The Champions League draw has been a bit kind to Bayern Munich in terms of the quality of their opposition, but not in terms of travel schedule. They'll have to make a trip to Ukraine in early spring, which is still very much winter there, to face Shakhtar Donetsk. And, of course, they won't actually be traveling to Donetsk, which is no place to hold a big football match at the moment.
Bayern Munich
The Bavarians got drawn into arguably the strongest group in the competition, but had no problem coasting through the initial phase of Champions League. Bayern Munich recorded three shutout wins at home and only lost once, away to Manchester City in a wild game that featured red cards and a hat trick for Sergio Aguero. As long as they don't run into a player of his quality -- and there aren't too many of those -- they're always favorites.
However, Bayern have a slew of injury issues, many of which won't be completely fixed by a winter's worth of rest. Midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martinez won't be back for their round of 16 tie, while David Alaba and Philipp Lahm's timetables for recovery have them getting fit right around the end of February. The best version of Bayern is a near-unbeatable force, but they won't be that during this round.
Pep Guardiola's made the most of what he has, though, and Bayern are coasting through the Bundesliga. They're in first place very comfortably, and can play rotated sides in the league on either side of Champions League matches without sacrificing anything domestically. Their opponents won't be so lucky.
Key player: Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben was one of the best attacking players at the World Cup, and even though he'll be 31 by the time this tie gets underway, he's as good as he's ever been. Even though the one-footed wonder has one move that he goes to repeatedly -- cutting onto his left foot from the right wing to shoot -- he's so good at it that no one's figured out how to stop it. Robben has 10 goals in 16 appearances this year to go along with a handful of assists, and he's been impossible to stop regardless of Bayern's formation. He even plays wingback sometimes, and it's terrifying.
Shakhtar Donetsk
It's been a tough season for Shakhtar, who have been forced away from their home due to the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The city of Donetsk has been one of the major cities most affected, and their home stadium, Donbass Arena, has been damaged by shelling on multiple occasions.
Shakhtar currently make their home in Lviv, and they've adjusted pretty well, qualifying comfortably for the knockout stages of this competition. They're also doing just fine domestically, and currently sit second in Ukraine behind Dynamo Kiev.
Despite rumors of a mass exodus over the summer, Shakhtar did not get bullied into selling the farm and managed to hold on to most of their key players. The Brazilians they're known for have performed well even though they threatened to never return to Ukraine in the first place. Having a fabulously wealthy owner certainly has its perks.
Key player: Alex Teixeira
Even though Shakhtar have lots of money, the nature of being in Ukraine is that your top players will always want to leave for bigger and better things. Willian and Henrik Mkhitaryan departed and the Miners' new central attacking midfielder is Alex Teixeira, who's been on the books for quite a while. Once one of Brazil's top wonderkids, Teixeira stuttered, then found his form again and has been Shakhtar's best player in Europe this season. But he's not terribly consistent, which makes him all the more key. They'll go as he goes.