UEFA Champions League draw preview: Possible opponents of Premier League sides

All the 4 Premier League sides that played the group stage of the UEFA Champions League are through to the round of 16. England and Germany are the only countries that can brag about this.

The draw is scheduled to be on Monday the 16th at 12:00 CET (16:30 IST).

Let’s take a look at how these teams fared and their possible oppositions.

1. Arsenal

Arsenal were drawn into a tough group with German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund, Serie A runners up from last season Napoli and former French champions Marseille.

Like everyone could guess, the group indeed ended up being the most competitive one with Dortmund, Arsenal and Napoli finishing with 12 points each. Dortmund and Arsenal went through on a better head-to-head record.

With Arsenal finishing second in the group stage behind Dortmund, they’re set to face some European giants in the knockout stage.

As UCL stipulates a team cannot draw a team from the same league, same opposition from the group stage and the teams that finish first in the group stage are to face the runners up, here are the teams which Arsenal could face in the next round.

Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid or Barcelona.

No matter what team Arsenal end up drawing, they’ll have a tough round ahead of them with all the above mentioned teams doing really well in Europe as well as in their respective leagues.

My prediction – Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid

2. Chelsea

Chelsea were drawn into a rather group with the Schalke, Basel and Steaua. Although Chelsea finished second best to the Swiss team Basel in both the legs, they did manage to top the group with 12 points.

Probable opponents: Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Zenit or Milan.

Except for Milan and Leverkusen, all other fixtures would not be a hard one for Chelsea.

My prediction – Chelsea vs Zenit

3. Manchester City

Having been in pot 3 in the seedings, Man City had a tough group coming in. They drew the defending champions Bayern Munich alongside CSKA Moscow and FC Viktoria Plzen.

Man City finished second behind the German champions on head-to-head record in spite of being tied on 15 points with Bayern Munich.

Probable opponents: Real Madrid, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid or Barcelona.

Needless to say, Man City like Arsenal have another tough round coming up. The bad could turn worse if they get to face Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid or Barcelona.

My prediction – Manchester City vs Real Madrid

4. Manchester United

Seeded in pot A, Manchester United had a rather easy group with Bayer Leverkusen, Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Sociedad. Altough Leverkusen are second in Bundesliga, Man Utd beat them in both the legs where the emphatically thrashed Leverkusen 0-5 on Bayer’s own backyard. The English champions topped the group with 14 points and did not lose on any occasion.

Probable opponents: Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Schalke 04, Zenit or Milan.

Looks like an easy next round for the Red Devils except for Milan, who might cause some serious problems to the English side.

My prediction – Manchester United vs Schalke 04