That time of year is upon us. January blues banished by silky, skilful soccer. Here I’ll take a look at each teams prospects in the Champions League knockout stages.

THE TIES:

Chelsea                                Juventus

Villarreal             Panathinaikos

Sporting CP        Bayern Munich

Atlético Madrid    Porto

Lyon                      Barcelona

Real Madrid       Liverpool

Arsenal                Roma

Internazionale   Manchester United

Liverpool:

Those that know their history will know the ‘Pool have won the European Cup in Rome ’s Olympic Stadium before. In 1977 they overcame the Germans Borussia Munchen Gladbach (with Berti Vogts in defence). In 1984 Roma were beaten with Bruce Grobbelaar’s  famous ‘spaghetti legs’ performance earning them their fourth win of a famous five in the late 70s/early 80s.

Liverpool have the chance to return to Rome to do a famous hat-trick of cup wins but will rely hugely on Steven Gerrard. The England midfield dynamo is the heartbeat of the Merseysiders, the game against Madrid will hinge on his performance. Can he and former Athletico man Torres turn it on? I have a feeling it may be close but no cigar against a resurgent Real Madrid.

Real Madrid :

What a difference a month makes! At the years beginning Madrid were a club in crisis.  Juande Ramos’ appointment left fans underwhelmed, while President Ramon Calderon made a humiliating exit from Presidency after Spanish newspaper ‘Marca’ uncovered a voting scandal. Since then they have went on a strong run of form, closing the 12 point gap on Barcelona in La Liga to 7 as of this weekend. A 6-1 thumping of Real Betis on Saturday night will have ‘Los Merengues’ high on confidence in their domestic league and Europe .

The signing of Lassana Diarra was logical, he will fill the void left by Mahmadou Diarra in front of defence and look to keep the shackles on Gerrard. Gonzalo Higuain and the evergreen Raul have forged a terrific partnership up front recently, their movement will cause the Liverpool defence all sorts of problems. If Madrid can keep their belief there is no reason they cannot look to not just progress but outright win the tournament. A dark horse in a white shirt? Who’d have thought it?

Chelsea:

A season that started so promisingly has taken a disastrous turn for the worse recently. However, Roman Abramovich has called on his knight in shining armour – Guus Hiddink.

Hiddink’s managerial record is simply world class, success oozes out of his every pore. However to take this group of players all the way may be a bridge too far even for this man. While defensively solid and strong in every area of the pitch, Chelsea have a problem of not having any real creativity in the final third. Robinho, the main man Scolari wanted for this team, went to Manchester City and has shown in spurts what could have been. Had the twinkle toe Brazilian went to London , with the likes of Ballack and Lampard behind him he would have run the show.

A hard physical match against another team lacking inspiration, Juventus, awaits. Simply too close to call on if they can dispatch the Italians.

Juventus:

A good season so far and on course for a second or third place finish in Serie A. Claudio Ranieri has built a functional squad capable of grinding down teams and finishing them off with lethal striker Amauri.

The ‘Old Lady’ find themselves up against a team in a very similar position as themselves: a very good team lacking that creative force behind the strikers. Nedved and Camoranesi will run all night and test the Chelsea full backs at every opportunity, Sissoko will look to counteract the runs of Lampard and Buffon will be looking to reinforce his claim to the best goalkeeper in the world tag that Petr Cech covets. I can’t help but see this tie being decided on set pieces, the wonderful delivery technique of Del Piero versus the aerial power of Chelsea .

Villareal:

A difficult season after a fantastic finish in last years La Liga, the ‘Yellow Submarines’ still find themselves in 4^th place, only 3 points off 3^rd placed Sevilla.

Their last 32 tie against Greek side Panathinaikos looks straightforward, but they’ll need to be on their toes against a side that have a fearsome home stadium.

Midfield lynchpin Marcos Senna will have an interesting midfield battle with ex-Arsenal man Gilberto. While Santi Cazorla and Robert Pires will be the main creative outlets to provide the little Italian Giuseppe Rossi. Rossi has been in good form all season and should be a good bet to score at some point in the tie.

Panathinaikos: 

Did fantastically well to qualify top from their group ahead of Inter Milan and Werder Bremen . The Greeks have since fallen away in domestic competition with Olympiakos running away with the Super League.

Panathinaikos will be looking to Karagounis to up his performance from the poor fare delivered domestically and look to create. Gilberto Silva in midfield will be stretched if coach Henk Ten Cate decides to play 4-3-3. A tussle against his old Arsenal team-mate Robert Pires may well be on the cards if so.

Did well to get this far but will need a minor miracle to defeat a Villareal team that this season, haven’t even got near the form they are capable of.

Sporting Lisbon :

A well drilled side that are looking good in the Portugese Liga, currently sitting in 3^rd place only 4 points off the top.

Holding on to midfielder Joao Moutinho was a master stroke by coach Paolo Bento. The midfielders enthusiasm and ball retention will be essential against a Bayern Munich side capable of hitting on the break with ease. Fabio Rochemback has recently returned to form and will need to play out of his socks when faced with Franck Ribery tearing in from the wing.

Sporting will need to bring their best against the Germans but it may not be enough if Ribery and co decides to turn on the style.

Bayern Munich:

For all their individual talent Bayern simply cannot get a run of form together in the Bundesliga. Sitting in 4^th place they are only 4 points from the top but consistency eludes them at every turn.

Against Sporting the Germans will be looking to get Schweinsteiger down the flank and Ribery should be given free reign to cause chaos down the right and cutting inside. Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose up front is a deadly combination that should get some joy in Portugal .

If Klinsmann can get them organised then they could reach the semi finals, sadly a lack of togetherness means a Quarter Final exit is likely unless the draw is kind to them.

Atletico Madrid :

Look up “under-performing” in the dictionary and you’ll find Atletico. Countless millions invested and success always evades the team from the Vicente Calderon. 5 points off of Champions League qualification for next season means the Madrid men will need to make the most of this years experience as UEFA cup football is their best bet for next year.

A tricky tie against FC Porto is up next. With Lisandro Lopez and Simao on the same side of the pitch it will be an interesting tussle for supremacy on the wing. Argentinian wonder kid Sergio Aguero will be the one to watch however, an occasion like this deserves a big performance from him.

Aguero’s performance may be in vain though, Porto look to be favourites and a second leg in Portugal should prove a key factor.

FC Porto:

Sitting top of the Portuguese Super Liga is a position Porto have grown accustomed too. A fearsome home record both domestically and in Europe is the backbone of the team’s fortunes.

Midfield is easily the strongest part of the team with Lucho Gonzalez providing the main support to striker Hulk. On the opposite flank Christian Rodriguez has found his best form and will look to get the best of Maxi Rodriguez on the Atletico right.

If they can come through the first leg at the Vicente Calderon without a collapse then expect Porto to pull a major surprise this year.

FC Lyon:

While still dominant domestically, the French champions are not the formidable opposition to Europe ’s top guns as they once were. An attack that relies all too heavily on electric front man Karim Benzema means Lyon have looked ineffective against organised defences.

Truly frightening for Lyon fans however is the prospect of Fabio Grosso being demolished by a Barcelona right wing of Lionel Messi and Dani Alves. The Italian world cup winner has failed to live up to his status as a world champion, with performances lacking in the dynamism he often displayed for his country. They will be lucky to come away from this tie without embarrassment I fear.

Barcelona:

The in-form team of the 2008-2009 season. An average of three goals scored per game and a defence that is just as adept at keeping the goals out have propelled last seasons under achievers into this season dominant force. Dropped points domestically will hopefully not affect team confidence that has been galvanised by Pep Guardiola’s appointment as coach.

 Champions League top scorer Lionel Messi is playing the best football of his career and it is no coincidence the arrival or Dani Alves at right back happened around the same time.

While Andres Iniesta misses out through injury, Xavi and Yaya Toure should not have too much difficulty against Lyon’s ineffectual midfield. Expect a comfortable victory as the Catalans march on to Rome.

Arsenal:

A season of inconsistency from Arsene Wenger’s youngsters has seen the team struggle to keep up with the top four they usually occupy. A title challenge was sadly forgotten long ago by Gunners fans.

The absence of Cesc Fabregas cannot be exaggerated, the Spaniard is as influential to Arsenal as Gerrard to Liverpool. Denilson and Diaby do not provide the same forward runs and impact, they will struggle to contain Roma’s excellent performer Daniele De Rossi.

Success hinges on the performance of the midfield in getting Nasri and Van Persie involved in the game. The news Fabregas may be available for the second leg is a huge boost for the team.

Roma:

The best incentive a team can have is dangling right in front of Italian noses. Roma have the opportunity of playing the final in their own stadium should they get there. Their form since the end of last year suggest they have every chance to.

The forward line of Marko Vucinic and Francesco Totti has proved very potent. Totti playing the deeper role should cause Arsenal a considerable headache. Behind these two is a midfield I fear Aresenal will struggle to deal with: De Rossi, Matteo Brighi and Simone Perotta. The bite and energy from the middle should propel Roma to a good result but only if they perform to the level they can.

Manchester United:

Along with Barca, United are Europe’s form team. The base of their success this season is the back four, Vidic, Ferdinand and young Northern Irishman Johnny Evans have all been exceptional at the centre. Young Rafael da Silva has excited fans with his direct skilful running.

Up front the combinations of Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov and Ronaldo will keep Inter’s back line on their toes. With the players at his disposal Sir Alex Ferguson may decide to go 4-3-3 and ask questions of Inter’s defensive capabilities.

 Inter have failed to perform in the Champion’s League so far and Ferguson may feel they are there for the taking. A dream final of Barcelona versus Manchester United is surely the choice of neutral fans.

Internazionale:

Cruising along in top spot in Serie A fails to hide the fact Inter are a few pieces short of a world class side. Individual talent like Ibrahimovic and Adriano shine through but on the wings they look distinctly average. Quaresma and Mancini were drafted in to remedy this but neither has been capable. Mancini has all but disappeared off the radar and Quaresma is now warming the bench at Chelsea.

Their home form has been exceptional domestically and mourinho will hope to use this as a base to get another over on his old foe Fergie. Like many teams this season, Jose will rely on the individual talent of Zlatan to break down the United defence.

A very close match but united have the pedigree in the knockout stages that Inter just have not had in recent years.

 Grahame Gallacher