Champions League: Ranking the round of 16 ties
By Ty Finch
6. Basel vs. Manchester City
In what’s likely to be the most lopsided round of 16 match, Group C’s second-place finishers, Basel, will face the most feared team in England, and possibly Europe: Manchester City.
This clash will probably produce quite a few goals, even though Basel have a decent defensive record in their domestic league and, minus the 3-0 thrashing to Manchester United in their first Champions League match, only gave up two other goals in the group stage. Basel scored 11 times in Group A and have 39 in 20 matches in the Swiss Super League. City scored 14 in Group F and have an astounding 74 in 26 matches in the Premier League.
In the group stage, Basel relied heavily on counter-attacking soccer to score. They only averaged 42 percent possession in their six matches but managed 11 shots per game anyway.
Dimitri Oberlin led the side with four goals and Michael Lang, an attacking right-wing back, has proven a scoring threat with two goals in group play and four in the Super League this season.
City are superior in every aspect, however. There’s not a single Basel player that would start for the opposition, and Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers in the world. Their relentless attacking style and possession-based soccer will prove to be too much to deal with.
This tie could be decided after the first match is completed, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be entertaining to watch. City will dominate the ball while Basel likely will sit back and wait for chances to counter quickly. For City, that means plenty of chances on goal, but Basel are good at rapidly switching the scoring threat. Goals will be had.