Newcastle's Barcelona Date Looms as Real Madrid Face City Again – Champions League Last 16 Preview

The Champions League knockout stages are upon us, and while European football's continental audience might be fixating on Bodo/Glimt versus Sporting, the Premier League's insularity ensures one fixture captures the English imagination above all others.

Newcastle versus Barcelona represents far more than just another continental encounter. It is, according to Eddie Howe, "the biggest game in this club's history"—a phrase he accompanied with talk of seizing "an opportunity to grab a moment we may never get again." Whether you find such language inspirational or merely the stuff of dressing-room cliché probably depends on your tolerance for managerial platitudes.

This marks Newcastle's first venture into the proper knockout stages of European football's premier competition, though they have already faced the Catalan side twice this season. The tie offers the Magpies their final meaningful avenue for pride following a largely forgettable campaign. Mid-table mediocrity, elimination from both domestic cups courtesy of Manchester City, and upcoming fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal mean this Barcelona double-header represents their last genuine source of jeopardy and intrigue. The stage demands the sort of belligerent counter-attacking performance from underdogs that Newcastle once made their trademark. Anything less will prompt uncomfortable questions.

Arsenal's path to the quadruple has widened considerably. They draw Bayer Leverkusen, a Bundesliga side currently in indifferent form. The Germans disposed of Olympiacos professionally enough to reach this stage, but the ruthlessly plundered squad of last season is still finding its rhythm under Kasper Hjulmand. For Mikel Arteta personally, this represents an opportunity to add a significant scalp to his collection—Leverkusen rank among the strongest sides Arsenal have yet encountered under the Spaniard's stewardship. Arsenal, meanwhile, have won every game in the tournament thus far and finally demonstrated their knockout credentials last season.

Liverpool's Giorgi Mamardashvili finds himself in an unlikely position. His recent words—"My time will come for sure. Maybe not this year but my time will come"—spoke to balancing ambition with patience in his first Merseyside campaign. Within hours, an Alisson injury thrust that time upon him. Earlier in the season, he replaced the Brazilian during a defeat to Galatasaray in September and started eight of the next nine Premier League and Champions League fixtures, a run in which Liverpool lost five times and conceded 15 goals. That statistic tells more of a team struggling than an individual faltering. Since a 3-0 drubbing by Manchester City followed by a 4-1 hammering from PSV in November, Mamardashvili has managed just 90 minutes in an FA Cup tie against Barnsley. With 57 days since his last outing, he will be called upon for what the club hopes proves a more successful Istanbul visit than their last.

Chelsea's unlikely pairing with Liam Rosenior carries intrigue. The club boasts a victory over the European champions within the last 12 months—PSG, though that occasion came with caveats. The Parisians had made wholesale changes in preparation for a Champions League final they would win decisively, securing their Club World Cup place. PSG rather cleverly avoided a trophy presentation involving Donald Trump at that tournament, instead handing that honour to Chelsea, who had thrashed them 3-0. Little should be read into that meeting. PSG remain unconvincing, sitting just a point clear atop Ligue 1. Yet last season's Champions League triumph included a disappointing league phase, a knockout playoff victory over French opposition, and a last-16 clash with Premier League opposition en route to glory. Rosenior has gone unbeaten in 12 matches since taking over—excluding Arsenal fixtures, which feel worth mentioning given their comparable quality to PSG.

Tottenham travel to the Metropolitano Stadium to face Diego Simeone's Atlético Madrid, what Igor Tudor himself might describe as "something extra" when top-flight survival remains the club's "first aim." The kindest of Champions League draws has suddenly turned decidedly less forgiving. Spurs will need to arrive at full intensity to avoid a shock.

Real Madrid versus Manchester City represents an exercise in déjà vu. The two have faced each other in each of the last five seasons, and six of the last seven. These two legs will make this the third most-played fixture in European Cup history at 17 matches, behind only Real Madrid versus Juventus (22 times) and Real Madrid versus Bayern Munich (28 times). Manchester City have encountered Real in the group stage, league phase, knockout playoffs, last 16, quarter final, and semi final since their first meeting in 2013. Pep Guardiola's response to the draw—calling it "a little bit weird"—was the diplomatic way of saying the whole thing feels rather tiresome.

Back in the Championship, Wrexham's fairy-tale FA Cup run from the third round through to the fifth round ended courtesy of Chelsea. Now they return to Championship business against Hull, who sit one place and three points higher having played an extra match. Millwall, occupying third, host Derby—a side one place and three points below Wrexham—in what should prove a transformative midweek schedule.