Champions League Round of 16 draw in full …
Paris Saint-Germain v Chelsea
Galatasaray v Liverpool
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Atalanta v Bayern Munich
Newcastle v Barcelona
Atletico Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur
Bodo/Glimt v Sporting
Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal
The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, the second legs will be played on 17 and 18 March.
Key events
Conference League Round of 16 draw
Lech Poznan v Shakhtar
AZ Alkmaar v Sparta Praha
Crystal Palace v AEK Larnaca
Fiorentina v Rakow
Samsunspor v Rayo Vallecano
Celje v AEK Athens
Sigma Olomuc v Mainz
Rijeka v Strasbourg
Conference League: The Eagles are off to Cyprus. Crystal Palace will take on AEK Larnaca in the last 16.
Former Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patrício is the special guest for the Conference League draw. He won the comp with Roma back in 2022.
Handover: With no shortage of Premier League managers yet to have their pre-match say, Taha Hashim is here to take up the cudgels.
Manchester City: Pep Guardiola is shooting the breeze ahead of Manchester City’s trip to Leeds tomorrow evening and has offered his two cents on City having to play Real Madrid in the Champions League … again.
“For our club, as much as you play against the best teams in the whole history of this competition, you learn and improve and you are better in the future,” he says.
No, me neither.
Scottish Premiership: Danny Rohl has reminded Luke McCowan that Rangers are ahead of Celtic in the title race after the Hoops midfielder confidently claimed: “We know if we’re at it no team in that league touches us”.
McCowan asserted his belief after the Parkhead side’s 1-0 win over Stuttgart in Germany on Thursday night saw the reigning William Hill Premiership champions lose their Europa League play-off 4-2 on aggregate. Ahead of the Glasgow derby at Ibrox on Sunday and with 10 fixtures remaining, Rangers are four points behind leaders Hearts and two ahead of Celtic, who have a game in hand over the leading pair.
“I think at the moment we are in the second position, they are behind us,” said Rohl, upon being asked for a reaction to McCowan’s comments. “They have at the moment seven or eight defeats. I think in general it makes no sense to speak too much about the other side, we have to focus on ourselves.
“We want to win this game. I see my team is ready to take points and then we’ll see on Sunday. Hopefully both teams try everything and I’m confident that we have a big chance of winning this game.” [Press Association]
Europa League Round of 16 draw
As Villa and Forest are in the same half of the draw, there is no prospect of an all English final. Getting ahead of ourselves, the two teams could meet in a semi-final.
Europa League draw: Nottingham Forest will play Midtjylland and Aston Villa will play Lille. Full draw to follow …
Europa League: They’re mid-montage in Nyon and the draw for the Europa League Round of 16 is imminent. We’ll bring you news of that once MC Pedro Pinto and Tees & Cees Man Giorgio Marchetti have conducted it with the help of their glamourous assistant, the Porto legend Maniche.
Champions League: Manchester City have been drawn against Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout phase for the sixth time since the 2019-20 season. The two clubs have already faced each other once in the group stage, with City coming from behind to win 2-1 in December.
Defending champions Paris St Germain will face Chelsea in what will be a repeat of last year’s ill-tempered Club World Cup final where the Premier League side came out on top.
Arsenal, who finished top in the league phase, play Bayer Leverkusen while Bayern Munich, who were second, play Atalanta. Newcastle United face Barcelona while Liverpool take on Galatasaray.
Premier League strugglers Tottenham Hotspur face Atletico Madrid while Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt – who have beaten City, Atletico and Inter Milan (home and away) this season – take on Portuguese side Sporting. [Reuters]
Manchester United: The sacking of Ruben Amorim could end up costing the club almost £16m. Amorim’s 14-month reign ended on 5 January after his public attack on United’s hierarchy, with his five coaches also leaving Old Trafford.
First impressions: It’s a nice draw for Arsenal, who will play one of the weakest sides in the competition (other opinions are available) and face Bodo/Glimt or Sporting if they advance to the quarter-finals. Manchester City will play Bayern Munich or Atalanta if they can get past Real Madrid.
We will have a Chelsea v Liverpool quarter-final if they both qualify, while Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur could meet in the last eight but both sides have an awful lot of work to do to make that happen. Finally, would anyone in their right mind confidently bet against Bodo/Glimt seeing off Sporting to set up a potential quarter-final against Leverkusen or Arsenal?
While anyone who has seen Tottenham play this season might suggest nothing could be further from the truth, one of this season’s Champions League’s semi-finals could be a North London derby. Oof!
Champions League Round of 16 draw in full …
Paris Saint-Germain v Chelsea
Galatasaray v Liverpool
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Atalanta v Bayern Munich
Newcastle v Barcelona
Atletico Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur
Bodo/Glimt v Sporting
Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal
The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, the second legs will be played on 17 and 18 March.
PSG v Chelsea
Newcastle v Barcelona
The draw: We’re already two montages in and now Ivan Rakitic has been introduced to help with the draw. The Barcelona and Sevilla legend is looking dapper and fresh, rocking a dark pinstripe suit and heavily gelled short back and sides.
Champions League Round of 16 draw …
It’s time to head to Nyon, for this morning’s main order of business. A reminder of what’s what …
The top 8 teams from the league phase (seeded) are paired against the eight winners of the play-offs and the bracket is split into four sections. Here are your permutations …
Arsenal or Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta
Liverpool or Tottenham v Atletico Madird or Galatasaray
Barcelona or Chelsea v Newcastle or Paris Saint-Germain
Sporting or Manchester City v Real Madrid or Bodø/Glimt
The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, the second legs will be played on 17 and 18 March, and the eight seeded teams will be at home for the second legs.
Bournemouth: Unbeaten in seven league games, four of which they’ve won, Bournemouth host Sunderland in tomorrow’s lunchtime kick-off. Regis Le Bris’s side make the long trip to the south coast, hoping to arrest a run of three consecutive league defeats.
“They’re a team that has played really well this season,” said Iraola of tomorrow’s opposition. “Their goalkeeper has been very good, he has a long kick and they can press very early. Every free kick, they put a lot of pressure on you.” Iraola told reporters that Lewis Cook will be out for an unspecified number of weeks with a hamstring injury.
Liverpool: Mo Salah is in his worst goalscoring drought of his Premier League career but head coach Arne Slot is confident it is something he will overcome. The Egypt international has won the Golden Boot four times since arriving at Anfield in 2017, the latest in last season’s title-winning campaign but has gone nine league matches without finding the net. It’s his worst run in the English top flight but Slot said while the criticism was to be expected because of the 33-year-old’s high standards it was not a cause for a concern as it was a problem afflicting all his forwards.
“He set his own standards and those are so high and the moment he doesn’t score for a few games people are immediately surprised – that is the biggest compliment he can get,” said Slot. “With data you can use it to your advantage or disadvantage but not to use the FA Cup game – if we play a Premier League side – you could argue if that is fair.
“Three games ago he had an assist and a goal against a very good Premier League team in Brighton so that is the reality and then you can change data and say he did not score in nine Premier League games. We are used to Mo scoring a lot of goals and at this moment in time that is maybe the biggest difference in his performance and game time. But we also know this has happened before, I don’t know if it happened nine games in a row but I’ve had these questions earlier if he didn’t score for three or five but I know in the end he always starts scoring again. He is not our only attacker at this moment in time that doesn’t score as much as we are used to.” [Press Association]
Football Association news: Kevin Thelwell has been appointed the FA’s Elite Coach Developer, tasked with supporting the progression of elite homegrown coaches.
The former Rangers and Everton sporting director’s strategic role at St George’s Park will span men’s and women’s football and he will report to Dan Ashworth, the chief football officer at the national football centre.
Newcastle United: With the draw for the Round of 16 looming, Eddie Howe has been asked for his thoughts on Newcastle’s next opponents – Barcelona or Chelsea – and jokes with reporters that he’s just glad his side won’t have to play Manchester City in the next round. The Newcastle head coach’s record against Pep Guardiola (P22 W2 D2 L18) is pretty dismal, even if his side did beat them at St James’ Park in the Premier League earlier this season.
“Really special and really positive for us,” he says. “I think we are just grateful we can’t get Man City! We are looking forward to what the draw brings and we will look forward to that game when it comes around.” If Newcastle are paired with Chelsea, the sides will meet three times in a row across eight days – two legs of the Champions League tie either side of a Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool: The reigning champions had the highest wage bill – up £42m to £428m – in the Premier League when winning their 20th league title last season, the club’s latest set of accounts have revealed. Andy Hunter reports …
Newcastle United: Eddie Howe’s side host Everton at St James’ Park tomorrow and ahead of the game, the Newcastle head coach has provided an injury update on Bruno Guimaraes. Like Arne Slot before him, he doesn’t seem sure when one of his team’s best midfielders will be available.
“I have had some good contact with Bruno,” he told reporters. “He seems very positive with his injury and how he feels. He has done a lot of work. He is being well looked after as well. We hope that he can come back and give us a push at the back end of the season. We have to treat his injury carefully.”
An ever-present when he is fit, the 28-year-old Brazilian has missed Bruno has missed Newcastle’s last four games with a hamstring injury and was ruled out for at least eight weeks just over a fortnight ago.
Champions League Round of 16 draw
This will kick-off in an hour or so but here’s a quick run-down on what, for those of us still suffering night terrors from the World Cup draw, should be a comparatively straightforward affair.
The top 8 teams from the league phase (seeded) are paired against the eight winners of the play-offs and the bracket is split into four sections. Here are your permutations …
Arsenal or Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta
Liverpool or Tottenham v Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray
Barcelona or Chelsea v Newcastle or Paris Saint-Germain
Sporting or Manchester City v Real Madrid or Bodø/Glimt
The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, the second legs will be played on 17 and 18 March, and the eight seeded teams will be at home for the second legs.
Liverpool: We’ll kick off with some bad news for Liverpool fans, ahead of their side’s match against West Ham tomorrow. Arne Slot has opened his pre-match presser by telling reporters that Florian Wirtz will not be fit for the game and there’s no confirmed time frame on the German’s return. Wirtz missed Liverpool’s somewhat fortuitous win against Nottingham Forest last weekend after being forced to pull out during the warm-up.
“I don’t expect Florian to be available,” he says. “It’s a disappointment. Every time a player is not available is a disappointment, it’s something that I didn’t expect after last week. At this moment time, I don’t know [when he will return]. Usually when I say that, I do know and I don’t want to share. But this time, I honestly don’t know.
“It’s a big accomplishment for Wirtz to stay fit for such a long time because he had to make a step up from where he played to the Premier League and Liverpool. It tells a lot about his mentality and work rate that he has stayed fit for so long. It is a disappointment for him and for us, because he has played really, really well lately”
Slot also reveals that Jeremie Frimpong will be available for tomorrow’s match after being sidelined since the end of January.
Europa League – VfB Stuttgart 0-1 Celtic (agg: 4-2): Celtic restored a modicum of pride following their first leg humbling, in what is likely to be Martin O’Neill’s final European match as a head coach. Ewan Murray reports from MHP Arena …
Europa Conference League – Crystal Palace 2-0 Zrinjski Mostar (agg: 3-1): A Round of 16 tie against Larnaca or Mainz awaits Oliver Glasner’s side after they made short work of their visitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina in south London. Ed Aarons reports from Selbhurst Park …
Europa League – Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fenerbahce (agg: 4-2): Nottingham Forest survived a second leg scare to advance to the Round of 16, where they will face Midtjylland or Real Betis, two teams they failed to beat in the league phase of the competition. Ben Fisher reports from the City Ground …
Preamble
Rise and shine, football fans. Well, rise. It’s Friday and the weekend is almost upon us. After a night of continental drama that saw Celtic exit the Europa League, Nottingham Forest survive a scare against Fenerbahce and Crystal Palace cruise past Zrinjski Mostar, there’s the small matter of news of the draw for the Champions League Round of 16 to bring you from 11am (GMT).
Not content with all that European chit-chat, we’ll be pivoting back to the bread and butter of the Premier League and reporting from press rooms across the country, bringing you the latest team news from assorted top-flight managers.
And, of course, the Friday blog is your one-stop shop for the unexpected – whether it’s a late-breaking injury hammerblow or a shock managerial announcement. We’ll be bringing you every bit of the news that’s fit to print and a whole lot more that almost certainly isn’t.
