Chelsea Set to Clash with Reigning Champions PSG in Champions League Round of 16

27 Feb,2026

2 hours ago

Chelsea Set to Clash with Reigning Champions PSG in Champions League Round of 16

Chelsea and Paris St-Germain are the current holders of the Fifa Club World Cup and Champions League respectively. Chelsea will play holders Paris St-Germain in the Champions League last 16 while Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the knockout stages for a fifth straight season.

Although six Premier League clubs have qualified for the last 16, there will be no all-English ties, with leaders Arsenal to face Bayer Leverkusen. Newcastle United will meet Barcelona, Liverpool take on Galatasaray, and Tottenham have been drawn against Atletico Madrid.

The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, with the second legs to take place on 17 and 18 March. Newcastle are at home for their first leg with Barca, while their Premier League rivals are all at home for their second leg, having qualified for the last 16 automatically.

Chelsea's tie with PSG is a rematch of last year's Fifa Club World Cup final, when the Blues beat the European champions 3-0 in New Jersey. "It'll be tough but it holds no fear for us," said Chelsea's director of football David Barnard. "It's too soon to speak about the final, we should think game by game. Now we have a strong opener to face."

Man City, Newcastle, and Liverpool all met their opponents during the league phase of this season's competition, with City's win in Madrid in December their ninth meeting with Real since April 2022. City's director of football Hugo Viana said: "It's a big game for both teams. It's like a final; we are happy to go there again."

Liverpool ambassador Ian Rush added: "I think our advantage is that the second leg is at home. I think the atmosphere at Anfield is second to none and, hopefully, that will come into it."

The route to the final is already known and if Newcastle and Tottenham both progress, they will meet in the quarter-finals, as will Chelsea and Liverpool in the other half of the draw. The final will be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, 30 May.

Champions League draw: Man City to face Real; Chelsea v PSG & Newcastle v Barcelona. Arsenal finished top of the league phase, having been the only team to win all eight games, while Bayern Munich were three points behind in second. If they get past Leverkusen, Arsenal will face either Sporting or Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-finals, and Opta rate Mikel Arteta's team as favourites to win this season's competition - by some distance.

They give the Gunners a 27.40% chance of being crowned European champions for the first time, with Bayern ranked next best at 14.28%. Liverpool (12.83%) are third favourites, with Man City (10.79%) seen as having a far better chance of winning the Champions League than record 15-time winners Real Madrid (2.78%). Chelsea (6.86%) are also deemed to have a better chance than their last-16 opponents PSG (4.64%).

"You can look at the bracket, but you can't take things for granted," added Chelsea's director of football Barnard. Tottenham, who qualified for the Champions League by winning last season's Europa League, could face north London rivals Arsenal in the semi-finals and are seen as outsiders to go all the way (1.22%).

"At this stage, anything can happen and every game is winnable," said former Tottenham defender Gary Mabbutt. "I was here this time last year and we were drawn for the Europa League. We got through to the final last year and became champions, so who knows."

Liam Rosenior, who left PSG's Ligue 1 rivals Strasbourg to become Chelsea boss in January, said: "[I'm] so excited. PSG are a fantastic team. I have experience of playing against them in France. I have always admired them. Luis Enrique has done an incredible job.

These are the games you live for, games that you come into football for. It's going to be a great tie."

PSG coach Luis Enrique said: "It will be fascinating to play against one of the best English teams, who we know well, but it will not be about revenge. These are two different competitions."

The Ligue 1 leaders knew they would play either Chelsea or Barcelona, and La Liga leaders Barca will instead face Newcastle. "We are not celebrating not getting PSG," said Barca coach Hansi Flick. "We must respect our opponents. Everyone wants to reach the final and Newcastle will also be eager to win the Champions League."

Leverkusen's sporting director Simon Rolfes described their opponents Arsenal as "perhaps the top favourite for the title in both the Champions League and the Premier League". "Everything has to go right, but then we're capable of making life difficult for them," he added.

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The draw for the last 16 of the Europa League and Conference League was also made on Friday. Nottingham Forest will host the first leg of their Europa League tie with Danish side Midtjylland, while Aston Villa will play Lille with the first leg in France.

The Premier League sides are in the same half of the draw so could meet in the semi-finals, if Forest also get past Stuttgart or Porto in the quarter-finals, while Villa must also overcome Bologna or Roma. Crystal Palace are the Premier League's only representative in the Conference League and will play AEK Larnaca, with the second leg in Cyprus. The winners will face Fiorentina or Rakow Czestochowa in the quarter-finals.

The first and second legs of both competitions will be played on the 12 and 19 March. Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast, get football news sent straight to your phone, and watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.

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