The Champions League Round of 16 draw on Monday saw Man City with a lucky tie against Copenaghen as Arsenal head to Portugal to face Porto. The first legs of the last 16 is to be played across two weeks: February 13 – 14 and 20 – 21, 2024. And the second legs scheduled for March 5 – 6 and 12 – 13, 2024.
Manchester City clash against FC Copenaghen can be seen as a lucky draw for Pep Guardiola’s side. The Etihad club can be viewed as the prohibitive favorites to win the tournament as they face off against the Danish team considered the weakest in the knockouts.
Arsenal meanwhile will expect an interesting clash against Porto. Mikel Arteta’s side will hope for progression as they confront Sergio Conceicao’s side. The Gunners have to be considered as the favourites, but the Portoguese side have enough experience to create issues for the English team.
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The draw will also see Napoli face Barcelona, in one of the most iconic clashes of the year. while 2023 finalists Inter will play against Atletico Madrid of the former Nerazurri player Diego Simeone, who will face his former Italian club for the first time since he took charge of the Spanish team in 2011.
The Dutch side PSV will face Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16, after the German team ended up topping a group with the star studded PSG finishing behind them.
Maurizio Sarri and his Lazio side may have handed a very unlucky draw against Bayern Munich as they will face one of the strongest candidates to win the tournament. Lazio had managed to go through the group stages for the second time in their history after 2021 and for the second time they will face the German giants.
Real Sociedadwill face PSG as their harsh reward despite ending up at the top of the group with Inter finishing behind them.
Spanish giants Real Madrid will hope to prevail over RB Leipzig in an exciting encounter. Meanwhile, the German side have impressed so far in the European campaign. Players like Xavi Simons, Lois Openda and Spanish star Dani Olmo can create some issues for Real who are battling multiple injuries.
Diego Simone will for the first time since he became the Atletico Madrid boss face Inter in one of the biggest games of the Round of 16