MX23RW : Friday, December 21 01:02:44

Champions League draw – Q & A

Champions League draw – Q & A
© Reuters
The 16 teams who qualified will be split into two pots, sorted by those who finished first in their group and those who finished second.

The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League takes place on Monday, with all four English teams in the pot.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at how the draw will work and what potential matches it could throw up.

How does the draw work?

The 16 teams who qualified will be split into two pots, sorted by those who finished first in their group and those who finished second.

No team can play against another side from their own country, meaning we will have to wait until the quarter-finals at the earliest for a potential all-Premier League clash.

Who are the teams to beat?

Pep Guardiola, right, will be looking to improve on last year's quarter-finals effort, where they were beaten by Liverpool
Pep Guardiola (right) will be looking to improve on last year's quarter-finals effort, where Manchester City were beaten by Liverpool (Martin Rickett/PA)

Manchester City are tipped to go deep in the competition as they continue to make serene progress under Pep Guardiola, and teams throughout Europe will be in fear of coming up against them.

Paris St Germain are another hotly-tipped side, but have shown in previous years that they can be vulnerable on the big stage but it is Juventus – boosted by the addition of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer – who will be expected to go all the way to Madrid in June.

Real Madrid, as the most successful team in the competition and on the back of three successive titles, are again likely to be a threat despite their indifferent form this season, while Lionel Messi and Barcelona can never be written off.

Which teams do you want to avoid?

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will be two players no side wants to come up against
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will be two players no side wants to come up against (Marko Drobnjakovic/AP)

There was reasonable success for the English teams in the group stages, but it might not be so easy in the next round with Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United all finishing runners-up in their respective groups.

That leaves the prospect of being drawn against any of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, PSG or Real Madrid in the next round, while Porto appear to be the weakest side in the top-half of the draw.

Manchester City meanwhile, came top and would appear to have a more favourable draw, but could still be handed a tough tie against Atletico Madrid.

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Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah celebrates with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane after opening the scoring during his side's Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion on August 25, 2018
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1714303773045
2Manchester CityMan City17142148103844
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs17130431161539
4Chelsea17114235142137
5Arsenal17104337231434
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd177552929026
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves177461919025
8Everton176652422224
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham177372525024
10Watford177372325-224
11Bournemouth177282528-323
12Leicester CityLeicester176472121022
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176382024-421
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle174491422-816
15Crystal Palace1743101423-915
16Cardiff CityCardiff1742111733-1614
17Southampton172691632-1612
18Burnley1733111533-1812
19Huddersfield TownHuddersfield1724111028-1810
20Fulham1723121642-269

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