine-times champions. After this Reals season really begins.Prediction: Real to batter Lyon as revenge for last seasonArsenal Vs. Barcelona: It had to happen. It was inevitable. Barcelona were going to draw Arsenal and Me si is going to do his party trick again. This wont be much of a contest although it must be said that Guardiola probably least wanted Arsenal of all the teams they could draw. Not a great deal to say about this one. On paper Arsenal should give Barcelona a good game, in reality it will be a thumping.Prediction: Me si will decide how many he wants to score before the game. And then hell go out and do itMarseille Vs. Manchester United: United should feel fairly confident about progre sing but theyve hardly set the world alight this year. Most likely they will secure qualification by the skin of their teeth while somehow trying to pretend that they are trying to conserve energy for the later rounds. Unbeaten and top of the league, conceding only one goal in the whole group stage United should look more comfortable than they have in games but this is not the swashbuckling United of 99 or the Ronaldo inspired version of 08. This is a United built on solidarity rather than flair. Po sibly the dullest tie of the round.Prediction: United to qualify without actually playing wellCopenhagen Vs. Chelsea: In theory Chelsea have drawn the weakest team left in the competition but if Drogba is fit Chelsea would choose to play Arsenal every week and Copenhagen should not be underestimated. While coming from a weaker league and only managing a point against Barcelona in the group stages they deserved more from those encounters. A fairly tough side Copenhagen can at least expect to compete with Chelsea on a physical basis if not a technical one. Chelsea will expect to progre s easily LeBron James Jersey and they should still do so but the Danes should not be written off just yet.Prediction: Chelsea to win but be surprised by the quality of the Danes