Sporting Alert – Holders Barcelona will take on Arsenal in the Champions League round of 16, following the draw that took place on Monday in Nyon.
Barcelona are one of the favourites to repeat as champions this season and are expected to be a handful for Arsenal, which currently lead the English Premier League standings.
According to Opta Stats, the Gunners “have won only one of their seven Champions League games against Barcelona” and the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez will be favourites to hand the Premier League club another defeat.
.@Arsenal have been drawn against @FCBarcelona in the last 16 of the @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/Rwy87EzfZB
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 14, 2015
It’s @juventusfcen! A reunion is on the cards for #FCBayern in the last 16. #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/4hnBVqA2WZ
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) December 14, 2015
The Spanish champions last faced the EPL side in the 2010/11 round of 16 and were successful at dumping Arsene Wenger’s team from the tournament.
Barcelona also beat Arsenal in the 2009/10 quarter-finals and the 2006 Champions League final.
Meanwhile, fellow EPL outfits Chelsea have been drawn to face PSG once again.
These two clubs have met in each of the last two seasons, with Chelsea coming out on top in their 2013/14 quarter-final battle and PSG returning the favours in last season’s round of 16 tie on away goals and former Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins believes the Blues have one of the trickiest ties in the knockout round.
“That was the only one I didn’t want them to get,” Wilkins said on Sky Sports News HQ. “Chelsea were playing wonderfully well last season, PSG have already won the French league, they must be 17 points clear now and it’s not even Christmas, so that was the only team out of that batch of teams they could have got that I didn’t want them to get.
“Last year I would have taken it all day long because they were playing wonderfully well Chelsea but this year I didn’t want that at all. They have got a big, big problem now.”
Manchester City will face Dynamo Kyiv, the team that eliminated them from the Europa League last 16 round in 2010/11. The Citizens will be prime and ready to return the favour this time around.
last year Champions League runners-up Juventus will take on German side Bayern Munich, while Cristiano Ronaldo and 10-times winners Real Madrid will be up against Roma.
@ChampionsLeague is all about big games. Next 2 against @realmadrid will be exactly that! Looking forward to it!
Bayern’s Boateng: “[Juve] are strong. They’re very clever & tactically outstanding. Nevertheless, we’re favourites” #UCLdraw
Franz Beckenbauer: “@juventusfcen are one of the best sides in Europe. It is a mouth-watering tie.” #UCLdraw
Champions League first leg ties will to be played on February 16/17 and 23/24, with the second legs to be played March 8/9 and 15/16.
Champions League Round of 16 Draw
First legs:
16 February: Paris v Chelsea, Benfica v Zenit
17 February: Gent v Wolfsburg, Roma v Real Madrid
23 February: Arsenal v Barcelona, Juventus v Bayern
24 February: PSV v Atlético, Dynamo Kyiv v Manchester City
Second legs:
8 March: Wolfsburg v Gent, Real Madrid v Roma
9 March: Chelsea v Paris, Zenit v Benfica
15 March: Atlético V PSV, Manchester City v Dyanmo Kyiv
16 March: Barcelona v Arsenal, Bayern v Juventus
