Liverpool set to face Bayern Munich in round of 16

NYON, Switzerland: Bayern Munich and Liverpool, both fivetime European champions, will meet in one of three EnglandGermany clashes in the Champions League round of 16.

The draw was made at Uefa headquarters yesterday.

English champion Manchester City will take on Schalke 04 and Tottenham Hotspur will face Borussia Dortmund in the other clashes between the Premier League and the Bundesliga.

Holder Real Madrid will face fourtimes winner Ajax Amsterdam, which has reached the knockout stages for the first time since 200506.

In other ties, Manchester United takes on Paris St Germain for the first time while Serie A champion Juventus faces Europa League winner Atletico Madrid, Barcelona meets Olympique Lyonnais and AS Roma tackles Porto.

Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp has the chance to renew a fierce rivalry with Bayern which dates back to his days in charge of Borussia Dortmund, where he won two successive Bundesliga titles.

Overall, however, Klopp’s record against Bayern is not the greatest, with eight wins, five draws and 16 losses.

Liverpool, which finished second in its group behind Paris St Germain, will play the first leg at home.

Recent form would appear to favour Manchester City against Schalke as Pep Guardiola’s side is unbeaten in its last seven matches against German clubs, winning six of those.

Real Madrid is firm favourite against Ajax, having won its last six games against the Dutch side, scoring 20 goals and conceding only two.

History is also in Barcelona’s favour against Lyon, as the Catalans have won five and drawn one of the six previous meetings.

Juventus and Atletico Madrid have met only twice before, in the Champions League group stage in 201415.

Those games produced a single goal between them and with the same coaches still in charge — Massimiliano Allegri at Juve and Diego Simeone at Atletico — another cagey encounter is likely.

‘‘We have a very strong team so we are confident,’’ said Juventus director Pavel

Nedved.

‘‘Atletico are a very balanced team, difficult to face.

‘‘They can defend deep and always create trouble with Diego Costa and Antoine Griezmann. I see two hardfought games, maybe with not many goals.’’

However, Atletico is also one of Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo’s favourite opponents — the former Real Madrid player has scored 22 goals against it, a total he has bettered only against Getafe (23) and Sevilla (27). — Reuters