The Champions League round of 16 draw has been announced and there are a couple of blockbuster matches to look out for. The biggest talking point is, of course, unlucky Arsenal who drew Bayern Munich again while PSG take on Barcelona in another mouthwatering clash.
With the group stages being done and dusted, UEFA Champions League has reached its business end with the round of 16 draw being made today. Nyon, Switzerland which is the UEFA headquarters hosted the venue for the round of 16 draw. From the 16 teams that were qualified, the seeded teams or the respective group winners are placed in one pot whereas the remaining eight teams from the other pot for the two-legged round of 16 ties.
The teams were drawn keeping two restrictions in mind. Firstly, a team could not face another team from its own country and secondly, seeded teams or the group winners will play the second leg at their home ground.
From the Premier League, Arsenal, Manchester City and Leicester are through to the round of 16 with the Gunners and Leicester qualifying as the seeded teams. Manchester City were the runners up in their group with FC Barcelona occupying the group winners' spot. The first leg of the round of 16 will be played on February 13/14 and February 20/21 whereas the second leg will be played in the midweeks of March 6/7 and March 13/14.
Let us look at the teams that have qualified for the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League 2016-17 :
Group A - Arsenal (winners), Paris Saint-Germain (runners-up)Group B - Napoli (winners), Benfica (runners-up)Group C - Barcelona (winners), Manchester City (runners-up)Group D - Atletico Madrid (winners), Bayern Munich (runners-up)Group E - Monaco (winners), Bayer Leverkusen (runners-up)Group F - Borussia Dortmund (winners), Real Madrid (runners-up)Group G - Leicester City (winners), Porto (runners-up)Group H - Juventus (winners), Sevilla (runners-up)
Let us take a look at the seeded and unseeded teams which were in the draw :
Seeded teams: Arsenal (ENG), Napoli (ITA), Barcelona (ESP), Atlético Madrid (ESP), Monaco (FRA), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Leicester City (ENG), Juventus (ITA )
Unseeded teams: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Benfica (POR), Manchester City (ENG), Bayern München (GER), Bayer Leverkusen (GER), Real Madrid (ESP), Porto ( POR), Sevilla (ESP)
Here is the draw in full:
Manchester City vs AS Monaco
Benfica vs Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid vs Napoli
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal
FC Porto vs Juventus
Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid
Paris Saint Germain vs FC Barcelona
Sevilla vs Leicester City