ARSENAL, Liverpool and Aston Villa have found out their Champions League Round of 16 opponents after a huge draw.
The Gunners got a decent tie against PSV – but means they will now face the winner of Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid in the quarter-final.
Aston Villa will face Club Brugge and Liverpool take on Benfica.
The first leg of the round of 16 will take place on March 4/5, and the second leg will take place on March 11/12.
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Arsenal’s route to the final
The Gunners face a monumental task to win a maiden Champions League title.
Arsenal go up against Dutch side PSV in the last-16, before a potential route to the final that includes Real Madrid, Liverpool and Barcelona.
- Round of 16: PSV
- Quarter-final: Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid
- Semi-final: Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Club Brugge or Aston Villa
- Final: Benfica, Barcelona, Dortmund, Lille, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Feyenoord or Inter Milan
Credit: Alamy Liverpool’s route to the final
Arne Slot’s men will have to beat the very best if they are to lift Big Ears for the first time since 2019.
With Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16, things get no easier as the draw progresses for the Premier League leaders.
- Round of 16: PSG
- Quarter-final: Aston Villa or Club Brugge
- Semi-final: Arsenal, PSV, Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid
- Final: Benfica, Barcelona, Dortmund, Lille, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Feyenoord or Inter Milan
Credit: AFP Mersen – Villa bring the noise
Sky Sports pundit Paul Mersen believes Aston Villa can go far in this season’s tournament – thanks to their intimidating home atmosphere.
Unai Emery’s men have already beaten Bayern Munich on home soil this season.
They will now face Club Brugge for the chance to play either Liverpool or PSG in the last-eight.
Mersen said: “Villa should have a real go in the Champions League.
“The atmosphere at Villa Park during these European games has been incredible and they must keep it up in the knockout stages.
“If they do that, they have a chance at progressing further.”
Credit: Getty
Champions League draw in full
A horror draw for both Liverpool and Arsenal – with Aston Villa potentially on a collision course with the Reds in the quarter-finals.
Here’s how the ties came out of the hat in Nyon, with each team learning their potential last-eight opponent.
- PSG or Liverpool vs Club Brugge or Aston Villa
- PSV or Arsenal vs Real Madrid or Atletico
- Benfica or Barcelona vs Dortmund or Lille
- Bayern or Bayer Leverkusen vs Feyenoord or Inter Milan
Credit: Getty Grueling Gunners run
Arsenal’s tough Champions League draw will leave them facing a horror run of fixtures in March.
The Gunners take on PSV on March 4, followed by a visit to Old Trafford to face Man Utd.
They will then welcome PSV back to the Emirates on March 11, before welcoming Chelsea to North London five days later.
Credit: PA Warnock – You have to beat the best
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has tipped his former club to beat PSG – despite the “disappointing draw.”
He told the BBC: “I think Liverpool will be slightly disappointed to draw PSG – ideally they would have liked Benfica.
“But if you are going to win the Champions League, you are going to have to beat some big teams along the way.
“Liverpool will fancy their chances against PSG, who have been a little bit hit and miss.”
French fancy
History isn’t on Liverpool’s side ahead of their clash with PSG.
The Reds have not won any of their past five away games against French clubs.
You have to go back to 2008 for their last win on French soil, a Champions League victory against Marseille.
Credit: Getty Liverpool vs PSG head-to-head
PSG lead Liverpool on all metrics, other than clean sheets per 90, according to Squawka’s underlying stats.
Of course, take this with a pinch of salt, as PSG beat Brest 10-0 on aggregate to reach the round of 16, whereas Liverpool didn’t play.
Arsenal vs PSV head-to-head
According to the underlying stats on Squawka, it will be defence vs attack in this one.
Arsenal lead for clean sheet and expected goals against, whereas PSV lead for fast breaks and set-piece xG, but Arsenal lead on xG overall, surprising as their power from corners is no secret.
PSV also attempt more shots and crosses.
Aston Villa vs Club Brugge head-to-head
Aston Villa have performed better than Club Brugge considerably on the underlying numbers, according to Squawka.
The have performed better in the following metrics:
- Clean sheets
- xG against
- Possesion
- xG
- Set-play xG
- Shots attempted
- Touches in opposition bix
- Passes into opposition box
- Crosses attempted
- Take-ons attempted
However, Emery must be cautious, as Club Brugge have show better performance in fast breaks, so their defensive line will have to be on high alert.
Arsenal-PSV rerun
Arsenal and PSV met in the 2023/24 Champions League.
On matchday one of the season, Arsenal were 4-0 winners, and then drew 1-1 with PSV in the Netherlands.
Credit: getty Wrong competition?
Unai Emery is looking to win the Champions League with Aston Villa, but already has huge European pedigree.
Emery has won the Europa League FOUR times, the most by a manager in history, but never the Champions League.
Can he do it for the first time?
Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire Scores to settle
The Champions League website has Liverpool and PSG tied at one game a piece, with both games coming in the 2018/19 group stage.
Liverpool won the first game 3-2 at Anfield, and then PSG won 2-1 in Paris.
Something has to give as they do battle in the round of 16.
Aston Villa’s first meeting with Brugge
Aston Villa have made a good account of themselves in the Champions League this season, and will face Club Brugge for the first time in the competition.
Emery’s side finished in the top eight, and qualified automatically for the round of 16.
They will be hoping to add two wins over Brugge to their record.
Credit: Andrew Yates / Sportimage Not pretty for the English
Liverpool and Arsenal both have tough draws in the Champions League knockouts.
Described as a “horror draw,” Liverpool and Arsenal have their work cut out for them if they want to win the Champions League.
Gunner be tough
Arsenal fans are not excited about their prosepcts in the Champions League knockouts.
Should they get beyond PSV, they will face either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid, then either Liverpool, PSG, Aston Villa or Club Brugge in the semi-finals.
Ouch.
It’s been ages!
According to X user OptaJoe, this will be the first meeting between Liverpool and PSG in a major European knockout since the semi-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996/97.
Of course, the two sides have met in the group stages since then.
Credit: Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images The all-English quarter-final potential
There is potential for an all-English quarter-final in the next round.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool recently went to Villa Park, and were held to a 2-2 draw by Unai Emery’s side.
If Liverpool were to get past PSG, and Aston Villa were to get past Club Brugge, then they would meet in the quarter-final.
Credit: getty Arsenal’s record vs PSV
According to OptaJoe on X, Arsenal are unbeaten in all of their home matches against PSV (3W 2D).
This also happens to be the longest they have played against a side in European competition without losing.
Credit: Mike Egerton/PA Wire The BIG derbies to look out for!
Real and Atletico Madrid had some HUGE Champions League battles throughout the 2010’s, meeting in two finals.
They also met once in the semi-finals, and one in the quarter-finals.
On every occasion, Real Madrid got the better of their bitter rivals.
Those two being drawn against each other also means the Bundesliga has a HUGE clash, as Bayer Leverkusen take on Bayern Munich.
Bayern won 11 straight Bundesliga titles, but were toppled by Bayer Leverkusen last season, and the two now meet in the Champions League.
Both ties promise to be entertainers!
El Classico final?
Barcelona and Real Madrid seems to be what people are looking at for the final after the round of 16 draw.
One user on X (FKA Twitter) said “I speak for all Barcelona fans when I say it’s coming home,”
And another user said “Never bet against Real Madrid.”
The two have been drawn on opposite sides of the draw, and would only meet in the final.
Credit: getty
Champions League last 16 draw in full
Before we get too ahead of ourselves looking at quarter-finals and the final four, here are the last-16 ties in full.
A Spanish derby, an all-Bundesliga grudge match and No. 1 seed Liverpool drawing PSG. Tasty.
The first legs for all these ties are set for March 4/5.
- Aston Villa vs Club Brugge
- Lille vs Dortmund
- Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
- Bayern vs Bayer Leverkusen
- Feyenoord vs Inter Milan
- PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal
- PSG vs Liverpool
- Benfica vs Barcelona
Credit: AFP Full bracket
There are no easy games at this stage.
But the Road to Munich is suddenly looking a lot tougher for all three Premier League clubs than it did half an hour ago.
Credit: AFP Champions League draw complete
Oof, a brutal draw for both Arsenal and Liverpool.
The Gunners will have to get through PSV and either Real Madrid or Atletico to reach the semi-finals.
While Liverpool’s reward for topping the group is a nightmare tie with Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16.
Villa meanwhile get Club Brugge, but will face the winner of PSG or Liverpool in the quarters.
Credit: AFP Champions League QF draw in full
- PSG or Liverpool vs Club Brugge or Aston Villa
- PSV or Arsenal vs Real Madrid or Atletico
- Benfica or Barcelona vs Dortmund or Lille
- Bayern or Bayer Leverkusen vs Feyenoord or Inter Milan
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
