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Champions League Form Guide Ahead Of This Week's Ties

Jonathan Browne
By Jonathan Browne
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The Champions League continues this week as the rest f the Round of 16 ties play their second legs. Manchester United face Atletico Madrid and Ajax host Benfica on Tuesday night while Juventus play Villarreal and Lille battle Chelsea on Wednesday.

Ahead of those games we've had a look at the result results of all eight sides to help you decide who will go through this week.

Champions League Form Guide

Manchester United-Atletico Madrid

Manchester United

If you were to look at it on paper Manchester United have been in good form since the turn of the new year. They've only lost three times, but one was on penalties against Middlesbrough so it's more like two defeats. However they haven't lit up the pitch with their performances. United have looked disorganised and lost at times in matches and their leaky defence is flooding goals right now. Their latest result was an important 3-2 victory against Spurs at Old Trafford with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick.

This came after their disastrous performance in the Manchester Derby where City dismantled them and won 4-1. That day, they were frankly embarrassing. Many certainly wouldn't say "United have turned a corner" after Saturday's result yet but if they can continue in the same vein on Tuesday then they have a good chance of going through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANJDYeUB7Mc

Atletico Madrid

Since drawing 1-1 in the first leg, Atletí went on to win their next three fixtures in La Liga over Cadiz, Real Betis and Celta Vigo. They still sit in fourth in La Liga behind Barcelona but they seem to be coming into a rich vein of attacking form ahead of Tuesday trip to Old Trafford. They've scored seven goals in their last three which for a Diego Simeone team is pretty impressive.

Ajax-Benfica

Ajax

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After drawing 2-2 out in Lisbon against Benfica, Ajax followed that up with a surprise 2-1 defeat away to Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie. The Eagles sat in 12th before that game and Ajax fielded a strong side so the defeat was a shock to all.

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Since then they had a good 2-0 win at home to AZ Alkmaar followed by two last minutes 3-2 victories over mid to lower table sides Rkc Waalwijk and SC Cambuur and sit only two points clear of PSV at the top of the Eredivisie table. They had to score deep into injury time in both games to get the victory so it's fair to say it's been a rocky road for the Amsterdam side heading into this match.

Benfica

Unlike their counterparts Benfica have been unbeaten since they last met. They won at home to Vitoria Guimares and away against Portimonense. However on the weekend they drew at home to FC Vizuela where Adel Tarrabt was red carded and substitute Henrique Araujo had to score late on to get the point. That's put Benfica down to third place now, 12 points off Porto in first which in the Liga Portugal is almost impossible to catch.

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Juventus-Villarreal

Juventus

Juventus have completely turned their season around. They've gone from looking desperate and unlikely to qualify for the Champions League before Christmas they're now the form side in Serie A and are slowly creeping up the table, potentially challenging for the title. The are currently six points behind AC Milan and are fourth, but they've won their last three games in a row and with Dusan Vlahovic on goalscoring form they are in prime position to go through to the last eight.

Villarreal

Villarreal had a rousing 5-1 win at home to Espanyol after drawing against Juventus but followed that up with a 1-0 loss away against Osasuna. They won on the weekend at home against Celta Vigo but they're in seventh place in La Liga, six points off Atletico Madrid in fourth and unlikely to qualify for the Champions League next season. Unai Emery's men will have to put all the eggs into one basket if they are to go deep in the Champions League this season.

Lille-Chelsea

Lille

Lille's defence of the Ligue 1 title has been fairly poor to say the least. They've been very inconsistent and were as low as 11th at one stage this season. However they've somewhat salvaged their campaign and are now on the charge for a Champions League place. They are sixth place at the moment, seven points off Nice in third. After losing their first leg against Chelsea, Lille won 1-0 away against Lyon and then won 4-0 against Clermont a week later.

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Chelsea

It's been a very tumultuous fortnight for Chelsea with their owner Roman Abramovich announcing that he will sell the club before the UK government put sanctions on the Russian Oligarch that will effect the club immensely. It isn't certain how far these sanctions will go but it doesn't look promising for Chelsea, with their kit sponsor 3 wanting to end their relationship with the club and the club having to reduce day-to-day spending drastically.

They haven't let the off the field drama effect their performance on it. They've won their last four games in a row since losing the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool, scoring eleven goals in the process. On Sunday it took an 89th minute Kai Havertz winner to beat Newcastle at Stamford Bridge. The Blues beat Lille 2-0 at the Bridge in teh first leg and that lead could be enough to go through.

SEE ALSO: PSG's Champions League Failings All The More Remarkable When You Look At Their Spending

PSG

 

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