Good morning to everyone but especially to...
THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The Champions League has already delivered plenty of thrilling moments, and we're sure to get more today. The Round of 16 continues with a pair of matches today, featuring some of the top contenders for the title -- and streaming, as always, on Paramount+.
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid (preview)Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Napoli (preview)Liverpool-Real Madrid, of course, is a rematch of last year's final, which Real Madrid won 1-0 behind a goal from Vinícius Júnior.
Our James Benge expects more of the same in his bold predictions.
Benge: "What does not seem to have been convincingly changed is Trent Alexander-Arnold's habit of switching off to so much danger behind him at the back post, something that was most cruelly exposed by Vinicius Junior at the Stade de France in last year's final. Even neutrals in Paris could not help but feel like they had found themselves in an old-school horror movie an hour in, screaming 'HE'S BEHIND YOU' to no avail. ... Unfortunately for Liverpool, Vinicius is on something of a tear at the moment, scoring six in his last nine appearances and weighing in with three assists."Unsteady defending and plenty of attacking prowess? Sounds like an easy over, our Tom Fornelli writes in his Corner Picks.
While those two are the reigning finalists, Napoli might actually be the team to beat. Luciano Spalletti's team leads Serie A by a whopping 15 points, and our Francesco Porzio took a look at how the Azzurri have become a dominant force. You can see all of our experts' picks and predictions here.
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for...
Getty ImagesMATT BARZAL AND THE NEW YORK ISLANDERS
With under two months to go in the regular season, the Islanders are hoping to make a playoff push. Standout center Mathew Barzal won't be a part of it... at least for the foreseeable future. The former Calder Memorial Trophy winner is out indefinitely due to a lower-body injury.
The Islanders are already without forwards Josh Bailey and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, both of whom are dealing with upper-body injuries.Barzal's 51 points are second on the team behind Brock Nelson, and his 37 assists lead the team.After Monday's win over the Penguins, the Islanders are in a Wild Card spot but have little room for error.The Islanders could make a move ahead of the March 3 trade deadline, and our Chris Bengel has plenty of trade targets, including...
Bengel: "The Islanders already parted with a significant portion of capital to land Bo Horvat last month, so a top forward like Patrick Kane or Tyler Bertuzzi probably isn't coming to Long Island. However, Max Domi would be a solid consolation prize. Domi will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, which means that the price tag won't be insanely high. ... The 27-year old would also be a nice addition to an Islanders power-play that is converting just 17.1 percent of their opportunities, which is seventh-worst in the league."
