Predictions: Champions League last 16 - Second legs

The next fortnight sees the conclusion of the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League with the return legs taking place.

There was plenty of drama last month across the eight ties but what does Matchday FM pundit Chris Coughlin think will happen over the next two weeks?

Borussia Dortmund v Sevilla - Tues 9th March, 8pm (3-2)

Chris Coughlin

It was a rollercoaster first leg in Spain last month. Suso opened the scoring for Sevilla side before Mamoud Dahoud and Erling Haaland turned the tie in Borussia Dortmund's favour despite Luuk De Jong's late strike. BVB fans will be have sweating regarding the fitness of Haaland after the Norwegian goalscoring machine was forced off against Bayern Munich in their 4-2 Der Klassiker defeat on Saturday. Haaland, however, looks set to be fit for the return leg which is crucial for the inconsistent Germans. Sevilla travel to Germany knowing that they need a minimum of two goals to stand a chance of progressing and, whilst Dortmund have conceded the second most goals in the top half of the Bundesliga this campaign, I think they'll be caught in the line of Dortmund's firepower.

Prediction: 3-1 (6-3)

Juventus v Porto - Tues 9th March, 8pm (1-2)

Chris Coughlin

Porto produced arguably the shock of the round so far with their first leg win over Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus in February. The Old Lady were hit early in both halves pressing the self destruct button after just 60 seconds as a defensive calamity allowed Mehdi Taremi to pounce before Moussa Marega made it 2-0 just moments into after the interval following a flowing team move. Federico Chiesa's second half away goal, however, gives Juventus hope of overturning the deficit. Andrea Pirlo's side are under serious threat of losing their domestic dominance this season, trailing Antonio Conte's Inter Milan by 10 points with a game in hand. Porto, meanwhile, are also 10 points off surprise Primera Liga leaders Sporting Lisbon & are in a three-way battle for the second automatic Champions League qualification spot with Braga & Benfica. Ronaldo was rested for Juve's 3-1 win against Lazio at the weekend but had four goals in his last three starts and will be the Old Lady's big hope in terms of turning around the tie. I predicted Juve to win the first leg comfortably &, despite the result at the Dragao, I'm going to do the same here. I think Juve will better last season's disappointing last 16 exit and make it to the last eight.

Prediction: 3-0 (4-2)

Liverpool v RB Leipzig - Wed 10th March, 8pm (2-0)

Chris Coughlin

It's back to Budapest for these two. Just under a month ago, Liverpool produced easily their best result of a dismal and disastrous 2021 so far as goals from Mo Salah & Sadio Mane secured a 2-0 win against Bundesliga high flyers RB Leipzig. Other than that, moments of joy have been few and far between for Reds supporters so far this calendar year. They'll also be hoping that the Puskas Arena provides more home comforts than they've been having at Anfield recently, with Jurgen Klopp's side losing six successive league games on home soil for the first time in their history - a statistic thought to be unthinkable when Liverpool were on a 68 game unbeaten stretch in front of the Kop until defeat by Burnley in January. Leizpig will be fully aware of the problems in all areas that Liverpool have right now and they'll surely be thinking that the 2-0 deficit they face in this tie can easily be clawed back. It was an uncharacteristic performance by Julian Nagelsmann's side in the return leg. They were wasteful in front of goal and practically handed the Reds their two goals with sloppy defensive errors. That defeat is Leipzig's only loss in their last nine games in all competitions with the club just two points off Bayern Munich in the German top-flight as well as having secured their place in the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal. Klopp & co know that this tie is far from over.

Prediction: 1-1 (3-1)

PSG v Barcelona - Wed 10th March, 8pm (4-1)

Chris Coughlin

It felt like the first leg at the Nou Camp was a changing of the guard. After Lionel Messi opened the scoring for Barcelona, it became the Kylian Mbappe show in Catalonia. The 22-year-old scored a hattrick, in addition to a header from Moise Kean, as the Parisians ran out emphatic 4-1 winners to banish the ghosts of that 6-1 humiliation in 2017. It's been a strange season for both PSG & Barcelona. PSG's stranglehold on the Ligue 1 title is being severely tested by both Lyon and Lille and there's of course been a change in the dugout with Mauricio Pochettino replacing Thomas Tuchel who's gone on to have an impressive start to life at Stamford Bridge. Barcelona, meanwhile, have been on a rollercoaster from the very start but an impressive run of form has seen Ronald Koeman's men move to within three points of leaders Atletico Madrid. They also produced a spirited comeback against Sevilla in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-finals, coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2 on aggregate after extra time. Considering the heart-breaking comebacks Barcelona have been on the end of in the last couple of years, that felt like a big result for the mentality of a club in an uncertain period of transition. They travel to the French capital knowing that, just like that famous night four years ago, they need four goals against PSG to stand a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Lightning can't strike twice...can it?

Prediction: 3-1 (7-2)