At a later date than first scheduled, seven
British teams will finally find out their European fate after
Christmas when the draws for the first knock-out rounds of the
Champions League and Europa League are made.
Two weeks after the group stages were completed, UEFA will
begin proceedings in Nyon on December 20 at 10.30am when they make
the draw for the Champions League last 16.
With assistance from final ambassador and former Liverpool
midfielder Steve McManaman, (who will be present at the draw in
Switzerland) Manchester United, Arsenal and Celtic will be the
first British clubs to find out their European fixtures.
Following at 1pm are the Europa League’s last 32 and last
16 draws where Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham could
potentially face each other in the latter of the two.
So with the festive season in full swing, will the British
clubs be handed Christmas crackers or Christmas turkeys? Here
Sportsmail gives you the
lowdown on the draws from both competitions.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Despite one notable absentee in holders Chelsea, the last
16 left in the Champions League contains plenty of pedigree with
nine former winners of the tournament and just debutants Malaga who
have never been at this stage of the competition before.
There are three British teams remaining with Manchester
United, Arsenal and Celtic all managing to reach the knock-out
stage. Chelsea finished third in their group to drop into the
Europa League while Manchester City finished bottom to be
eliminated from Europe outright.
Who's left?
Group winners (seeded):
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Schalke (GER)
Malaga (SPA)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Juventus (ITA)
Bayern Munich (GER)
Barcelona (SPA)
Manchester United (ENG)
Group runners-up:
Porto (POR)
Arsenal (ENG)
AC Milan (ITA)
Real Madrid (SPA)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
Valencia (SPA)
Celtic (SCO)
Galatasaray (TUR)
How does the last 16 draw
work?
The eight group winners will be paired against the eight
runners-up in two-legged ties. The restrictions are no teams can
face a side they played earlier in the tournament or one from their
own association.
The group winners will play away from home in the first
leg on February 12/13 and 19/20 with the return fixtures contested
on March 5/6 and 12/13
Brit focus:
Story so far:
Never seemed to get out of second gear in the group phase
but rarely did they need to. Despite going behind in all but one of
their matches, United won their first four games to qualify as
group winners before slipping to two meaningless
defeats.
Who they can face:
Porto, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Valencia,
Celtic.
Dream draw:
Despite it being a ‘Battle of Britain’, Celtic’s away form
is an achilles heel and one United will fancy their chances of
taking full advantage of at Old Trafford.
Fergie's nightmare:
To be the best you have to beat the best but United will
not be happy with a draw that pits them against Jose Mourinho’s
Real Madrid at this stage.
Story so far:
Despite domestic troubles it’s been a fairly convincing
season so far in Europe. A home defeat at the hands of Schalke
proved humbling but Arsenal never looked in serious trouble of
progressing from the group stages on their way to a runners-up
spot. There will be much tougher sides to face now though instead
of Olympiacos and Montpellier.
Who they can face:
Paris Saint-Germain, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus,
Bayern Munich, Barcelona.
Dream draw:
Malaga have already shocked AC Milan to storm through as
easy group winners but Arsenal’s experience at this stage of the
competition would give them the mental edge against the side from
which they signed Santi Cazorla.
Arsene's
nightmare:
Barcelona is the obvious pick based on their scintillating
form, but that’s before you mention that the Spanish club have
eliminated Arsenal from the tournament three times going back to
2006.
Story so far: It’s been an extraordinary
campaign for Celtic who have defeated Barcelona, ran the same side
close at the Nou Camp and finally overcome their away day hoodoo by
winning at Spartak Moscow. Everything else is a bonus from now on
and that takes the pressure off the Scottish champions who
progressed behind the Spanish outfit as runners-up. Along with
Malaga, they are one of two sides left that had to come through a
qualifying round before the group phase.
Who they can face: Paris-Saint Germain,
Schalke, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern Munich,
Manchester United.
Dream draw: The inexperience of Malaga
will dangle a quarter-final carrot for Celtic, but fans would also
relish the chance of taking on Manchester United.
Lennon's nightmare: Celtic
have already proven they fear no one but even Neil Lennon won’t
fancy a draw with Bayern Munich. Bizarrely, only Chelsea scored
more goals than the runaway Bundesliga leaders’ total of 15 in the
group stage.
EUROPA LEAGUE
All three Premier League clubs in Liverpool, Tottenham and
Newcastle came through the Europa League group stage and are joined
in the last 32 by Chelsea, who finished third in their Champions
League group.
The Blues’ relatively strong record compared to other
third-placed teams from the elite competition makes them a seeded
team but there are plenty of big fish swimming around in the
unseeded pot.
The draw for the last 16 immediately follows that for the
last 32.
Who’s left?
Group winners/CL drop-outs:
Liverpool (ENG)
Viktoria Plzen (CZE)
Fenerbahce (TUR)
Bordeaux (FRA)
Steaua Bucharest (ROM)
Dnipro (UKR)
Genk (BEL)
Rubin Kazan (RUS)
Lyon (FRA)
Lazio (ITA)
Metalist (UKR)
Hannover (GER)
Chelsea (ENG)*
Cluj (ROM)*
Olympiacos (GRE)*
Benfica (POR)*
Runners-up/CL drop-outs:
Anzhi (RUS)
Atletico Madrid (SPA)
Borussia Monchengladbach (GER)
Newcastle (ENG)
Stuttgart (GER)
Napoli (ITA)
Basle (SWI)
Inter Milan (ITA)
Sparta Prague (CZE)
Tottenham (ENG)
Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
Levante (SPA)
Dynamo Kiev (UKR)*
Zenit (RUS)*
Ajax (HOL)*
BATE (BLR)*
* indicates team finished third in Champions League group
stage.
The teams are split into two pots with the group winners
and the four best performing Champions League sides seeded in pot
one. They will be drawn in a two-legged tie against the runners-up
and the remaining four Champions League teams from pot
two.
Allocation for the Champions League teams is based on
points collected after their involvement in their respective group
stages, with the four best performing sides placed in the seeded
pot with the Europa League group winners.
The restrictions are no side can play a team they faced in
the Europa League group stage or one from their own
association.
The unseeded teams will be drawn first and will host the
first leg on February 14, with the return matches a week
later.
How does the last 16 draw
work?
The 16 ‘last 32 matches’ are allocated a match number and
put into one pot. The first match number drawn at random will play
at home first in a two-legged tie against the next match number
drawn second. The process is repeated for the 14 remaining
balls.
There are no restrictions at this stage thus any side can
face teams they have already played in the group stage or one from
their own association. The first legs will be played on March 7
with the return matches a week later.
Brit focus:
Story so
far:
The London side have wounds to lick after becoming the
first Champions League holders to crash out of the group stage. The
Blues scored more goals than anyone but defeats at Shakhtar Donetsk
and Juventus proved fatal in their quest to reach the last
16.
Who they can face in the
last 32:
Anzhi, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Monchengladbach,
Stuttgart, Napoli, Basle, Inter Milan, Sparta Prague, Bayer
Leverkusen, Levante, Dynamo Kiev, Zenit, Ajax, BATE.
Dream
draw:
Rafael Benitez’s team won’t fancy the air miles to Belarus
and BATE, but the side that defeated Bayern Munich in the Champions
League won’t be expected to cause the Blues much of a test at
Stamford Bridge.
Rafa's
nightmare:
Atletico Madrid. If only to avoid a repeat of their 4-1
Super Cup drubbing from back in August when the Europa League
holders ran rings around the Blues.
Story so
far:
The Reds came out on top in a very entertaining group that
saw them finish level on 10 points with Anzhi and Young Boys.
Defeats were felt at home to Udinese and at Anzhi but Brendan
Rodgers’ side have often played with freedom and
confidence.
Who they can face in the
last 32:
Atletico Madrid, Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart,
Napoli, Basle, Inter Milan, Sparta Prague, Bayer Leverkusen,
Levante, Dynamo Kiev, Zenit, Ajax, BATE.
Dream
draw:
In an unseeded pot that holds many dangers, Liverpool will
also be in favour of facing relatively unknown BATE instead of a
side with strong European history – of which there are
many.
Brendan's
nightmare:
They may have seen off Udinese in the group stage, but
there are much stronger Italian teams left in the competition
including Inter Milan and Napoli – who have the tournament's
top-scorer in Edinson Cavani.
Story so
far:
Newcastle’s first appearance in Europe for five years has
been an enjoyable stint so far as the Toon reached the last 32 with
a game to spare. Alan Pardew’s team only lost one match and that
was at Bordeaux in their final group game – a result that still saw
them through as runners-up behind the French outfit.
Who they can face in the
last 32:
Viktoria Plzen, Fenerbahce, Steaua Bucharest, Dnipro,
Genk, Rubin Kazan, Lyon, Lazio, Metalist, Hannover, Cluj,
Olympiacos, Benfica.
Dream
draw:
Having already seen off Club Bruges in the group,
Newcastle will be content should they draw another Belgian side in
Genk who are of similar quality to their compatriots.
Pards'
nightmare:
Lazio are challenging for a Champions League spot in Serie
A and had two very tight goalless contests with Tottenham in the
group stages.
Story so
far:
Unbeaten in their group but in finishing runners-up to
Lazio with four draws it was far from a comfortable ride. Only home
wins against minnows Maribor and Panathinaikos on the final day saw
Spurs through to the knockout stages of the competition for the
first time since 2009.
Who they can face in the
last 32:
Viktoria Plzen, Fenerbahce, Bordeaux, Steaua Bucharest,
Dnipro, Genk, Rubin Kazan, Lyon, Metalist, Hannover, Cluj,
Olympiacos, Benfica.
Dream
draw:
Like Newcastle, a relatively short trip to Genk in Belgium
would also be in favour of Spurs who have struggled on their
European travels this term.
AVB's
nightmare:
Never mind the fact that Dnipro would provide a very
tricky challenge and a long trip to the Ukraine, former Spurs boss
Juande Ramos manages them and would have something to prove at
White Hart Lane.
