The Champions League last 16 draw has thrown up a series of mouth-watering ties for English clubs, with Chelsea pitted against defending champions Paris St-Germain and Manchester City set to renew their fierce rivalry with Real Madrid for a fifth consecutive season in the knockout rounds.
Six English Clubs, Zero All-English Ties
Six Premier League sides qualified for the last 16, but the draw has ensured there will be no all-English clashes at this stage. Arsenal, who topped the league phase as the only team to win all eight matches, will take on Bayer Leverkusen. Newcastle United face Barcelona, Liverpool meet Galatasaray and Tottenham have been handed a tie against Atletico Madrid.
The first legs take place on 10 and 11 March, with second legs on 17 and 18 March. Newcastle are at home first against Barca, while Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham all have the advantage of a second leg at home after qualifying automatically from the league phase.
Chelsea and PSG Set for Club World Cup Final Rematch
The standout tie sees Chelsea drawn against PSG in a rematch of last year's FIFA Club World Cup final, which the Blues won 3-0 in New Jersey. New Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior, who left PSG's Ligue 1 rivals Strasbourg in January to take the Stamford Bridge hot seat, could not hide his excitement.
"I'm so excited. PSG are a fantastic team. I have experience of playing against them in France. I have always admired them. Luis Enrique has done an incredible job," Rosenior said. "These are the games you live for, games that you come into football for. It's going to be a great tie."
Chelsea's director of football David Barnard struck a confident tone, saying: "It'll be tough but it holds no fear for us. It's too soon to speak about the final, we should think game by game. Now we have a strong opener to face."
PSG coach Luis Enrique played down any talk of revenge for the Club World Cup defeat. "It will be fascinating to play against one of the best English teams, who we know well, but it will not be about revenge. These are two different competitions," he said.
City and Real Madrid: A Rivalry That Will Not End
Manchester City and Real Madrid meeting again feels almost inevitable at this point. Their December league phase clash, won by City in Madrid, was the ninth encounter between the two sides since April 2022. It is a fixture that has produced some of the most dramatic European football of the modern era, and a fifth straight knockout stage meeting only adds to the legend.
City's director of football Hugo Viana was in bullish mood. "It's a big game for both teams. It's like a final, we are happy to go there again," he said.
Despite Real Madrid's record 15 Champions League titles, the data suggests the balance of power has shifted. Opta give City a 10.79% chance of lifting the trophy this season compared to just 2.78% for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
Arsenal Tipped as Outright Favourites
Arsenal's dominant league phase campaign, eight wins from eight, has made them the team to beat. Opta rate Mikel Arteta's side as clear favourites at 27.40%, well ahead of second-placed Bayern Munich on 14.28% and Liverpool on 12.83%.
Their reward is a last-16 clash with Bayer Leverkusen, the Bundesliga club who went unbeaten domestically last season under Xabi Alonso. Leverkusen's sporting director Simon Rolfes acknowledged the scale of the task.
"Arsenal are perhaps the top favourite for the title in both the Champions League and the Premier League," Rolfes said. "Everything has to go right, but then we're capable of making life difficult for them."
Should Arsenal progress, a quarter-final against either Sporting or Bodo/Glimt awaits, keeping them on the more favourable side of the bracket.
Newcastle's Barcelona Test and Spurs' Europa League Hangover
Newcastle face a glamour tie against Barcelona, with Hansi Flick's La Liga leaders the visitors to St James' Park for the first leg. Flick was diplomatic about the draw, saying: "We are not celebrating not getting PSG. We must respect our opponents. Everyone wants to reach the final and Newcastle will also be eager to win the Champions League."
Tottenham, who qualified by winning last season's Europa League, take on Atletico Madrid. Former Spurs defender Gary Mabbutt offered a dose of optimism: "At this stage, anything can happen and every game is winnable. I was here this time last year and we were drawn for the Europa League. We got through to the final last year and became champions, so who knows."
Opta are less convinced, giving Spurs just a 1.22% chance of going all the way. But then again, few gave them much hope in last year's Europa League either.
The Road to Budapest
The bracket is already mapped out. If Chelsea and Liverpool both advance, they will meet in the quarter-finals. The same applies to Newcastle and Tottenham on the other side of the draw. Spurs could even face north London rivals Arsenal in the semi-finals, setting up the tantalising prospect of an all-London last four.
The final takes place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday 30 May. With six English clubs still standing and the odds stacked in their favour, this could be the most Premier League-dominated Champions League knockout stage in history.