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What's the story?
The Champions League over the past few years has been dominated by the Spanish and German clubs with Juventus managing to reach two finals in between.
Since Chelsea's famous triumph in 2012 at the Allianz Arena, no English club has managed to reach the final.
However, this time things are looking bright for the Premier League clubs with as many as five teams reaching the round of 16; a record, as never before have so many clubs from the same country managed to reach the knockout stages.
While Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester city qualified directly, Liverpool had to get the better of Hoffenheim over a two-legged tie to qualify. Manchester United qualified by winning the Europa League last season, making it 5 English teams in the group stages.
How the draw is made
The draw for the round of 16 will be made on the 11 December 2017. According to the rules of the draw, all group winners will face a runner-up team from the group stage, with the added stipulation that teams from the same nation or from the same group cannot face each other.
While Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspurs, Liverpool and Manchester City all topped their respective groups Chelsea could only manage a second place finish.
How the draw is likely to look like
Manchester United: United topped their group and will face one of Bayern Munich, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Porto or Real Madrid in the round of 16.
Liverpool: Liverpool's likely opponents are FC Basel, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk, Porto or Real Madrid.
Manchester City: Manchester City will be facing one of FC Basel, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Sevilla, FC Porto or Real Madrid
Tottenham Hotspurs: They will meet one out of meet FC Basel, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk or FC Porto.
Chelsea: Chelsea finished second in their group and with all the other English clubs finishing first, their probable number of opponents is significantly less. They will face one out of- Barcelona, PSG or Besiktas.
The group winners have the added advantage of being able to play the first leg away and the second leg at home. The first legs will take place on 13-14 and 20-21 February 2018, while the second legs will take place on 6-7 and 13-14 March 2018.
Author's Take
After years of underperforming in the Champions League, this is perhaps the best chance for English clubs to regain their lost glory in Europe's premier tournament.
Four English clubs have made it to the quarterfinals before; in 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively and, this might be the best chance to go one better.
