Champions League Draw: LIVE

20 December 2012 08:56

The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw is upon us!

11:37 - Representing Real Madrid CF at the draw, the club's legendary former striker Emilio Butragueño said of his team's pairing with Manchester United FC:

It will be a thrilling experience for everyone. Manchester United are not only a great team but a great organisation known around the world. We are happy for that, we have a great relationship with them. But we know it's going to be tough, Sir Alex Ferguson has been there over 25 years and he's a fantastic manager – he knows how to get the best out of his players and they have top players, but we are Real Madrid and we will try our best.

[On Cristiano Ronaldo] I am sure it will be a special game for him. He's a great professional. I'm sure he's going to do his best to help us qualify. It's going to very, very special for him.

[On the José Mourinho meeting Sir Alex Ferguson again] I know they have a great relationship. We are very happy with him and I hope he's going to lead the team to the Champions League [title] to make our fans feel proud of the team.

This tie is going to be difficult. The Champions League is the most prestigious club competition in the world. Playing against Manchester United is going to be another factor for our players. They will think "I want to show what I'm made of" [against such lauded opponents]. It's very important for us to get our injured players back but the first leg is two months away so I hope we will be at our best and I hope we will be on form. It's unpredictable.

11:28 - FC Bayern München chairman Karl Heinz Rummenigge has spoken: "I think we enter his match as the slight favourites, but we can be making the mistake of underestimating them. Arsenal have struggled at times in the league over the last few months, which a look upon the standings in the Premier League will tell you. But by no means will this be an easy game for us. I look forward to our game in London and back home in Munich.

Lukas Podolski as a former Bayern player is certainly a familiar face. I hope that we can be as successful as Schalke were in London, where they managed to secure a 2-0 victory. We want to set the foundations with a good performance in London, that would make things easier for us in our home game. I wouldn’t call this a lucky draw, but one that we can overcome. I look forward to seeing my old friend Arsène Wenger and I hope that we can reach the next round.

11:16 - After drawing FC Barcelona, AC Milan sporting director Umberto Gandini said: "Last season we faced them twice [the group stage and quarter-finals], this time only once fortunately. We are now used to play in Catalonia. We are all very close to Tito Vilanova and his family and we wish him all the best for his surgery. We hope he will be on the bench against us. We are improving and I'm sure we will continue to do so until February. We face a perfect machine even if they had more problems than usual this season in the group stage. Let's just hope we will qualify this time around. This is the highest hurdle we could face but if we manage to pass it we can go all the way.”

11:10 - There is reaction in already from Celtic FC manager Neil Lennon. He told Sky Sports:"We believe that over two games anything is possible. Juventus are littered with world-class stars and have been great for 18 months or so now but we’ve been pretty good too. The draw could have been kinder, but it could have been worse."

10:57 - What games are you most looking forward to seeing?

10:55 - Wow! Some amazing games to come out of that draw... Real Madrid V Manchester United! The return of Cristiano Ronaldo.

10:52 - Porto V Malaga

10:51 - Valencia V Paris Saint Germain

10:50 - Real Madrid V Manchester United

10:49 - AC Milan V FC Barcelona

10:47 - Shakhtar Donetsk V Borussia Dortmund

10:47 - Arsenal V Bayern Munich

10:46 - Celtic V Juventus

10:45 - Galatasaray V Schalke

10:36 - The draw ceremony is under way...UEFA.com Kevin Ashby is in the draw hall and will be tweeting all the choicest morsels.

10:27 - The balls are ready and waiting...

10:05 - Hello and welcome to UEFA.com’s live coverage of the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw. Proceedings get under way at 10:30 GMT, so stay here for all the build-up.

Two seeding pots have been formed: one consisting of group winners and the other of runners-up. Seeded group winners will be away in the round of 16 first legs on 12/13 and 19/20 February and at home in the return matches on 5/6 and 12/13 March. No team can play a club from their group or any side from their own association. The draw will be conducted by UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino and UEFA director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti, assisted by final ambassador Steve McManaman.

Below we have the group winners as well as the runner-ups, their history in the competition and the people they could be paired up against.

Group winners

A: Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)

Can play: Arsenal, Milan, Madrid, Shakhtar, Valencia, Celtic, Galatasaray
Qualified as: runners-up, France
Last season: UEFA Europa League, group stage
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 4
Previous European Cup best: semi-finals

B: FC Schalke 04 (GER)

Can play: Porto, Milan, Madrid, Shakhtar, Valencia, Celtic, Galatasaray
Qualified as: third place, Germany
Last season: UEFA Europa League, quarter-finals
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 4
Previous European Cup best: semi-finals

C: Málaga CF (ESP)

Can play: Porto, Arsenal, Shakhtar, Celtic, Galatasaray
Last season: N/A
Qualified as: fourth place, Spain
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: none
Previous European Cup best: N/A

D: Borussia Dortmund (GER)

Can play: Porto, Arsenal, Milan, Shakhtar, Valencia, Celtic, Galatasaray
Qualified as: champions, Germany
Last season: group stage
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 5
Previous European Cup best: winners x 1

E: Juventus (ITA)

Can play: Porto, Arsenal, Madrid, Valencia, Celtic, Galatasaray
Qualified as: champions, Italy
Last season: N/A
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 12
Previous European Cup best: winners x 2

F: FC Bayern München (GER)

Can play: Porto, Arsenal, Milan, Madrid, Shakhtar, Celtic, Galatasaray
Qualified as: runners-up, Germany
Last season: runners-up
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 15
Previous European Cup best: winners x 4

G: FC Barcelona (ESP)

Can play: Porto, Arsenal, Milan, Shakhtar, Galatasaray
Qualified as: runners-up, Spain
Last season: semi-finals
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 16
Previous European Cup best: winners x 4

H: Manchester United FC (ENG)

Can play: Porto, Milan, Madrid, Shakhtar, Valencia, Celtic
Qualified as: runners-up, England
Last season: group stage/UEFA Europa League, round of 16
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 17
Previous European Cup best: winners x 3

Runners-up

A: FC Porto (POR)

Can play: Schalke, Málaga, Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern, Barcelona, Manchester United
Qualified as: champions, Portugal
Last season: group stage/UEFA Europa League, round of 32
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 16
Previous European Cup best: winners x 2

B: Arsenal FC (ENG)

Can play: PSG, Málaga, Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern, Barcelona
Qualified as: third place, England
Last season: round of 16
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 14
Previous European Cup best: runners-up

C: AC Milan (ITA)

Can play: PSG, Schalke, Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona, Manchester United
Qualified as: runners-up, Italy
Last season: quarter-finals
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 15
Previous European Cup best: winners x 7

D: Real Madrid CF (ESP)

Can play: PSG, Schalke, Juventus, Bayern, Manchester United
Qualified as: champions, Spain
Last season: semi-finals
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 16
Previous European Cup best: winners x 9

E: FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

Can play: PSG, Schalke, Málaga, Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona, Manchester United
Qualified as: champions, Ukrainev
Last season: group stage
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 7
Previous European Cup best: quarter-finals

F: Valencia CF (ESP)

Can play: PSG, Schalke, Dortmund, Juventus, Manchester United
Qualified as: third place, Spain
Last season: group stage/UEFA Europa League, semi-finals
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 8
Previous European Cup best: runners-up

G: Celtic FC (SCO)

Can play: PSG, Schalke, Málaga, Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern, Manchester United
Qualified as: champions, Scotland
Last season: UEFA Europa League group stage
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 6
Previous European Cup best: winners x 1

H: Galatasaray AŞ (TUR)

Can play: PSG, Schalke, Málaga, Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern, Barcelona
Qualified as: champions, Turkey
Last season: N/A
Previous seasons in UEFA Champions League: 10
Previous European Cup best: semi-finals

Source: DSG