Champions League last-16 knockout draw: Who Chelsea, Man Utd, City and Liverpool could face with tricky ties ahead
ALL FOUR Premier League teams competing in the Champions League are safely through to the knockout stages of the competition.
But some Prem outfits face easier draws than others, with Chelsea in particular at risk of landing a nightmare tie and Manchester United also in danger of being handed a banana skin clash.
Liverpool, Manchester City and United all topped their groups, and the Blues too appeared on track for the same fate until Matchday Six.
Chelsea’s dramatic 3-3 draw against Zenit on Wednesday night means the defending champions are unseeded for the next round.
December 13 is the date for the Champions League last 16 draw, although the knockout stages to not get underway until February.
Teams who finished top of their group will be drawn against a team that finished second, and vice-versa.
And teams cannot be drawn against a team from the same nation, or against teams from their group.
So there won’t be any mouth-watering all-English ties to look forward to… yet.
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Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel’s potential opponents in the next round are Bayern Munich, Ajax, Lille, Real Madrid.
The defending champions have their work cut out if they want to hold on to the crown they won six months ago.
Bayern and Ajax have both won all six group stage games, while Real Madrid have won five out of their six.
The Spanish giants are also starting to look every inch like the 13 times champions of Europe that they are.
So Blues fans will be hoping to see Lille’s name come out of the hat, but even they won Ligue 1 last season and would be sure to offer a tricky test.
Man Utd
Manchester United guaranteed qualification with a game to spare by beating Villarreal away.
Top spot followed after the 1-1 draw against Young Boys, but Ralf Rangnick and Co can also come up against some big hitters.
PSG, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan represent the three trickiest draws.
Sporting Lisbon, Benfica and RB Salzburg would be slightly easier on paper, but none of those teams are pushovers by any means.
A draw against Portuguese outfit Sporting would give Cristiano Ronaldo the chance of an emotional reunion with the club he initially left for Old Trafford in 2003.
Liverpool
Liverpool breezed to the top of Group B, becoming the first English team ever to win all six Champions League group games.
Jurgen Klopp reached the final with the Reds in 2018, and went one better a year later by beating Tottenham in the 2019 final.
He’ll be hoping to repeat the feat this season, with his potential opponents for the next round being PSG, Sporting Lisbon, Inter, Benfica, Villarreal OR Atalanta and RB Salzburg.
Second place in Group F is yet to be decided after Atalanta vs Villarreal was postponed due to snow in Italy, with that game a straight shootout to guarantee progression to the next round.
Man City
Last but not least Manchester City impressively fended off the challenge of PSG to top Champions League Group A.
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By navigating into the knockout rounds as top of their group Atletico Madrid, Sporting, Inter, or whoever progresses second out of Atalanta and Villarreal will be their opponents.
Pep Guardiola led City to the final last season, and will be desperate to go one better this campaign to win the club’s first ever Champions League trophy.
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