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Champions League draw - everything you need to know

Not too many sides will fancy playing Barcelona
Not too many sides will fancy playing Barcelona

The Champions League group stage draw will be held tomorrow in Switzerland and shown live on rte.ie/sport from 11am.

There are 16 teams involved in the draw and they'll be sorted into two pots with the winners from the group stage being draw against a team that finished as runners-up in that phase.

Teams who already played in the group stage can't be drawn together, no can teams from the same country at this stage, so that leaves a side like Chelsea with only three possible opponents.

GROUP WINNERS
Barcelona

The La Liga leaders have shrugged off the loss of Neymar this season and came through Group D unbeaten to top the group above Juventus. They will be top of the list of teams to avoid in the last 16.

Who can they draw? Basel, Bayern, Chelsea, Shakhtar or Porto

Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015

Besiktas
Although they topped a relatively weak Group G ahead of Porto, the reigning Turkish champions have suffered indifferent form this season and sit fifth in the Super Lig table. Few clubs ever fancy an away trip to Istanbul, but there are far tougher teams you could pull out of the hat.

Who can they draw? Basel, Bayern, Chelsea, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar or Real Madrid

Champions League/European Cup best: Quarter-finals 1987

Liverpool
Liverpool romped to first place in Group E, scoring 23 goals as they ran up the score in big wins over Sevilla and Maribor. With an attacking unit including Salah, Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino there is no end of goals in this team, but their defensive vulnerabilities remain and may well be exposed as the standard of competition ramps up.

Who can they draw? Basel, Bayern, Juventus, Shakhtar, Porto or Real Madrid.

Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005

Manchester City
Guardiola's team have been widely hailed as the best in Europe after a swashbuckling start to the Premier League season, and they cruised through Group F, winning their first five games before fielding a much-changed side away to Shakhtar Donetsk. But converting plaudits into silverware is the task ahead, and these relative Champions League novices still have plenty to prove.

Who can they draw? Basel, Bayern, Juventus, Sevilla, Porto or Real Madrid.
Champions League/European Cup best: Semi-finals 2016

Manchester United
Mourinho's men topped Group A with a mixture of silk and steel as they averaged two goals a game but conceded only three in all six outings. Key summer signing Nemanja Matic has added the missing teeth to United's midfield to go with the goal threat of Romelu Lukaku and the fit-again Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and few teams will fancy taking them on.

Who can they draw? Bayern, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar, Porto or Real Madrid.

Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1968, 1999, 2008

Paris St Germain
Paris St Germain have made little secret of the fact the Champions League is their number one priority, and with Ligue 1 appearing to take care of itself - they top the table by nine points - they will go all in. World-record signing Neymar has elevated their game considerably, but Edinson Cavani is keeping up in the scoring rates and they look extremely dangerous.

Who can they draw? Basel, Chelsea, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar, Porto or Real Madrid

Champions League/European Cup best: Semi-finals 1995

Roma
With Edin Dzeko in the form of his life - the 31-year-old earned a Ballon d'Or nomination this year - Roma managed to edge out Chelsea to top Group C. They are far from the full package, but as Chelsea will attest from their 3-0 hiding in the Italian capital, they should not be underestimated.

Who can they draw? Basel, Bayern, Sevilla, Shakhtar, Porto or Real Madrid

Champions League/European Cup best: Runners-up 1984

Tottenham 
They may be struggling to match recent form in the Premier League, but Tottenham are having another coming-of-age season in the Champions League. Their 3-1 win over Real Madrid at Wembley felt like a huge moment, and it is a big achievement to top a group boasting both the current holders and Borussia Dortmund. Just how far can they go?

Who can they draw? Basel, Bayern, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar or Porto.

Champions League/European Cup best: Semi-finals 1962

GROUP RUNNERS-UP
Basel

Basel impressed as they finished runners-up to Manchester United in Group A, beating Jose Mourinho's side at home and putting five past Benfica. In Oberlin, the 20-year-old striker on loan from Red Bull Salzburg, they have one of the hottest young properties in European football.

Who can they draw? Paris, Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Besiktas or Tottenham Hotspur

Champions League/European Cup best: Quarter-finals 1974

Bayern Munich
After a slow start to the season Bayern are humming once more under Heynckes, the man who masterminded their last Champions League triumph in 2013. They could only finish runners-up in Group B behind Paris St Germain, but won five of their six group stage matches.

Who can they draw? Manchester United, Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Besiktas or Tottenham Hotspur

Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013

Chelsea
With their Premier League title defence faltering, Conte could be tempted to go all in on the Champions League. That said, after finishing runners-up in Group C, they can only be paired with one of Paris St Germain, Barcelona and Besiktas in the last 16, so the task here may be very difficult too.

Who can they draw? Paris St-Germain, Barcelona or Besiktas

Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 2012

Juventus
With Gianluigi Buffon seeking a fairytale ending to his career after three times suffering defeat in the Champions League final, Juve are once again leaning heavily on their defence. They kept clean sheets in three of their six group stage matches, including a goalless draw with group winners Barcelona.

Who can they draw? Manchester United, Paris, Liverpool, Manchester City, Besiktas, Tottenham Hotspur

Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1985, 1996

Porto
Porto might be the kindest draw any of the group winners could hope for in the last 16. Runners-up in a weak Group G, they conceded almost two goals a game, and though striker Aboubakar has been in good form, they do not appear to have the weapons to go much further.

Who can they draw? Manchester United, Paris, Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur

Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1987, 2004

Real Madrid
The back-to-back winners made a slow start to the season - made clear by the fact they remain fourth in LaLiga - but found their mojo in the Champions League, even if they had to settle for runners-up spot behind Tottenham in Group H. Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo scored nine goals in the six group matches and they remain as dangerous as they come.

Who can they draw? Manchester United, Paris, Roma, Liverpool, Manchester City or Besiktas

Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017

Sevilla
Sevilla won only two of their Group E fixtures but got through on the back of being hard to beat - all except for the complete aberration which was their 5-1 loss to Spartak Moscow in October. That exposed their key weakness - although they can score plenty, they struggle to keep the back door closed, and kept just one clean sheet against lowly Maribor.

Who can they draw? Manchester United, Paris, Roma, Manchester City, Besiktas or Tottenham Hotspur

Champions League/European Cup best: Quarter-finals 1958

Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City were always favourites in Group F but Napoli were supposed to follow them through. Shakhtar had other ideas and immediately tore up the script by beating the Italians in their opening match. By the time they wrapped up the group by beating a much-changed City side, Fonseca had to fulfil a promise to turn up to his press conference dressed as Zorro.

Who can they draw? Manchester United, Paris, Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Besiktas or Tottenham Hotspur

Champions League/European Cup best: Quarter-finals 2011

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