For football fans, there are now more European games to enjoy than ever, with the Conference League games in addition to the Europa league and Champions League matches. As well as the main club competitions, there are also some excellent matches to look forward to in international football in the Nations League.
Let’s start by looking at the upcoming round of 16 games in the Champions League.
Champions League Round of 16 games
The Champions League round of 16 games begin on the 14th February and there are some mouth-watering clashes to look forward to. Some of the highlights in the RO16 include –
◉ PSG vs Bayern – Easily one of the most anticipated matches in the RO16, PSG vs Bayern has all the makings of a classic. Both teams have an incredible amount of talent, with PSG having arguably the best attack in world football. Despite this, they’re still desperate to win their first CL trophy and Bayern will not be an easy opponent to overcome.
◉ Milan vs Tottenham – Milan vs Tottenham is another great matchup that’s hard to call. Tottenham have had a somewhat mixed season in the Premier League, losing 7 matches so far, although their form has picked up recently. They’ve also performed well in the Champions League in recent years, getting to the final in 2019, so they’ll be doing everything they can to get past Milan when they face them on the 14th February.
◉ Liverpool vs Real Madrid – Liverpool vs Real Madrid is a match that many fans are anticipating. The two clubs have met several times in recent years, with Liverpool twice playing Madrid in the Champions League final in recent years, including in last year’s final. Liverpool have been struggling in the Premier League this season, so you can be sure they’ll be highly motivated to perform in these games to try and help turn their season around.
◉ Dortmund vs Chelsea – Dortmund have long been a fan favourite with neutrals thanks to their excellent home atmosphere and fast, free flowing football. They face Chelsea at home on the 15th Feb and although Chelsea haven’t been great in the league as of late, they’re still a formidable opponent and have an excellent track record in the competition.
As well as the matches covered above, there’s also Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli, Club Brugge vs Benfica, RB Leipzig vs Manchester City and Inter vs Porto.
Europa League Play-off games
Although not quite as prestigious as the Champions League, the Europa League still offers plenty of great matches. It also provides the winning team with the opportunity to play in next season’s Champions League, regardless of their league table finish.
The Play-off games for the Europa League start in February and there are a number of interesting fixtures to look out for. By far the one that fans are anticipating most though is Manchester United vs Barcelona.
The two teams have had some incredibly memorable clashes over the years, usually in the Champions League. Fans old enough will remember the classic 3-3 games in the group stages of 99’s competition as well as the two CL finals in 2009 and 2011.
Although both teams would likely prefer to be playing in the Champions League, you can be sure the games will be fiercely contested when they take place on the 16th and 23rd February. Football fans will be all over this head-off on their go-to Canada sportsbook sites.
Europa Conference League Play-off games
The Europe Conference League only came into existence in 2021 but it’s already managed to provide fans with some excellent moments. Last year’s final saw Jose Mourinho lifting his first piece of silverware with Roma; his first trophy as a manager since winning the 2017 Europa League with Manchester United.
This year’s competition has some excellent teams in it, including Lazio, Fiorentina and Basel. The first leg of the play-off games will take place on the 16th February, with the reverse fixtures on the 23rd.
Women’s Champions League quarter finals
March will see the quarter finals of the Women’s Champions League being played. The draw is yet to be made as of the time of writing but there are some incredibly strong teams left in the competition, including Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, PSG and Arsenal.
The teams that get through will play the semi-finals in April, with the final set for June.
UEFA Nations League
Once the club season is over, there’s still the Nations League semi-final and final games to look forward to. The first of the semi-finals sees the Netherlands taking on Croatia on 14th June, with Spain playing Italy a day later in the other semi-final.
All the teams that are left in the Nations League are incredibly strong, with Croatia getting all the way to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and Italy being the current European champions. Spain and the Netherlands’ World Cup ended in disappointment, so they’ll both be eager to make up for it by winning this trophy if they can.
