Who can Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig face in the UEFA Champions League round of 16?
Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig will be the three Bundesliga representatives in the draw for the UEFA Champions League round of 16, which takes place on Monday, 16 December at 12pm CET (11am GMT/6am ET).
bundesliga.com looks at who the trio could be drawn against after progressing through the group stage…
The record German champions produced the best group campaign in Champions League history to finish comfortably top of Group B. They became the seventh team to claim a maximum haul of 18 points from their six games, but their +19 goal difference with 24 scored and just five conceded topped the lot.
Ten of those were bagged against last season’s finalists Tottenham Hotspur, including four in the second half alone from Serge Gnabry in the historic 7-2 thrashing London. Robert Lewandowski then repeated the feat in Belgrade as Bayern ran out 6-0 winners against Red Star, while third-placed Olympiacos were also brushed aside with relative ease.
Watch: All of Lewandowski's goals so far in 2019/20
As winners of their group, the Munich club will face a runner-up from another section. They cannot face Tottenham again in the next round and teams cannot be drawn against clubs from their own national association.
Possible opponents: Atalanta (ITA), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Chelsea (ENG), Lyon (FRA), Napoli (ITA), Real Madrid (ESP).
Of all those teams, Atalanta, who finished Group C second behind Manchester City, are the only side Bayern have never faced. Chelsea, of course, were the team that beat the Munich club on penalties at the Allianz Arena in the 2012 final, while Napoli have just parted company with former Bayern boss Carlo Ancelotti. And there’s the potential European Klassiker (or Clasico, depending on which side you fall) as Bayern vs. Real is the most frequently played fixture in Champions League history.
There were some frayed nerves inside the Signal Iduna Park in the last group game as BVB beat Slavia Prague 2-1, but they were waiting on news from Italy as Borussia needed to better Inter Milan’s result against Group F winners Barcelona to progress. News eventually filtered through that the Spanish champions had won and Dortmund were therefore into the last 16, finishing on 10 points from their six games, three clear of Inter.
Jadon Sancho scored and assisted one each in the return victory over the Czech champions to guide Lucien Favre’s side through to the knockout stage after Achraf Hakimi’s earlier heroics of scoring braces in both the 2-0 win in Prague and the 3-2 comeback win at home to Inter.
Watch: Sancho under the tactical microscope
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As runners-up in their group, Die Schwarzgelben will face a first-placed team from another section. They cannot face Barcelona again in the next round and teams cannot be drawn against clubs from their own national association.
Possible opponents: Juventus (ITA), Liverpool (ENG), Manchester City (ENG), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Valencia (ESP).
Valencia are the only one of those five Dortmund have never faced competitively. Defending European champions Liverpool are, of course, managed by BVB legend Jürgen Klopp. It was also the Merseyside club Borussia beat in 1966 to become the first German team to win a European trophy with the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
It was Italian champions Juventus that Dortmund overcame in 1997 to win their only Champions League title, while Die Schwarzgelben have previously come across PSG and Manchester City, the French and English champions respectively, in previous European group stages and are yet to suffer defeat.
Leipzig find themselves in the pot for the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in their history after winning a competitive Group G in Julian Nagelsmann’s maiden season in charge.
Thanks to three goals apiece from Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg, as well as a pair from Marcel Sabitzer, Die Roten Bullen won three points in Lisbon against Benfica and did the double over Russian champions Zenit Saint Petersburg. A point in the final game away at Lyon saw Leipzig progress from a European group for the first time.
Watch: Werner: from flying machine to goal machine
As winners of their group, Leipzig will face a runner-up from another section. They cannot face Lyon again in the next round and teams cannot be drawn against clubs from their own national association.
Possible opponents: Atalanta (ITA), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Chelsea (ENG), Napoli (ITA), Real Madrid (ESP), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG).
In just three seasons of European football, Die Roten Bullen are yet to face English or Spanish opposition. The only one of their potential last-16 opponents that they’ve met before are Napoli, who they beat on away goals to progress from the Europa League round of 32 in 2017/18.
Three Bundesliga teams will also compete in the knockout rounds of the Europa League in the New Year. Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt advanced through the group stages of the competition, while Bayer Leverkusen finished third in their Champions League group and therefore take a place in the final 32 of the Europa League.
bundesliga.com looks at who the trio could be drawn against in the upcoming knockout rounds...
Peter Bosz's side were just four points from the knockouts of the Champions League but were always playing catch-up having started their group stage campaign with three defeats - including a loss at home to Lokomotiv Moscow.
Die Werkself followed that up with wins against Atletico Madrid and Lokomotiv to set-up a must-win final game at the BayArena against Juventus, while needing their Spanish rivals to fall to defeat against Lokomotiv. Sadly for Leverkusen, neither of those two things came to fruition.
Possible opponents: Ajax (NED), Arsenal (ENG), Basel (SUI), Benfica (POR), Braga (POR), Celtic (SCO), Espanyol (ESP), Gent (BEL), Inter Milan (ITA), Istanbul Basaksehir (TUR), LASK (AUT), Malmo (SWE), Manchester United (ENG), Porto (POR), Salzburg (AUT), Sevilla (ESP).
Despite finishing second behind Belgian side Gent, it was a cruising experience through the Europa League group stages for Wolfsburg, who had their place in the next round wrapped up before the final match.
Oliver Glasner's Wolves suffered only one defeat along the way - to Olexandriya, who finished bottom of Group I - and came at victorious against each of their group stage opponents once. Wolfsburg's nine goals in six games were scored by seven different players, with Wout Weghorst and Joao Victor the only to score twice.
Watch: How Wout Weghorst leads Wolfsburg
Possible opponents: Ajax (NED), Arsenal (ENG), Basel (SUI), Benfica (POR), Braga (POR), Celtic (SCO), Espanyol (ESP), Inter Milan (ITA), Istanbul Basaksehir (TUR), LASK (AUT), Malmo (SWE), Manchester United (ENG), Porto (POR), Salzburg (AUT), Sevilla (ESP).
The Eagles have taken the next step on the way to repeating their dramatic Europa League run to the competition's semi-finals last season. Having been drawn against last year's finalists Arsenal and beginning their campaign back in July, it wasn't a given that Frankfurt would reach the knockout rounds this year, but Adi Hütter's side did just that, by the skin of their teeth in the end.
In a tightly contested group, Frankfurt finished two points behind Arsenal and just one ahead of Standard Liege to finish second in Group F. A 2-1 win in London away to Arsenal was the sealing point of their place in the next round, thanks to Daichi Kamada's dramatic second half brace.
Possible opponents: Ajax (NED), Basel (SUI), Benfica (POR), Braga (POR), Celtic (SCO), Espanyol (ESP), Gent (BEL), Inter Milan (ITA), Istanbul Basaksehir (TUR), LASK (AUT), Malmo (SWE), Manchester United (ENG), Porto (POR), Salzburg (AUT), Sevilla (ESP).
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