They say you should save the best for last but then again, what do they know? The draw for the Champions League round of 16 was made last Friday and it’s pulled up some absolutely cracking games. It’s a shame that we will have to wait until February when the competition resumes to enjoy the drama. In the meantime, let’s speculate a little…

Neutrals and pundits alike will be thinking that the tie of the round is clearly Chelsea vs. Barcelona. After what the clash between these sides produced last season, who could argue? The quality of football was superb and that’s not all.

Some massive refereeing mistakes and not exactly sportsmanlike conduct from both sets of players and coaches added spice to an already scintillating confrontation. Barcelona, played better than Chelsea for much of those two games but a John Terry goal (that should never have been allowed to stand) sent the Spanish champions crashing out. To be fair if they hadn’t conceded three goals in a half an hour at Stamford Bridge it would have been irrelevant.

Regardless, Barca will definitely want revenge and they’ll serve it up Catalan style. With Ronaldinho, flying high after winning the Ballon D’Or ( the France Football European Player of the Year) expect Barcelona to be at their fast paced, fluid, spectacular best.

They ran Chelsea ragged last season and this year have additional torture in mind with Argentinean youngster, Lionel Messi bursting onto the scene. He’s already being touted as the true heir to Diego Armando Maradona.

Chelsea meanwhile, will be without suspended midfielder Michael Essien. The Ghanaian midfielder (the USA National team may want to keep an eye on him during the World Cup) picked up a two match ban for a horrible, potentially career ending challenge on a Liverpool player.

Still, Chelsea is the type of side that can cause Barcelona trouble, namely because they actually know how to defend unlike many teams in the Spanish Liga, and they have quality players going forward as well. It’s an open tie, but for the football they are capable of producing you’d favor Barcelona to go through. Let’s not forget that unlike last season, the return leg will be in front of 120000 Catalans in the Camp Nou.

But Barca vs. Chelsea aside, there are other great games to be had, including AC Milan vs. Bayern Munich and Arsenal vs. Real Madrid. The former should produce a highly tactical confrontation, in spite of the fact that neither of the two teams are overly defense minded and the latter will surely be among the most prolific in terms of goals scored.

Bayern Munich isn’t the most talked about side when it comes to the contenders to lift the trophy in May, but they may be worth a shout. If they get past Milan that is. The Germans were impressive in their handling of Juventus, beating them in Munich and giving them a run for their money in Turin, but Milan is a different animal.

They have a more attacking philosophy than Juventus do and the additional firepower to make it work. With Gilardino, Shevchenko and Kaka, running around, Milan will always create chances. They will try and take Bayern by the throat, going for the kill as soon as possible.

Milan may have the superior strike force, but the two teams are quite evenly matched in midfield, so expect much of the match to be decided there. Milan should beware of Ballack, the German international is the mastermind of the Munich side and if Milan wants to win, they will have to keep him on the periphery of the action.

The Italians main worry, as shocking as it is to say about any Italian side, is their defense. They’ve not looked as solid as they did last season although the winter break could be what they need to get it together. If Milan manages to avoid conceding silly goals as has been their wont recently, especially on set pieces, then you favor them to edge the tie but only just.

As for Arsenal and Real Madrid, well that should be pure entertainment. The thing you’re always sure about when it comes to Real Madrid is that there will be goals, either because they will score them en masse or concede them en masse, sometimes even both.

Arsenal for their part are a atypical English side, who really like to get the ball on the ground and stroke it around. They are very much into a fast paced, one touch passing sort of game. Under Wenger, the Gunners have always had a continental flare.

Their respective styles match up very well together, leaving room for high expectations of much attacking football. Think about it, just leave Thierry Henry in that wide open space that Real call their defense, and the Frenchman will have a field day.

A couple of years ago, you’d have said Real were red hot favorites to go through, not so these days. This is Arsenal’s chance to prove that they mean business on the European stage. Real will be playing with far more pressure on their shoulders than Arsenal and the return leg will be at Highbury. The stage is set for Arsenal to come of age.

The other ties in this round are a bit less glamorous, but could provide entertainment none the less. Reigning champions, Liverpool face Portuguese side Benfica, who were responsible for Manchester United’s premature exit from European competitions.

Perhaps not the most spectacular match on paper, but it could turn out alright. Despite their irregular Premiership form (which admittedly is getting better, even Peter Crouch is scoring goals…) Liverpool have always looked solid in Europe.

Benfica seems a determined side though and they will have nothing to lose against the Reds. They beat United without some of their key players (goes to show how abysmal Manchester United has been this season) and they truly do look a decent side when they are fully turned out.

Rangers, the first Scottish team to ever make it through to this stage of the competition, will face Villarreal. The surprise Spaniards are a good team that play lovely football, with Argentine playmaker Riquelme pulling the strings.

The Rangers will look to mix it up and add a true physical element to the match, something which is not likely to suit Villarreal’s more technical style. The Rangers are having a disastrous domestic campaign, but their luck has held in the Champions League. Villarreal though, just maybe asking to much. The Spaniards are favorites to go through.

The French champions, Lyon, will be looking to avenge last season’s quarter final exit against PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch side were semi finalists last year and despite losing several key players in the summer transfer window are doing well again this season.

Lyon though, isn’t looking to shabby themselves. They finished on top of their group in front of Real Madrid and could be considered dark horses to make the final in Paris next May.

Both sides like to play the ball on the ground, so the tie should produce open and entertaining matches, but with some of the other games on offer, you won’t lose sleep over this one.

Lastly, the other two Italian giants in the competition. Inter Milan will take on Ajax and while the Dutch side always have fantastic young talent you’d expect Inter to qualify without too much difficulty. Then again, Inter loves to make life difficult for themselves and are not beyond mucking up completely what should be simple passage to the next round. When it comes to the nerazzuri, you just never know.

Juventus, for their part, having more or less wrapped up the league title with a big Christmas bow before the winter break, will see Werder Bremen placed as the next obstacle in their race for European glory.

This German side are very offensive, they like to get men going forward. They’ve got two good strikers in Klose and Klasnic and an excellent playmaker in Johann Micoud. However, up against a Juventus defense that has never looked so solid, it may not be enough.

On top of that, the way Werder play leaves lots space open at the back. Space that Juventus’ David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic love to play in and when those two are rollicking around like children at a playground, it is usually a bad sign for their opponents.

Juventus is probably the most impressive side in Europe at the moment. Contrary to Chelsea, Lyon or Bayern Munich whose domination in their respective leagues is partly due to disappointing form from their rivals, Juventus is clear at the top of Serie A, purely on the merit of their own extraordinary results.

They should have no problem going through to the quarter finals and if they turned up in the final it would not be a surprise.

February might be the heart of winter, but with matches like these to look forward to it promises to be scorching.