UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 Second Leg: Preview and Predictions
With Champions League progression at stake, the RO16 second leg games will be played this midweek. With Chelsea, Spurs, Sporting and Man City requiring exceptional performances to get through after the massive defeat away in the first leg, other teams are all in the mix to proceed to the next round.
Let’s take a look at the preview and predictions for all games from the RO16 second leg –
Chelsea vs Paris Saint-Germain I 18th March 2026, 01:30 AM IST
The first leg that was played at the Parc des Princes was an end-to-end entertaining affair with PSG going on to drub Chelsea 5-2 after the Blues had done well to stay in the game at 2-2.
Chelsea’s domestic form hasn’t been convincing either as they missed an opportunity to go ahead in the race for top five with a loss against Newcastle at home. Their defensive issues have continued to cause them problems and the same happened against PSG. Another advantage for PSG is that they didn’t play at the weekend and will have a rested squad as compared to their English opponents.
From an injury view-point, Chelsea will be without Levi Colwill and Estevao while PSG will miss Fabián Ruiz and Quentin Ndjantou for this fixture.
Overcoming a three-goal deficit against the defending champions who like to dominate games is going to be a challenging task for a struggling Blues. With the PSG front line in dangerous form, this could likely be another game Chelsea might not win. Although the hosts might score a goal or two, they have the vulnerability to concede as well. Hence, we believe PSG will eliminate Chelsea and go through to the next round.
Score Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 PSG
(PSG to win by a score of 7-4 on aggregate)
Manchester City vs Real Madrid I 18th March 2026, 01:30 AM IST
The Cityzens were thrashed 3-0 by Real Madrid away at the Bernabéu with Fede Valverde grabbing a fantastic hat-trick, making it difficult for City to come back in the second leg.
At the weekend as well, City failed to close the gap against league leaders Arsenal with a 1-1 draw against relegation strugglers West Ham. City are now nine points behind Arsenal with a game in hand. They have looked far below their usual exceptional standards having won only two games in their last five encounters. Real Madrid on the other hand, even with the long list of injuries have fought well in the last few games. After the disappointing loss to Getafe at home in the league, Los Blancos have won three straight games in all competitions.
From an injury perspective, Man City will miss Jøsko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis with Erling Haaland a serious doubt for this fixture while Real Madrid have many key players out on the sidelines with Kylian Mbappé, Eder Militao, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, David Alaba, Dani Ceballos and Ferland Mendy all out injured.
Having played each other several times in the UCL in the last few seasons, these teams know each other really well. Everyone expected City to do better as they had beaten Real Madrid away in the league phase and had most of their players fit for the first leg game but they were a massive disappointment and lost a one-sided encounter.
At home City are a dominant side and have only lost one game at home in the league this season with 11 wins and three draws. However, overcoming a three-goal deficit and defeating 15-time champions is going to be a tall order and without their star striker Haaland it looks more unlikely. With City looking in poor form and Real Madrid returning to form and looking confident, Madrid are the overwhelming favourites for this game as well as the overall tie.
Score Prediction: Man City 1-2 Real Madrid
(Real Madrid wins 5-1 on aggregate)
Bayern Munich vs Atalanta BC I 19th March 2026, 01:30 AM IST
Bayern Munich has been the best performing team of this Round of 16 first leg. Going away to Bergamo isn’t an easy task but they absolutely blew away Atalanta in the first leg with a thrashing 6-1 win.
Though Bayern Munich drew with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, they are comfortably sitting at the top of the league table with a nine-point gap to second-placed Borussia Dortmund. While Bayern are unbeaten in their last five games, Atalanta are without a win in their last five with three draws and two defeats.
Bayern has a fair few out with injuries but not many key players missing with Hiroki Ito, Manuel Neuer, Alphonso Davies, Cassiano Kiala, Jonas Urbig, David Santos Daiber and Wisdom Mike out injured. Atalanta will only be without Giacomo Raspadori due to a muscle injury with Yunus Musah suspended.
Not impossible but very improbable that La Dea can overcome a five-goal gap after the form they are in and the way Bayern dominate home games. It was kind of a foregone conclusion that Atalanta were knocked out of the competition right after the first leg and this second leg fixture is a mere formality. Bayern can easily rotate players and still win this game.
Score Prediction: Bayern Munich 3-1 Atalanta
(Bayern Munich to win 9-2 on aggregate)
Liverpool vs Galatasaray I 19th March 2026, 01:30 AM IST
The Premier League defending champions have had an abysmal season by their standards and they continued their struggles with a 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray in the first leg.
In the league too, the last two games have been very underwhelming from the Reds as they lost to relegation-bound Wolves and have drawn with an injury-laden and struggling Spurs side, thereby dropping points in easy fixtures. Liverpool is definitely going through a transitional season but still possesses a group of high-quality players yet they have been below-par this season.
As for their Turkish opponents, Gala have been unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions and are finding consistency at the right time. However, in the Champions League they have been abysmal away from home and that is something they will have to be wary of.
Liverpool do have some key players out with long-term injury with Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and Geovanni Leoni out for the season. Additionally, they have Alexander Isak and Stefan Bajcetic still out on the sidelines. Gala will miss Enes Büyük with a shoulder injury along with Metehan Baltaci who is suspended.
Liverpool has done particularly well at home in the UCL, losing only to PSV at home and defeating the likes of Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid at home with their most recent UCL home game being a 6-1 thrashing of Qarabag in the league phase. If Liverpool get an early goal, Gala might have to play an open game which could lead to an entertaining 90 mins in the second leg of this crucial fixture. With home advantage on their side, Liverpool should progress to the next round with a close win.
Score Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 Galatasaray
(Liverpool to win 3-2 on aggregate)
