Barcelona will face Newcastle United in the Round of 16 of this season’s Champions League after the draw was made on Friday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The Catalans were set to face either Newcastle or PSG and were drawn against the Premier League side, who destroyed Qarabag in the Playoffs on their way to the Last 16 stage. These two teams met in the very first game of the league phase at St. James’ Park, with Barça winning 2-1 thanks to a couple of splendid goals by Marcus Rashford.
As the seeded team in the draw given their finish in the Top 8, Barça will get to play the second leg at home at Camp Nou. But surviving the crazy atmosphere of St. James’ Park in the first leg will be a giant challenge, especially given the absence of Frenkie de Jong, who was a standout performer in the first meeting but will not be available due to injury.
The rest of the Round of 16 draw has some tasty matchups, including PSG vs Chelsea and the annual knockout tie between Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Here’s the draw in full:
Real Madrid vs Manchester City
Bodo/Glimt vs Sporting Lisbon
Paris Saint-Germain vs Chelsea
Newcastle vs Barcelona
Galatasaray vs Liverpool
Atlético Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur
Atalanta vs Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal
The Round of 16 first legs are scheduled for March 10-11, with the return matches set to be played the following week.
So what do you think about the draw and Barça’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals? Which of the other seven ties are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below!
