At midday Monday in Nyon the appointment with the draws of the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Three Italian teams are very interested in the Swiss urn: one that has won its group, Juventus, and two that have passed as second, namely Lazio and Atalanta, in the latter case winning at the home of sacred 'monsters' such as Liverpool and Ajax.
The formula of the round of 16 draw is that of the last few seasons, that is that the winners of the groups will be seeded, while the second will be in pot 2. The 'stakes' will be that teams that have already faced each other in the group stage and those of the same country.
These two indications will no longer be valid from the quarter-finals, but for the round of 16 yes.
And here then that immediately catches the eye as for his majesty Real Madrid, 13 great Cups on the bulletin board, the squad of possible opponents is restricted to only four teams: Leipzig, Porto, Atalanta and Lazio.
So for both Gian Piero Gasperini and Simone Inzaghi the risk of finding themselves facing the 'merengues' of Zinedine Zidane is real.
In the case of Atalanta it would be an unprecedented challenge, while between Lazio and Real there have already been four challenges, with 2 victories for the Spaniards, two draws and no Biancoceleste success.
Lazio and Atalanta also risk finding the Paris SG vice-champion of Europe in office, and for the Dea it would be the chance of a possible rematch of the match, in a dry match, last season that the Bergamo team did not deserve to lose.
Another possible rival to make your wrists tremble is Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, while the other English super team, Liverpool, can only be paired with Lazio: even this possible double challenge would be an unprecedented one, and for the Reds, which in passed so many times they made Roma cry, it would be an opportunity to displease the other team in the capital.
It is also interesting to note how the reigning champion team, that Bayern Munich which is also the favorite of the current edition, can only be drawn with five of the eight teams from pot 2. In addition to the usual Lazio and Atalanta, there are Porto , Seville and, especially Barcelona.
Yes, that very Barça that last August 14 was overwhelmed by the eight goals scored by the Bavarians in the short match in Lisbon which perhaps marked the end of the Blaugrana epic.
Now the confrontation could be repeated in advance, already in the second round, but it is difficult to say if for Messi and his teammates it could be the occasion for a sensational rematch.
And Juventus?
It has five possible rivals: four within reach, namely Borussia Moenchengladbach, Sevilla, Porto and Leipzig, and a decidedly more difficult one like Atletico Madrid, which although they lost the Spanish derby in the capital yesterday, remains a very hard nut for anyone.
And it would also be curious to see that Luis Suarez, long chased by the bianconeri in the summer, with a tail of controversies, and also judicial inquiries, which followed for the 'farce' examination of Italian, committed against Juve.
Also on Monday, this time at 1 pm, there will also be the draws for the round of 32 of the Europa League, which will involve the 12 group winners and the 12 runners-up, plus eight teams from the Champions League, after finishing third in their respective groups.
Among the top seeds there will be the three Italians Milan, Naples and Rome, for which the greatest dangers will come from a possible coupling with Benfica and Real Sociedad, top teams among those of the second urn.
But also pay attention to Dejan Stankovic's Red Star and to Salzburg, which is always an annoying opponent.
(HANDLE).