The draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League will take place today, Friday, at the UEFA headquarters in Switzerland, with the participation of the sixteen teams that qualified from the group stage and the preliminary round.
Directly qualified teams (those ranked first to eighth):
Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon, Manchester City.
Teams qualifying from the preliminary round:
Real Madrid, Bodo Glimt, Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle, Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen.
Here are some interesting potential matchups based on the draw system:
Real Madrid x (Manchester City or Sporting Lisbon)
Paris Saint-Germain x (Barcelona or Chelsea)
Galatasaray x (Liverpool or Tottenham)
Atalanta x (Arsenal or Bayern Munich)
Newcastle x (Barcelona or Chelsea)
Atletico Madrid x (Liverpool or Tottenham)
Bodo Glimt x (Manchester City or Sporting)
Bayer Leverkusen x (Arsenal or Bayern Munich)
Preliminary round surprises:
The preliminary round witnessed the exit of two major Italian teams, as Inter Milan exited the tournament at the hands of Bodo Glimt’s team (seeded No. 23), while Juventus (seeded No. 13) lost to Galatasaray (seeded No. 20).
The first legs of the Round of 16 will be played from March 10-11, while the return matches will be played from March 17-18. The draw will reveal the teams’ path until the final match. The draw will be broadcast on the beIN Sports news channel.
