Ucl Draw: Chelsea to face PSG in last 16 as ucl draw pairs Man City with Real Madrid

The Champions League ucl draw set high-profile last-16 ties, with Chelsea drawn against holders Paris St-Germain and Manchester City paired with Real Madrid. The matchups and schedule now give six Premier League clubs defined paths in the knockout rounds.

Ucl Draw: Chelsea v PSG, Man City to meet Real Madrid

Chelsea will play holders Paris St-Germain in the Champions League last 16, and Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the knockout stages for a fifth straight season. Chelsea and Paris St-Germain are the current holders of the Fifa Club World Cup and Champions League respectively.

Chelsea's tie with PSG is a rematch of last year's Fifa Club World Cup final, when the Blues beat the European champions 3-0 in New Jersey. David Barnard, Chelsea's director of football, said: "It'll be tough but it holds no fear for us. " He added: "It's too soon to speak about the final, we should think game by game. Now we have a strong opener to face. "

Premier League representation: six clubs, no all-English ties

Six Premier League clubs have qualified for the last 16, but there will be no all-English ties. Arsenal, the league leaders, will face Bayer Leverkusen; Newcastle United will meet Barcelona; Liverpool take on Galatasaray; and Tottenham have been drawn against Atletico Madrid.

Arsenal finished top of the league phase having been the only team to win all eight games, with Bayern Munich three points behind in second.

Dates, legs and venues confirmed for last-16 and final

The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, with the second legs to take place on 17 and 18 March. Newcastle are at home for their first leg with Barcelona, while their Premier League rivals are all at home for their second leg having qualified for the last 16 automatically.

The final will be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, 30 May.

Recent meetings and key quotations on repeat fixtures

Man City, Newcastle and Liverpool all met their opponents during the league phase of this season's competition. City's win in Madrid in December was their ninth meeting with Real since April 2022. City's director of football Hugo Viana said: "It's a big game for both teams. It's like a final, we are happy to go there again. "

Liverpool ambassador Ian Rush added: "I think our advantage is that the second leg is at home. I think the atmosphere at Anfield is second to none and, hopefully, that will come into it. "

Route to the final and favourites for the title

The route to the final is already known and if Newcastle and Tottenham both progress, they will meet in the quarter-finals, as will Chelsea and Liverpool in the other half of the draw. If Arsenal get past Leverkusen, Arsenal will face either Sporting or Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-finals.

Opta rate Mikel Arteta's team as favourites to win this season's competition by some distance, giving the Gunners a 27. 40% chance of being crowned European champions for the first time; Bayern are ranked next best at 14. 28%.