Champions League last-16 draw: Full details including tie dates

The Champions League round of 16 draw has taken place and we now know who will face off against whom to qualify for the quarterfinals.

There weren’t many surprises in the group stage but the only upset happened in Group A – where FC Copenhagen managed to finish second and qualify for the knockouts at the expense of Manchester United – who eventually finished bottom.

The most exciting group was Group F – which was deemed as the group of death. Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle United battled it out for the two qualifying spots.

The result of this group wasn’t finalised until the dying embers of the final game. But, eventually, Dortmund and PSG booked their tickets for the round of 16. Milan has been relegated to the Europa League, while the Magpies have been knocked out of Europe altogether.

So, two of the four Premier League sides couldn’t go past the group stage hurdle in the Champions League this season, while Manchester City and Arsenal are the other two English teams – who have qualified for the round of 16 as group leaders in their subsequent groups.

Qualified teams from each group

Group A – Bayern Munich and FC Copenhagen

Group B – Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven

Group C – Real Madrid and Napoli

Group D – Real Sociedad and Inter Milan

Group E – Atletico Madrid and Lazio

Group F – Borussia Dortmund and PSG

Group G – Man City and RB Leipzig

Group H – Barcelona and FC Porto

Round of 16 draw

The leaders of every group were in pot one with second-placed teams placed in pot two. So, Arsenal, Manchester City, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad were in the pot one, while PSV Eindhoven, RB Leipzig, FC Porto, Napoli, PSG, FC Copenhagen, Lazio and Inter Milan were in the pot two.

Teams from pot one were drawn to play against the sides from pot two with teams from the same league not eligible to play against each other at this stage of this competition.

The round of 16 games will be played in a double-leg format with teams that finished second in their subsequent groups set to host the first leg. The teams that topped their group will get the advantage of playing the second leg at home.

The away goal rule has been banished so if the score remains level over the two legs then the game will go to extra time and then the penalties.

The draw

There are a few mouth-watering games to play in this season’s round of 16 but the Premier League clubs should be happy with their opponents. Arsenal have got Porto to play at this stage, while Man City have been drawn against Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, the Spanish champions, Barcelona are set to play against the Italian champions, Napoli. So, this is going to be an exciting fixture for the football fans. On the other hand, Inter have been drawn against Atletico Madrid, they are evenly matched teams. So, this is another mouth-watering encounter.

PSG are set to face off against Real Sociedad. On paper, it looks like an easy fixture for the French champions. However, Luis Enrique’s side haven’t been at their best this season, while La Real have been displaying exciting football under Imanol Alguacil’s guidance. So, this fixture is likely to be an exciting one.

Lazio have been drawn to play versus Bayern Munich. These two sides played against each other at this stage of the Champions League a couple of years ago. The German champions comfortably managed to overcome the Italian side’s challenge then and it’s expected that things may pan out similarly this time around as well.

The other fixtures are Real Madrid set to take on Leipzig, while Dortmund will face off against PSV Eindhoven.

The full Champions League round of 16 draw

FC Porto vs Arsenal

Napoli vs Barcelona

PSG vs Real Sociedad

Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid

PSV Eindhoven vs Borussia Dortmund

Lazio vs Bayern Munich

FC Copenhagen vs Manchester City

RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid

When the games will take place

The games will take place over the course of four weeks. The first legs will be on the 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st of February of next year, while the second leg will be on the 5th, 6th, 12, and 13th of March.

Leipzig vs Real Madrid and Copenhagen vs Manchester City will be on the 13th of February, while PSG vs Real Sociedad and Lazio vs Bayern Munich will be on the following day.

Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven vs Borussia Dortmund will be on 20th February, while Napoli vs Barcelona and FC Porto vs Arsenal will be on the following day.

Tickets got the games will be on sale soon via official club channels and UEFA, while fans can also buy Champions League tickets through trusted reseller sites such as Seatsnet.com.

The full fixture map

Fixtures                        First leg              Second leg

Porto vs. Arsenal       Feb. 21                    March 12

Napoli vs. Barcelona    Feb. 21                March 12

PSG vs Real Sociedad.  Feb.  14.              March 5

Inter vs. Atl Madrid.     Feb. 20               March 13

PSV vs. Dortmund         Feb. 20                March 13

Lazio vs. Bayern Munich  Feb. 14            March 5

Copenhagen vs. Man City  Feb. 13           March 6

Leipzig vs. Real Madrid.   Feb. 13            March 6

Potential favourites to go through

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Man City are the favourites to win the competition this season. They have a relatively easy draw so they should go through to the quarterfinals. Arsenal are also expected to get past this stage of this competition and go through to the next round.

However, it is hard to predict who else will be in the quarterfinal. Real Sociedad may overcome PSG’s challenge over the two legs and go through to the next round, while Barcelona could beat Napoli and qualify for the quarterfinals.

Inter have been in excellent form this term so last season’s runner-up would be backing themselves to beat Atletico Madrid and reach the next round.

Dortmund are inconsistent this season in the Bundesliga. But, they have been excellent in this competition this term. So, PSV would struggle to defeat the German side and BVB may eventually qualify for the quarterfinals.

Wembley Stadium will host the final of this season’s Champions League. The last time this historic venue hosted the final of this competition, it was Dortmund and Bayern Munich reached the final and the record German champions eventually won the game 2-1 thanks to Arjen Robben’s late goal.

So, Dortmund and Bayern might go all the way to the final of this edition’s Champions League once again. However, if BVB were to reach the final then that would be a real surprise.

Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see how the competition unfolds over the coming months and who will eventually win this tournament at the end of this season.