Thanks to the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid finishing second in their respective groups, the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League has pumped out several plush ties.
With Xabi Alonso at the helm in Nyon, the balls of fate were plucked from the washing-up bowl of doom in the most handsome way imaginable, with the resulting bracket seeing all five English clubs saddled with potentially tricky opponents.
The Champions League last 16 draw in full…
Juventus vs Tottenham
Basel vs Man City
Porto vs Liverpool
Sevilla vs Manchester United
Real Madrid vs PSG
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Roma
Chelsea vs Barcelona
Bayern Munich vs Besiktas
The first leg fixtures will be played when the tournament farts back into life in late February and early March.
While you’d back Man City to dispatch Basel over two legs and perhaps Liverpool likewise with Porto, we really can’t say we’re overly confident of seeing the remaining Premier League triumvirate squeaking into the draw for the quarters.
Of course, it depends which Manchester United turn up against Sevilla, but Tottenham and Chelsea both face mammoth tasks to overthrow Juventus and Barcelona respectively – the latter tie coming pre-loaded with an awful lot of comparatively recent historical weight when it comes to Champions League ding-dongs.
Elsewhere, PSG absolutely trounced all comers in Group B only to end up facing Real Madrid in the next round while runners-up Bayern Munich get Besiktas. That’s a major lol in our book.
What say you, Pies fans? Which of the English sides are you backing to make it through?