Barcelona will face Newcastle United in the Round of 16 of this season’s Champions League after the draw was made on Friday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The Catalans were set to face either Newcastle or PSG and were drawn against the Premier League side, who destroyed Qarabag in the Playoffs on their way to the Last 16 stage. These two teams met in the very first game of the league phase at St. James’ Park, with Barça winning 2-1 thanks to a couple of splendid goals by Marcus Rashford.
As the seeded team in the draw given their finish in the Top 8, Barça will get to play the second leg at home at Camp Nou. But surviving the crazy atmosphere of St. James’ Park in the first leg will be a giant challenge, especially given the absence of Frenkie de Jong, who was a standout performer in the first meeting but will not be available due to injury.
The rest of the Round of 16 draw has some tasty matchups, including PSG vs Chelsea and the annual knockout tie between Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Real Madrid vs Manchester CityBodo/Glimt vs Sporting LisbonParis Saint-Germain vs Chelsea
**Newcastle vs Barcelona
**Galatasaray vs Liverpool
Atlético Madrid vs Tottenham HotspurAtalanta vs Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal