Today UEFA draws for the Champions League round of 16

The 16 teams that qualify from the group stage will find out who their knockout opponents will be after the draw took place in Nyon, Switzerland today.

* The draw ceremony takes place at 12:00 local time, which is 6:00 p.m. today, December 12, Hanoi time.

The 16 teams that have reached this stage include Arsenal, PSG (first and second place in Group A), Napoli, Benfica (Group B), Barca, Man City (Group C), Atletico Madrid, Bayern (Group D), Monaco, Leverkusen (Group E), Dortmund, Real Madrid (Group F), Leicester, Porto (Group G), and Juventus, Sevilla (Group H).

According to UEFA regulations, these 16 teams will be divided into two groups: a seeded group consisting of the eight group winners, and an unseeded group consisting of the eight group runners-up. On this basis, UEFA will draw lots to select the eight knockout pairs.

The Champions League is the most prestigious club competition in Europe. Photo: UEFA.

Teams from the same country or who have met in the group stage will not meet in the round of 16. For example, Man City - the runners-up in Group C - will not be able to meet compatriots Arsenal, Leicester or fellow Group C team Barca.

Seeded teams will be given priority to play the second leg at home.

According to this pairing, Real Madrid, the second-placed team in Group F and in the unseeded group, is considered to have the most favorable position.

Zidane and Real Madrid benefited greatly from finishing second in the table. Photo: Reuters.

Because they are both from Spain, Real will not have to face Barca and Atletico. Meanwhile, except for Juventus and to some extent Arsenal, the remaining names in the seed group (Napoli, Monaco, Leicester) cannot compare with Zidane's team in terms of team quality, class and combat experience.

Arsenal have been jinxed of being eliminated in the round of 16 for the past six seasons. This time, they still face a risky scenario, because with the top position in the group, they can completely face the two giants in second place, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

With the remaining second-placed teams, including Benfica, Leverkusen, Porto and Sevilla, Wenger and his team promise to have an easier time if they meet Benfica. The Portuguese representative is among the three teams that have conceded the most goals out of the 16 teams that have advanced from the group stage (10 goals, equal to Man City and Real Madrid).

The first legs of the round of 16 will be played on 13, 14, 20 and 21 February 2017. The second legs will be played on 6, 7, 13 and 14 March.

Which opponents could the big four Real, Barca, Bayern, PSG face in the round of 16?

According to VNE