All eyes will be on Nyon at 11am, when the four Premier League clubs will learn their fate in Europe
Manuel Pellegrini isn't too upset at having drawn Barcelona:
"I
think it's a beautiful game," said the Chilean. "It's a game between
two very good teams. We will see in February which team arrives in the
best form."
12:59 pm
Olympiacos, Manchester United's opponents in the Champions League, are delighted with the draw.
“It’s
a celebration of football for us, even more so to visit a mythical
football ground such as Old Trafford," said their coach, Michel.
"Manchester United are a huge club, a powerful machine and we are in for two very tough matches.
"We respect Manchester United but our aim is to become like them one day. Call me crazy, but I fear no opponents."
12:38 pm
The Europa League rolls on in thrilling fashion. Kind of. The winner
of Swansea vs Napoli will play Porto or Eintracht Frankfurt in the last
16, while Spurs would face PAOK or Benfica if they can get past Dnipro.
Tell you who would have loved to play Benfica. Andre Villas-Boas. Sob.
12:36 pm
Click the link on this. Good story.
12:30 pm
Here's a little more detail on that Europa League draw.
It's
fair to say both Tottenham and Swansea could have been handed easier
tasks... but at least Thursday nights should be a bit more interesting
in the short term.
12:19 pm
Swansea, meanwhile, have been paired with Napoli. What a glamorous
draw that is - ample reward for the Swans' superb progress over the last
few years.
Michael Laudrup will relish that task, you feel.
12:16 pm
Spurs, unbelievably, are the second name out of the hat in the Europa
League draw. They face a really tricky tie against Dnipro, who are
managed by their former boss, Juande Ramos.
The Ukrainian side looked very impressive in the group stage.
12:13 pm
Man City's sporting director, Txiki Beguiristain, admits his side have been handed a tricky task against Barcelona.
"It will be an enjoyable tie," he said.
"It
will be difficult given that we will be playing against an excellent
team; a team of champions whose players have a great mentality.
"However, we are also doing very well and we are scoring a lot of goals which is filling us with confidence. We will be strong."
12:10 pm
Arsenal will hope to do better than last year, when they succumbed to
Bayern over two legs. Their second-leg performance in Munich will give
them hope, however, as will Man City's win in Germany last week.
Arsenal's
opponents Bayern Munich are 13/5 favourites to win the Champions League
overall. Take a look at odds for the final 16 with Paddy Power here.
11:53 am
The Europa League draw is up next in Nyon. This probably isn't what
most Spurs fans are concentrating on at this particular instant, but
their side is in the pot. Swansea are the other remaining Premier League
side in that competition.
11:37 am
This man must be very happy indeed.
David Moyes (wearing his Everton jacket for old time's sake) reacts to Champions League draw http://t.co/dTzDqY5fjZ pic.twitter.com/vY38yUJIMz
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) December 16, 2013
11:35 am
If you want to follow the day's other big breaking story, we have a live blog going on Andre Villas-Boas's sacking.
Open it a new tab, because we'll be bringing you the Champions League reaction right here over the next hour or so.
11:32 am
What a draw we have on our hands. Arsenal face reigning champions
Bayern Munich, while Man City's duel with Barcelona will be unmissable.
Chelsea and Manchester United, meanwhile, will feel very happy with
their lot.
Click here to see the draw in full.
11:20 am
And the remaining four games:
Galatasaray vs Chelsea
Schalke vs Real Madrid
Zenit vs Dortmund
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich
11:17 am
We're underway. First four games:
Man City vs Barcelona
Olympiacos vs Man United
Milan vs Atletico Madrid
Bayer Leverkusen vs PSG
11:08 am
Poor old AVB.
Now playing: Drivin' Home For Christmas, by Andre Villas-Boas
— Steve Anglesey (@sanglesey) December 16, 2013
11:04 am
Breaking news: Andre Villas-Boas has been relieved of his duties by
Tottenham Hotspur. Much more on this coming right up. Hold onto your
hats.
11:01 am
The Champions League music parps up on Sky Sports. It's almost time.
Better have a swift half of Gaprom (mmmmm, Gazprom) to get us in the mood. Stand by for the draw.
10:57 am
Straying away from the Champions League for just a second, I thoroughly recommend a read of this story.
Angry
Spurs fans took to Twitter last night to berate Andre Villas-Boas, only
to mistakenly target the unsuspecting user with the handle @AVB. She
responds in sensational style.
10:43 am
That first hashtag sounds like a fantastic novel.
You know it's meant to be: Arsenal-PSG in last 16. #WengerInParis #ItsWritten
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) December 16, 2013
10:33 am
It was a dramatic weekend for our four representatives, with
Manchester City thrashing Arsenal, and Chelsea and Man United both
picking up wins.
Here's the latest on each of them:
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero could be out for SIX weeks with a calf injury.
Bacary Sagna is negotiating a new deal at Arsenal - but isn't committing himself just yet.
David Moyes pleased with his Manchester United side following the win over Aston Villa.
Jose Mourinho thinks Man City should try to be more like Chelsea.
Let's be honest: Bayern will probably beat whoever is put in front of them.
The #UCLdraw is at 12:00 CET! @Arsenal, @acmilan, @GalatasaraySK, @olympiacos_org and @zenit_spb - Who do you want? pic.twitter.com/KM0eshcLxS
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) December 16, 2013
10:04 am
Sides from the same country will also be kept apart in the draw. So
here are the sides each of the Premier League teams could face:
Manchester United: Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Schalke, Zenit, Milan
Chelsea: Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Zenit, Milan
Arsenal: Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona
Manchester City: Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona
9:52 am
A note on the format of the draw: the sides are divided into group
winners and group runners-up, meaning Arsenal and Man City could face
tricky ties. Sides who were in the same section in the first phase are
kept apart.
Group winners: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona.
Runners-up: Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Manchester City, Schalke, Arsenal, Zenit, Milan.
9:33 am
Ahead of the draw, we've profiled all 16 teams left in the tournament. There are plenty of big boys in the draw, but also some clubs who will be just happy to be there.
Chelsea and Manchester United would surely love to draw Olympiakos...
9:23 am
Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the UEFA Champions League draw.
From
11am, the four Premier League clubs left in the competition - Arsenal,
Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United - will find out who they
will face in the last 16.
Stay here for all the latest as it happens.
0 comments:
Post a Comment