Analysing Real Madrid's possible opponent in the Champions League’s Round of 16

The draw for the Champions League last 16 knock-out stage will take place tomorrow (Monday 11 December) in Nyon, Switzerland.

16 teams including defending champions Real Madrid will be represented at the draws.

How the draws work

• There will be two pots. Pot one is for teams that topped their groups at the end of the group stages. The second pot for the runners-up.

• Two clubs from the same country or group cannot face each other in this round. They can, however, face each other in the semifinals.

• Seeded group winners will have the slight advantage of playing the second leg ties at home.

• The first leg matches of the ties will take place on 13/14 and 20/21 February and the second leg on 6/7 and 13/14 March.

Group winners (Seeded teams): Manchester United, Paris St-Germain, AS Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Besiktas and Tottenham.

Second place teams: Basel, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk, Porto and Real Madrid.

That means Real Madrid will be in pot 2 for the draw.

Here are Real Madrid’s possible opponents:

Manchester United
Paris St-Germain
AS Roma
Liverpool
Manchester City
Besiktas


Manchester United

The Red Devils topped group A, winning five and losing one of their six group matches. United scored 12 goals and conceded three in the process. Romelu Lukaku with four goals was the team's highest goal scorer during the group stages.

In United, Madrid will be facing a highly defensively organised side, with a lot of power, strength and physical presence.  Both teams met in the UEFA Super Cup at the start of this season, Madrid won on that occasion.

Paris St-Germain

The French team came first in group B, ahead of German powerhouse Bayern Munich. PSG won five of their group matches, losing their only match to Bayern on Matchday 6. Edinson Cavani and Neymar with six goals each are PSG's top scorers in the group stage.

PSG boast of one of the most exciting attacks in European football this season. The team's attack is hinged on the trio of Edinson Cavani, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. A team that has the likes of Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria on the bench is one a lot of teams will want to avoid.

Real Madrid haven't been defensively convincing this season, and a draw against PSG will be a great one for the neutrals, that will be a battle of attacks. 

AS Roma

The Italian side finished first in a group that has Premier League Champions Chelsea and Madrid's city rivals Atletico Madrid. They won three, drew two and lost one of their six group matches. Edin Džeko was the team's most prolific goal scorer in the group stages with three goals.

Roma may not have the glamour of a lot of big names, but they have the spirit of a typical Italian team that is difficult to break down.

Liverpool

Jorgen Klopp's team came first in group E, winning three and drawing three of their six group matches. The Reds scored a whopping 23 goals in the group stage. Only PSG with 25 group stage goals scored more than the Reds. Roberto Firmino scored six goals to emerge the team's highest goal scorer in the group stage.

Liverpool's strength lies in their attacking speed, tenacity, high pressing and wing play. The Kops, however, could be as weak defensively as they are strong offensively. The Reds often concede goals that are questionable.

They share the same team strengths and weaknesses as Real Madrid. if both teams are drawn together, fans should be thrilled with high scoring matches.

Manchester City 

City finished as the best team in group F. The Citizens won five and lost one of their six group matches. Raheem Sterling's four goals makes him the team's top scorer so far in the Champions League this season.

Real Madrid will be facing a familiar foe in Pep Guardiola if both teams are drawn together.

City are more improved and play better this season under the former Barcelona coach. The Manchester Blues are undoubtedly the best team in the Premier League this season, having opened up an eleven point lead over second place Manchester United.

In City, Madrid will square up against a compact, brilliant side that play open and free-flowing attacking football. The likes of Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Gabriel Jesus and Sane have been spectacular this season.  The Los Blancos will have to up their game to knock out City.

Besiktas

The Turkish side finished first in group G. They won four and drew two of their group matches. Cenk Tosun with four goals in the group stage is the team's highest goal scorer this season.

The height of this tie would be the return of Pepe to the Bernabeu. On paper, this is the easiest draw for Real Madrid.