Champions League draw: Whoever they face Manchester City have it easier, but things could be tough for Arsenal
Manuel Pellegrini's side plus Arsenal and Chelsea are in the hat for Monday's draw for the Round of 16
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Your support makes all the difference.Whoever Manchester City draw in the Champions League last 16, it will be their easiest opponents yet at this stage. In the last two seasons of the competition, Manuel Pellegrini’s side finished second in their group and were therefore unseeded for the last 16. Both times they were drawn against Barcelona. Both times they went straight out.
This year, City won Group D despite losing both their games against Juventus. So, for the first time in their history, they are in the privileged position of being seeded for Monday's draw. That means no Barcelona in the next round – and also no Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.
The unseeded sides are still strong but even the most difficult of City’s potential opponents – Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain or Roma – would not necessarily intimidate them, though they do all have far more experience at this level than City. If they receive one of the more favourable ties – Gent or PSV Eindhoven – City may sense that the draw is opening up for them.
Chelsea face a similar set of potential opponents – but with Juventus replacing Dynamo Kiev – and have the advantage of having been in this position more often than City.
While their Premier League position is poor, Jose Mourinho’s team showed a new level of performance when they beat Porto 2-0 last week in their final group game. If they can reproduce that in the second half of the season they could still go far.
Arsenal have been eliminated at the last-16 stage for the last five consecutive seasons, traditionally paying the price for finishing second in their group. That happened again this year, with the result that they have the toughest set of potential opponents: Real Madrid, Wolfsburg, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg and Barcelona, who knocked them out in 2010 and 2011. At least they have already played Bayern Munich and cannot do so again in this round.
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