Chelsea to face holders PSG in Champions League’s last 16
By BBC, February 27, 2026Chelsea will play holders Paris St-Germain in the Champions League round of 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 Atlético Madrid.
The first legs will be played on March 10 and 11, with the second legs on March 17 and 18, 2026.
Newcastle are at home for their first leg with Barca, while their Premier League rivals are all away.
The final will be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Who are the Champions League favourites?
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 rates 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%) is the third favourite, 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%) is 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.”
‘It will not be about revenge’ – what they said
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.