OH NOU, PREM TRIO HOPE TO DODGE BARCA
LIVERPOOL, Chelsea and Manchester City are among the top seeds in the Champions League draw - but any one of them could end up playing Barcelona.
The Premier League trio will discover their last-16 opponents in today’s virtual draw from UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland at 11am.
Holders Bayern Munich are also seeded. They and the three English teams won their groups, which means they will avoid the likes of Serie A winners Juventus and French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
But they could land Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, who finished second in their respective groups, a prospect they will be anxious to avoid this early in proceedings.
Bayern are favourites with most bookies and City ranked second favourites in many quarters despite recent disappointments in Europe under Pep Guardiola.
Liverpool have not played Barcelona since their epic Champions League semi-final in 2019 when the Reds overturned a 3-0 defeat in the Nou Camp before going on to win the trophy.
Chelsea cannot draw Sevilla from pot two as the clubs were in the same group, but Blues boss Frank Lampard will want to avoid a repeat of last season when they got Bayern in the knockout stage and made a swift exit.
The first legs of the last-16 ties will take place on February 16, 17, 23 and 24, and the second legs on March 9, 10, 16 and 17. The quarter-final draw will be on March 19.
The Europa League last-32 draw will be at noon in Nyon, with the two legs taking place on 18 and 25 February.
All five British teams involved are seeded.
Arsenal, Leicester, Rangers and Tottenham were group winners, while Manchester United won more points than any of the other sides to finish third in a Champions League group and drop into the Europa League.
That means they all dodge big guns such as AC Milan, Ajax, Napoli and Roma.