After weeks of matches between Europe’s leading football teams, the Champions League has at last reached the final stages.
The amateurs and minnows have all had their chance to shine against the bigger names that grace the European football stage.
Teams such as New Saints FC, part timers from Wales and Gibraltar’s Lincoln FC, have predictably fallen by the way side while the giants that stand astride soccer have made their way to the lucrative final stages.
Who’s in the draw
The draw of who plays who in the next knock-out round is due on Monday – and these are the teams who will play face each other:
- Group A
Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain qualify. Shakhtar Donetsk go to the Europa League while Malmo are out
- Group B
Wolfsburg and PSV Eindhoven are through, Manchester United go to the Europa League while CSKA Moscow are eliminated
- Group C
Benfica and Atletico Madrid go in the draw, Galatasaray go to the Europa League and Astana are out.
- Group D
Manchester City and Juventus qualify, Sevilla go to the Europa League and Borussia Monchengladbach are out
- Group E
Barcelona and Roma go through, Bayer Leverkusen go to the Europa League and BATE Borisov are out.
- Group F
Arsenal and Bayern Munich go through; Olympiakos are in the Europa League, while Dinamo Zagreb are eliminated.
- Group G
Chelsea and Dynamo Kiev go in the draw, Porto go to the Europa League and Maccabi Tel Aviv are out.
- Group H
Zenit St Petersburg and Gent are through, Valencia go to the Europa League and Lyon are eliminated.
Barcelona are favourites
Complicated rules mean teams are seeded as group winners and runners up. No team can play another club from their own league or group.
So the three British teams cannot play each other, nor can the three Spanish teams in the draw.
Germany and Italy both have two teams through, who cannot play a club from their own country either.
This leaves a limited permutation of teams who can face each other in the next round.
The draw will be streamed live on the Champions League web site.
The matches will be played in February and March.
The latest betting makes Barcelona the favourites, followed by Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
The top goal scorer stakes are between Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Luis Suarez.
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