Nyon: Holders Barcelona will play Bayer Leverkusen while strongly-tipped Bayern Munich will face Basel in the Champions League Round of 16 following the draw on Friday.

Seven-time champions AC Milan will face Arsenal in one of two Italian-English ties with Napoli, in the knockout rounds for the first time, facing Chelsea. Arsenal have advanced on all eight occasions when they have met Italian teams in the knockout rounds.

Real Madrid, seeking to become European champions for a 10th time, were given a trip to icy Russia in February when they drew CSKA Moscow — something their arch-rivals Barcelona were happy to avoid.

“We got Bayer, well, perfect. All the teams have their positives and negatives. Like all things in life, you can focus on the rough and the smooth,” said Barcelona president Sandro Rosell.

“With the Russian teams, for example, we preferred not to get one of them due to the plane trip, the fact you have to travel a day earlier and the cold, but, on the other hand they are in pre-season.”

Barca’s sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta told reporters: “German teams are always tough. I have always liked German football. They have stadiums that are full of passion, emotion and young people and it seems to me an excellent place to go and play.”

Bayer Leverkusen sports director Rudi Voeller said: “We are playing against the defending champions and are of course the clear outsiders. Both for our fans and young players, this is a dream draw... Everyone must play their best and Barcelona could have a bad day.”

Bayern, who beat FC Basel home and away in last year’s group stage, refused to take Basel lightly after the Swiss champions qualified at Manchester United’s expense.

“If we remain focused and play with full force then we have a good chance to move into the quarter finals,” said Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

(Agencies)

Champions League

First leg — February 14-15, 21-22

Lyon vs APOEL Nicosia; Napoli vs Chelsea; AC Milan vs Arsenal; FC Basel vs Bayern Munich; Bayer Leverkusen vs Barcelona; CSKA Moscow vs Real Madrid; Zenit St Petersburg vs Benfica; Marseille vs Inter Milan (Italy)

Second leg — March 6-7,

13-14

APOEL Nicosia vs Lyon; Chelsea vs Napoli; Arsenal vs AC Milan; Bayern Munich vs FC Basel; Barcelona vs Bayer; Real Madrid vs CSKA Moscow; Benfica vs Zenit St Petersburg; Inter vs Marseille

Europa League

(Round of 32)

Porto vs City; Ajax v United; Lokomotiv Moscow vs Athletic Bilbao; Salzburg vs Metalist Kharkiv; Stoke City vs Valencia; Rubin Kazan vs Olympiakos Piraeus; AZ Alkmaar vs Anderlecht; Lazio vs Atletico Madrid; Steaua Bucharest vs Twente Enschede; Viktoria Plzen vs Schalke 04; Wisla Krakow vs Standard Liege; Braga vs Besiktas; Udinese vs PAOK Salonika; Trabzonspor vs PSV Eindhoven; Hanover 96 vs Club Bruges; Legia Warsaw vs Sporting

First legs on February 16, second legs on February 23