Europe’s leading clubs will discover their opponents for the last 16 of the Champions League today when the draw is made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon.
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PSG’s dominance of Ligue 1 and Chelsea’s woeful Premier League season should not influence their Champions League clash, says David Barnard.
City’s first leg in Kiev will be played in an empty stadium because Dynamo has been sanctioned by UEFA for racist incidents involving fans.
Chelsea emerged victorious against the Parisians in the quarter-finals a year earlier but Jose Mourinho’s squad are beset by domestic struggles in 2015-16.
Arsenal have failed to adcance from the Last 16 since 2010, where they were eventually knocked out by Barcelona in the quarter-finals. They met in the tournament final back in 2006, a fixture Barca – featuring a cameo appearance from Henrik Larsson – won 2-1.
He said: “We are delighted to be here for the 16th successive season”.
“We’ve got world class players and it will be two fantastic games that we are looking forward to”. Having said that, it may even be beneficial for the squad as they can now attack this tie with a carefree attitude.
They must be sick of the sight of each other by now.
“As I’ve already said, we must be able to win against any team and go as far as possible in this competition”, said Al-Khelaifi. Just like last season.
Who could the English sides face?
The most recent meeting came in 2011, when Arsenal won the home leg 2-1 but ended up losing 4-3 on aggregate.
Kiev finished second to Chelsea in their group and are coached by former Tottenham striker Sergey Rebrov. We must have maximum respect for Arsenal, they’re a great side and although we will have a hard task facing us, it will be a guaranteed spectacle of football. “Everyone has weak points, and our job is to find them”. It will be a busy time in the Premier League then.
Barcelona, aiming to be the first title holder to retain the trophy in the 24-year Champions League era, is in the pot of eight seeded group winners, including Madrid and Bayern.
PSV Eindhoven are to take on Atletico Madrid and Benfica are to face Zenit St Petersburg.
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First legs to be played February 16/17 and 23/24.
