The last sixteen teams in the 2025/2026 UEFA Champions League now know their opponents following the draw held today in Nyon, Switzerland.
English teams dominate the draw with six clubs involved; however, there are no guarantees of a place in the last eight for any of them.
Rivalry, redemption and revenge headline the Round of 16 draw of the 2025/2026 UEFA Champions League.
Five fixtures pit clubs with rich histories in the competition.
Record winners Real Madrid will face 2024 champions Manchester City for the sixteenth time in the competition.
Nothing separates the two sides historically, with five wins each and five draws in previous meetings. However, Real Madrid remain the most successful club in the competition’s history, while Manchester City lifted their maiden title in the 2022/23 season.
Elsewhere, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on Chelsea in a repeat of the 2025 Club World Cup final, which the Blues won 4–0.
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In Champions League meetings, however, PSG hold the edge with three wins to Chelsea’s two in their eight previous encounters. Chelsea, meanwhile, are two-time Champions League winners, having lifted the trophy in 2012 and 2021.
In another Spain-versus-England clash, Newcastle United will host FC Barcelona in the first leg.
The sides have met five times in the competition, with Barcelona—five-time champions—recording four wins to Newcastle’s one. Newcastle’s only victory over the Catalan side dates back to the 1997/98 season, when Faustino Asprilla scored a famous hat-trick against the Spanish giants.
Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen face off for a place in the quarter-finals. Neither side has won the Champions League title, but in their two previous meetings at this stage, Arsenal hold the advantage with one win and one draw.
Liverpool will square off against Galatasaray for the second time in this year’s competition. The Turkish side defeated Liverpool by a lone goal in the group phase and boast three wins in their previous six Champions League meetings against the Reds.
In other fixtures, Atalanta, who overturned a two-goal deficit in the playoff against Borussia Dortmund, will face another German side in Bayer Leverkusen, while tournament surprise package Bodø/Glimt take on Sporting CP for a place in the last eight.
(Editor: Roluke Ogundele)
