History was made in the UEFA Champions League this season with five English teams making it through the round of sixteen.
That was the first time in the history of the tournament that five teams from the same nation had made it through to that stage. So how many of them will march their way through to the quarter finals? Chelsea, who were the only ones of the English sides to not win their group get the toughest draw of the lot as they have to play host to Barcelona, while Tottenham will be tested against Italian champions Juventus. Manchester City, after receiving the most favourable draw that they could have gotten against FC Basel are favourites to book a quarter final ticket.
We look ahead to the Champions League Round of Sixteen where generally favouritism rests on the sides who have gone through as group winners (teams playing the second leg at home).
Real Madrid v PSG
Reigning champions Real Madrid get a really tough draw after having failed to win their group over Tottenham.
Real Madrid just haven’t looked themselves this season on any front and with PSG having already received plenty of backing to go all the way in the Champions League this season, Madrid will be under threat here and they are even money underdogs to qualify.
PSG invested heavily in the summer to propel themselves to the next level in Europe and this will be a great litmus test for them. PSG are favourites to make it.
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* The teams have met on six occasions with two wins apiece.
* Paris forward Ángel Di María won the UEFA Champions League with Madrid in 2014.
Juventus v Tottenham
Tottenham got themselves a tough draw but they won’t have anything to fear really after having taken down Real Madrid comfortably in the group stage of the competition.
The Lilywhites will have plenty of belief as the Old Lady haven’t quite looked like their defensively brilliant selves this season.
This will be a real test for the Lilywhites and they are the 6/5 underdogs at Bwin to qualify from the tie which will probably tempt some punters.
That first leg out on the road is going to be all important, the Lilywhites have to hang in there.
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*The sides have never previously met competitively.
*Erik Lamela faced Juventus five times when he was at Roma, losing three games and winning once. He was sent off once and never scored.
*Colombian pair Davinson Sánchez and Juan Cuadrado are international team-mates.
Basel v Man City
Manchester City landed a fantastic draw for themselves as they go up against FC Basel from Switzerland. That draw has seen Pep Guardiola’s men move into the position of outright favourites to win the tournament now, that and along with how the rest of the draw has panned out.
City and Basel have never met before competitively, but Basel went up against Manchester United in the group stage this season and lost at Old Trafford heavily before taking a win back on home soil against the Red Devils.
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* The sides have never previously met.
* Basel were paired with City’s rivals Manchester United in Group A this season, losing 3-0 at Old Trafford but pulling off a 1-0 win at home.
Porto v Liverpool
These two have met before as they were paired up in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup quarter finals and then again in the Champions League 2007/08 group stage.
Liverpool has won both of their home games against the Portuguese side while drawing both of the games out on the road against them.
Porto were in England last season as they hammered Leicester on match day six of the group stage, with the Foxes having already qualified at that point.
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* Liverpool are unbeaten in four previous meetings, winning at home and drawing away in the 2007/08 group stage and 2000/01 UEFA Cup quarter-finals.
* Porto scored five without reply the last time they faced English opposition, thumping already-qualified Leicester City on matchday six last season.
*Miguel Layún scored on his only previous trip to Merseyside, registering for Watford in a 2-2 draw with Everton. It was one of only three Premier League appearances for the Mexican.
Sevilla v Man Utd
The Red Devils won’t be too unhappy with this draw but it is a bit of a tricky one really. Sevilla were up against Liverpool in the group stage and the Spaniards played out two draws with the Premier League side.
This is a clash between the two most recent winners of the UEFA Europa League, with the Spaniards winning it three times on the trot between 2013/14 and 2015/16 before United rolled up and took it last season.
Sevilla are a tough side on home soil and they will make United work, but the Red Devils are favourites to qualify from the tie.
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* The sides have never previously met.
* The tie pits together the last two UEFA Europa League winners, last season’s victors United and a Sevilla side who triumphed a record three seasons running between 2013/14 and 2015/16.
*Sevilla have already visited north-west England this season, claiming a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in Group E. The Spanish side recovered from 3-0 down to earn a point in the return last month.
Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma
This is the tie that will be flying totally under the radar of most people, but for both Shakhtar Donetsk and Roma they will be happy enough in facing each other.
That is because there were much tougher tests that could have come out of the hat for them. The Ukrainians are a very good side on home soil and they are here after finishing second behind Manchester City, who they beat on match day six and this could even be an evenly matched contest. Roma held off Chelsea to win their group and are favourites to progress.
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* Shakhtar beat Roma in the 2010/11 round of 16, winning 3-2 in Italy and 3-0 at home.
*Shakhtar midfielder Fred and Roma keeper Alisson were team-mates at Brazilian club Internacional in 2013.
Chelsea v Barcelona
Chelsea was really running the risk of getting a horrid draw and it happened. With five Premier League teams getting through, and Chelsea not being able to face anyone from their group, there was a massive chance that they were going to have it rough in the round of sixteen.
But Chelsea are 4-3 up in the head to head against Barcelona from previous European meetings and they beat them in the 2012 semi finals on their way to winning the title.
They beat Barcelona 5-4 in the 2004/05 round of sixteen as well. Lionel Messi has incidentally never scored in eight previous appearances against Chelsea but still, the Catalans have been in great form this season and are favourites to qualify.
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* Lionel Messi has never registered against Chelsea in eight previous matches, the most he has faced any club without scoring.
*Chelsea has had the better of 12 previous meetings with Barcelona in UEFA competition, with four wins to the Liga side’s three.
*The Blues beat Barça 5-4 on aggregate in the 2004/05 round of 16 despite Ronaldinho’s iconic memorable toe-poked finish for the Spanish side.
Bayern Munich v Besiktas
Bayern Munich avoided any real trouble in the round of sixteen with this tie. The Germans only finished second in their group behind PSG so dodged a bit of a bullet here as they take on Besiktas who were one of the surprise group winners getting through.
The two have met before back in the 1997/98 group stage with Bayern winning both of those ties by a 2-0 score line.
Their powerful response against PSG on match day six shows that you can’t write Bayern off.
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* Bayern beat Besiktas 2-0 both away and home in the 1997/98 group stage – the teams’ only previous meetings.
* Besiktas winger Ricardo Quaresma scored twice in the first ten minutes of Porto’s quarter-final tie against Bayern in April 2015.
* Mario Gomez – a 2013 UEFA Champions League winner with Bayern under Jupp Heynckes – spent a season on loan at Besiktas.
