Newcastle United are proving that they are a competitive Champions League team as they look to progress further in the European top-flight.

Four wins and two draws (plus two defeats) was not enough to ensure that Eddie Howe’s side finished in the top eight spots of the league phase table and a battling 1-1 draw with PSG on the final matchday of the league phase meant both teams entered the play-off stage.

Newcastle were drawn against Qarabag who finished 22nd in the table and Azerbaijani side’s form all but abandoned them in the first leg as Anthony Gordon inspired the Magpies to a 6-1 rout in Baku. Newcastle then finished off the job in the second leg to progress 9-3 on aggregate.

Four wins from their last five matches across all competitions puts Newcastle in good form but will they be strong enough to battle past their opponents in the round of 16?

Coming through the play-off stage means that Newcastle will only face one of two opponents: Chelsea or Barcelona. Those two clubs have been paired together after finishing fifth and sixth in the league phase and will be drawn on opposite sides of the bracket.

• Atletico Madrid 7-4 Club Brugge
• Newcastle 9-3 Qarabag
• Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-0 Olympiacos
• Bodø/Glimt 5–2 Inter Milan
• Galatasaray 7–5 Juventus
• Paris Saint-Germain 5-4 Monaco
• Real Madrid 3-1 Benfica
• Atalanta 4-3 Dortmund

Round of 16: 10/11 & 17/18 March 2026

Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 April 2026

Semi-finals: 28/29 April & 5/6 May 2026

Final: 30 May 2026 (Budapest)

• vs Liverpool or Tottenham

• vs Sporting or Manchester City

• vs Arsenal or Bayern Munich

• vs Tottenham or Liverpool

• vs Manchester City or Sporting CP

Barcelona and Chelsea will be drawn against:

Liverpool and Tottenham will be drawn against:

• Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray

Sporting and Manchester City will be drawn against:

• Bodo/Glimt or Real Madrid

Arsenal and Bayern Munich will be drawn against:

• Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen

The teams have been grouped into seeded couplets according to how they finished in the league phase.

So, for example, Arsenal (who finished top) or Bayern Munich (who finished second) will play Bayer Leverkusen, who defeated Olympiacos, or Atalanta, who knocked out Borussia Dortmund.

The eight teams who progressed automatically from the league phase are seeded and will play the second leg at home in the last-16. The eight teams who progressed from the play-offs are unseeded.

The Champions League last-16 draw will take place in Nyon at 11am GMT (12pm local time) this morning

The draw will be streamed live on Uefa’s website, YouTube channel and Champions League app.

Oh it’s a good day: the Champions League knockout draw for the last-16, quarter-finals and semi-finals takes place this morning.

Five Premier League teams – Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City – had already qualified for the knockout rounds, with Newcastle joining them via the play-offs this week.

The outline of the draw has already been made, with teams grouped into small four-way pools of possible opponents based on their league placings.