Man Utd, Liverpool, Real Madrid: Ranking Champions League last 16 clubs

We’ve made it football fans, the Champions League is back.

While the world makes hay in the Valentine’s Day sunshine, the rest of us are busy burrowing down on the couch, booking our favourite spot in the pub, and clicking the phone off the hook as we await that famous anthem.

Even for those whose beloved teams aren’t in the competition, the onset of the Champions League knockout stages always represents the biggest football event of any new year.

Of course, 2022 is no different, with the Round of 16 draw coughing up some real blockbuster battles for us to salivate over.

So, with that in mind, we thought we’d have a go at rating the chances of the 16 sides left standing in Europe’s premier club carnival.

Based on the squads at their disposal and current form, we’ve ranked the sides in classes ranging from ‘Favourites’ to ‘No chance at all’.

Now before you spark the flints and haul out the torches and pitchforks, we’re not saying these are bad teams but, when you consider the standard of the opposition, we find it hard to see them going far.

Benfica are third in Portugal’s Primeira Liga while Villarreal are in a fight for any spot at all in Europe.

VillarrealBenfica

Manchester United are. Maguire, Rashford & Ronaldo OUT | The Football Terrace

This lot, for us, can carry slightly more hope into the knockout phases but it should be, in truth, a tempered hope.

They’re just not in the sort of form required from teams who want to go deep in this competition and will most likely fall by the wayside as it reaches its pointy end.

Even with the ‘break-a-tie-in-two’ merchant that is Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United are just in too much of a mess to be considered serious contenders.

Inter MilanSportingLOSCManchester United RB