The draw could result in an early clash between favourites for the continental title (European)

Football fans in the world are awaiting the results of the draw for the price of the Champions League final, which will be held on Monday at the headquarters of the European Football Association (UEFA) in the Swiss city of Nyon, after the curtain fell on the group stage of the most important and strongest tournament at the club level in the old continent.

The draw for the last edition, which adopts the old system of the tournament, begins at 14:00 Makkah time, and is transmitted live on UEFA's platforms on social media.

The league had the lion's share in this role, as 4 teams qualified for the final price, while 3 teams crossed from the Bundesliga, and the same from Calcio, and two teams from England, and a team from the French league, another from the Portuguese league and a team from the Eredivisie, and the biggest surprise was the presence of Copenhagen Danish, who eliminated Manchester United and Turkish Galatasaray.

The UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw will take place on Monday, December 18 at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. pic.twitter.com/Joak9dfqAb

— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) December 15, 2023

Most of the top teams booked their places in the knockout stage of the tournament, while the most prominent surprises were the early farewell to Manchester United, who has 3 titles in the competition, and Milan, who are second in the list of the most winning clubs in the tournament with 7 titles.

Sevilla, last season's Europa League champions, also bid farewell to the Champions League this season, as well as Benfica, who won the prestigious competition in 1961 and 1962.

On the other hand, Barcelona, who have won the title 5 times, reappear in the knockout stages, after failing to pass the group stage during the past two editions.

Last-16 draw on Monday 🤩

Which ties do you want to see?

*No side can face another team from the same country pic.twitter.com/JqPfXPousO

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 14, 2023

Split teams

The 16 teams that qualified for the knockout rounds were divided into two levels, with the first category having the leaders of the eight groups, while the second category includes the runners-up.

First pot:

  • Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad (Spain)
  • Arsenal and Manchester City (England)
  • Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund (Germany).

Second pot:

  • Inter Milan, Napoli and Lazio (Italy)
  • Saint-Germain (France)
  • Eindhoven (Netherlands)
  • Porto (Portugal)
  • Leipzig (Germany)
  • Copenhagen (Denmark).

The draw stipulates that no two teams from the same country meet, nor can two teams from the same group face off.

UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw probability pic.twitter.com/oy7NEYKdRw

— Cash Cervantes (@CashCervantes) December 14, 2023

Predictions and probabilities

The draw may witness an early clash between Manchester City and Inter, in a repeat of the final of the last edition of the competition, which ended with the English team winning with a clean goal.

The draw could also result in an early confrontation between Bayern and Saint-Germain, reminiscent of their confrontation in the final of the tournament season 2019-2020, which took place at the Stadium (Al Noor) in the Portuguese capital.

❗️RB Leipzig are the team most likely to draw FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 according to Big Data, with a probability of 19.98%

— @sport pic.twitter.com/rhFzwyan3M

— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) December 14, 2023

It is also possible that Porto will play with Bayern to relive the memory of their historic confrontation in the Austrian capital in the final of the competition season 1986-1987, when the Portuguese team blew a resounding surprise led by its star at the time, Algerian Rabah Madjer, by crowning the title after a 2-1 victory over the German team, to win the championship for the first time in its history, before winning it again in the 2003-2004 season.

PSG's possible opponents for the Champions League Round of 16. The draw takes place on Monday. Who do you want? ⤵️

🇩🇪 Bayern Munich
🏴 Arsenal
🇪🇸 Real Madrid
🇪🇸 Real Sociedad
🇪🇸 Atlético de Madrid
🏴 Manchester City
🇪🇸 FC Barcelona pic.twitter.com/9kt6UCFWYQ

— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) December 13, 2023

The draw could put Bayern against Inter in a replay of their 2009-2010 final match in the tournament that saw the Italian team win 2-<>.

It is possible that the round of 16 will witness other fiery confrontations, such as meeting Saint-Germain or Inter with Manchester City, Real or Barcelona.

Champions League – Round of 16 draw will be made on Monday, 18 December at 12:00 CET.

Group winners are treated as seeded and they will play second legs at home.

Teams can't face clubs from the same association, nor clubs they met in the group stage. pic.twitter.com/AhuNN8e2Aq

— Football Rankings (@FootRankings) December 16, 2023

The first leg of the final is scheduled to start on February 13, 2024, and end on the 21st of the same month, while the second leg begins on March 5 and concludes 8 days later.

The first leg matches are held at the stadiums of the second-ranked clubs, while the second leg matches are held in the stadiums of the teams found in the first category.

Second Chance

While Manchester United and Sevilla are out of European competitions this season officially after finishing their groups in the group stage, there is still a chance for Milan and Benfica to win a continental title, after they moved to play in the qualifying round for the price of the Europa League final, after finishing third in their groups in the Champions League.

Turkish Galatasaray, French Lens, Portugal's Sporting Braga, Dutch Feyenoord Rotterdam, Swiss Young Boys, Ukrainian Shakhtar Donetsk, also moved to the competition after they finished third in the eight groups.

Source: German