Well, what on earth did we all witness this week? 32 goals in eight matches is absolutely insane, and the scorelines didn’t disappoint either. From Atalanta’s demolition in Bergamo to Tottenham’s well… Tottenham-esque performance in Madrid, and speaking of Madrid, Real and Valverde… wow, just wow. If only the UCL knockout phase could be played every week, we’d never suffer from boredom.

In terms of our Sofascore Fantasy picks, not to be cocky or anything, but we finally did not disappoint last week. Khvicha, Olise, Yamal, Hauge, Stanišić, and Huijsen all delivered the goods for their respective sides, from goals, assists, perfect ratings, and clean sheets; we saw it all coming (pure luck). So, sticking to the same format that was commenced last time out, when we discussed the second legs, let’s get started!

Sporting vs Bodø/Glimt

The UCL’s Round of 16 second legs will kick-start in the Portuguese capital, as the home side Sporting have quite the task on their shoulders. Make no mistake about it, Bodø aren’t stopping now. Five Champions League wins in a row is absolutely insane, especially given their opponents. While some may have predicted them to crumble in the return leg against Inter, in which they had a smaller margin to defend, who can doubt them now as they take a three-goal lead against weaker opposition? It goes without saying that we backed them last week, with Håkon Evjen and Jens Petter Hauge a part of our leg one Fantasy picks. The latter, with an 8.3 Sofascore Rating and an assist, while the prior played 87 minutes, contributed three key passes, and finished the match with a 7.4 Sofascore Rating.

Don’t fix what’s not broken. Bodø are going to cruise past Sporting in leg two. The great part about this team is that they are such a well-oiled machine that it literally does not matter who you pick. Against Sporting, their lowest-rated starting XI player was their striker, Kasper Høgh, who scored and received a 6.8 Sofascore Rating. The Dane has five goals in Bodø’s last five matches, so we’re going with him this week.

Arsenal vs Leverkusen

This matchup’s first leg wasn’t as successful in terms of our prediction last week. Gabriel Magalhães and David Raya failed to deliver the big zero in front of Bayer Leverkusen’s acronym on the scoreboard, as there Robert Andrich found the net in the 46th minute, which was later cancelled out by virtue of a Havertz last-minute penalty. As they’d say in the industry, the ‘no-brainer’ did not succeed. Despite our wobbly Arsenal picks, the same can be said for Bayer’s chances away in London.

Even if Bayer held on to that lead, facing this season’s Arsenal side with only a one-goal lead doesn’t guarantee much, if anything at all. We expect an all-round dominant performance from the Gunners, which is why sprinkling in some Arsenal players on all sides of the pitch is the move we’d recommend. Gabriel Magalhães is a, what a coincidence, no-brainer, as one of the most dominant centre-backs in football. In the midfield, Declan Rice, pulling all the strings together. And in attack, yeah, let’s not go for Viktor Gyökeres, never mind. Just stick to Gabriel and Rice.

Chelsea vs PSG

We can finally and officially state that the PSG curse has been defeated. From injury-ridden disappointments to squad rotations beyond belief, Dembélé, Doué, Kang-in Lee… can Lee even get more than 30 minutes per game? Despite all these hardships for us, the difficult task of attempting to form an estimate of who could be PSG’s star was something that was never going to get the best of us. Last week, we put Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as our final pick, and well, when the starting lineups of both teams were published ahead of the match, the same recurring thoughts came back, that echoed week in, week out… “not again…”

But the Georgian said enough is enough. As the first leg entered its final third, Khvicha (probably) yelled, “Sub me in, coach, I can’t let yet another PSG pick go to waste!” And well, the rest was history. Two goals, an assist, a 9.2 Sofascore Rating in 28 minutes played to top of a 5-2 win. Kvaradona, you have our respect, which is exactly why we are sticking with you for leg two. Don’t fix what’s not broken!

Man City vs Real Madrid

If anyone in their right mind could have predicted a Federico Valverde hat-trick ahead of the first leg in the Bernabéu, well, I’m not suggesting a career path in gambling… but they could make some serious money in the future. The match turned out to be the very opposite of what we had planned it out to be, at least from Real Madrid’s side. Guardiola’s side was stagnant and lethargic, offering very little in attack and totally crumbling in defense in the first half. By the time the second 45 minutes had started, everything was already set and finished.

Both sides know each other very well by now, as they seem to play each other at least twice per UCL campaign. Man City will do anything but back down, with hopes seeped into their historic semi-final second leg 4-0 win against Los Blancos on the path to their first Champions League title in 2023. However, they aren’t remotely close to mimicking the dominance of that City side a few years back, despite Real Madrid also having a season to forget thus far. We’re putting forward a defensive pick for the second leg: Antonio Rüdiger, or the always-impressive Thibaut Courtois, who even had an assist, should do the job.

Barcelona vs Newcastle

It’s not over until the fat lady sings, or until Barcelona are awarded a last-minute penalty. It was an evident penalty, just to be clear, and while Newcastle may have deserved a goal lead, or even two, each mistake is punished, especially by Yamal. Yamal, who was our pick last week, didn’t have a standout game, but he stepped up when it mattered most, and that goal will most likely cost Newcastle in the end. If Atléti barely managed to survive a four-goal lead in Camp Nou, what chances does Newcastle have without one?

All logic points towards Barça’s overwhelming pressure from kickoff as soon as the second leg commences. While Hansi Flick can’t rely on his captain de Jong, Barcelona’s attacking and midfield presence remains overwhelming, and it’ll be very difficult for Howe’s side to contain them. Raphinha was Barcelona’s highest-rated player (7.4) in leg one so let’s transition from the right wing to the left, and give the Brazilian magician a chance this week.

Bayern vs Atalanta

Well, this second leg is anything but competitive. The so-called “footballing formality” of playing a second leg that was already done and dusted in the first 90 minutes, known to all fans of this sport, just like playing the bronze medal match in the UEFA Nations League. Palladino is lucky that both Olise, who had a perfect 10 Sofascore performance, scoring twice and assisting, and Bayern’s captain Kimmich are suspended, as we all know Bayern and the Germans love beating a dead horse. Beating a dead horse, though, isn’t the best idiom, as horses tend to be elegant and fast, almost mythical when they gallop through fields, unlike Atalanta in the first leg. The cherry on top? Kane was injured and didn’t even feature… who knows what the result would have been…

For ‘formalities’ sake, we also have to put out a pick for the second leg in Munich. Jamal Musiala is starting to get back on his feet after such a horrible injury in the Club World Cup, scoring in the 45 minutes that he played against Atalanta. The second leg will be a brilliant chance for him to get 90 minutes under his belt.

Liverpool vs Galatasaray

The return leg in Liverpool is definitely a fixture everyone will be keeping an eye out for, after the first leg in Istanbul went exactly the way we thought it would. To quote ourselves from last week’s Fantasy picks: “Galatasaray is a different beast at home, which is exactly why we’ve picked one of their players for this first leg. More specifically, Galatasaray is a beast at home and a puppy away.” Considering this rather harsh analysis of Galatasaray’s fluctuating form home and away, may one allude to the fact that we’re going to back Liverpool’s chances of going through? Yes, yes, we will. Going down 3-0 to Juventus away is simply unacceptable, and the Reds are ‘a bit’ (a lot) better than the Old Lady.

While Virgil Van Dijk is Liverpool’s highest-rated player in the UCL, with a Sofascore Average Rating of 7.63, we do predict this return to be a bit more lively than the first match in terms of goals. Mohamed Salah has had a good start to 2026 for both club and country, so is it finally time for him to put in a magical UCL Anfield performance once again?

Tottenham vs Atlético Madrid

If some are tuning in to the return leg at Anfield for dramatic, high-quality football, others on Wednesday at 21:00 GMT+1 will be watching Tottenham for comedic purposes. Everything is possible in football, so it wouldn’t be wise to apply the same ‘formality’ logic of the Bayern return leg to this fixture, as 1-6 isn’t the same as 5-2, even if Tottenham is the club in question. As much as everyone loves to make fun of Tottenham for their recent form, and their rather tragic first 30 minutes away in Madrid, their League phase part of the competition was extremely solid. Five wins, two draws, and a single loss in eight matches, finishing in 4th place, sandwiched between Liverpool and Barcelona is no joke.

Let’s end these picks with a bit of risk. It’s a bit stale to pick the most obvious players and always play it safe, even though we like to shake things up quite often. When it comes to Tottenham, this is easier said than done because where do we even start from? Who’s even healthy enough to play? Pedro Porro was Spurs’ only bright spot away in Madrid, scoring and assisting, so let’s hope the Spaniard can repeat a similar performance. As a “defender” by Fantasy position, his attacking presence allows for an impactful contribution on both ends of the pitch, with three goal involvements and four clean sheets in eight UCL matches this season.