Potential Champions League Round of 16 matchups for Premier League sides
The 16 teams that will contest in the next round of the Champions League are finalized, so let’s take a look at who the 4 Premier League sides could draw.
The Champions League group stage concluded on Wednesday evening, and as expected, all 4 Premier League sides have advanced to the knockout round. 2 of them, Manchester City and Liverpool, topped their respective groups, while Chelsea and Spurs had to settle for 2nd place, finishing behind Valencia and Bayern Munich respectively.
The draw will take place this coming Monday at UEFA’s Swiss headquarters, and is scheduled to start at 11 am GMT, or 6 am ET.
Let’s take a look at who the Premier League clubs could be up against in the round of 16:
Liverpool:
Liverpool, who are of course the defending Champions League winners, topped their group in a rather nail-biting fashion, having to win away at Salzburg on Tuesday to do so. The Reds go into the knockout stages as pretty much the 1 team nobody wants to draw. While they might be slightly vulnerable in their away leg, having to play the Reds at Anfield in a 2-legged tie would likely signal the defeat of many sides, no matter the stage of the tournament.
Liverpool can be drawn against Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, or Real Madrid in the next stage. While none of those ties would be easy, particularly one against either Madrid team, you would still fancy Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to advance to the quarter-final.
Manchester City:
Is this the year that Manchester City can finally get over the hump and establish themselves as a historically relevant European side by winning the Champions League? It’s honestly looking less likely as each week passes, while PSG, who have the exact same goal, look a more worthy candidate. While they will have Aymeric Laporte back for the knockout stages, Manchester City have been looking rather flat in the Premier League this season, and are all but out of the title race already.
However, knockout stage football is vastly different, and Guardiola’s men have the quality to beat any team in the world on their day.
They can be drawn against Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Lyon, or Real Madrid.
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Chelsea
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea will be ripping their hair out following their result to Lille on Tuesday. Sure, they won the match, but the goal they conceded in the 78th minute to former player Loic Remy meant that Chelsea fell out of top spot in the group and into 2nd – which could make their round of 16 match significantly more difficult.
The Blues will face 1 of PSG, Barcelona, Juventus, Leipzig, or Bayern Munich – and would only be the favourite to advance against 1 of those teams, and even then, barely.
Spurs
Jose Mourinho leads Spurs into the knockout stages of the Champions League for the very first time, praying, and hoping, that they don’t match up against one of the heavyweights of the competition. Of course, Spurs could be considered a heavyweight themselves when you consider the fact that they finished as runners-up last year, but their form this season has not been promising whatsoever, and you wouldn’t favour them against a top side over 2 legs, although they are always capable.
They have a slightly better chance of drawing a lesser side than Chelsea do, with their shortlist comprised of Barcelona, Juventus, Valencia, PSG, and Leipzig.