Bayer and Barca

The draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League has been completed at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, with Bundesliga sides Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen set to face off against Basel and Spanish giants Barcelona, respectively.

The teams play each other twice, in home and away fixtures, and Leverkusen certainly have an uphill battle against the defending Champions League titleholders. Leverkusen's coach, Robin Dutt, said he was looking forward to the challenge.

"As a player and a coach, you hope for your whole career to be able to measure yourself against the best," Dutt said after the draw.

"It's to our advantage that we play at home first. They've lost five games out of 16 in the Spanish league, and we'll be studying those losses very carefully."

The team's striker, Andre Schürrle, echoed his coach's sentiment with a little more enthusiasm via Twitter: "What a great draw ;)) People, that's simply going to be awesome!!!"

Bayern eye next round

Bayern Munich's opponent, FC Basel, is seen as a much more manageable task for the four-time Champions League winners. Basel did, however, manage to get the best of last year's runner-up, Manchester United, and eliminate them in the group stage.

"Basel is a doable task," said Bayern's coach, Jupp Heynckes. "But we can't forget that this team made it through a tough group."

Munich is set to host the final of the competition in May.

The rest of the pairings for the Champions League are as follows: Lyon vs. APOEL Nicosia, Napoli vs. Chelsea, AC Milan vs. Arsenal, CSKA Moscow vs. Real Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg  vs. Benfica, and Marseille vs. Inter Milan.

The exact dates of each fixture are yet to be determined, but the first leg will be spread out over February 14-15 and 21-22.

Europa League

In the draw for the round of 32 of the Europa League competition, Schalke was paired with Czech side Pilsen. Hannover will face Club Bruges, which is coached by Germany's Christoph Daum.

"I'm looking forward to meeting up against Christoph Daum," said Hannover's coach, Mirko Slomka. "Bruges is doing well with him at the helm."

Manchester United, who automatically entered the Europa League round of 32 after being bounced from the Champions League, faces Dutch side Ajax in one of the better matchups of the first knockout round.

The defending champions, Porto, have drawn Manchester City, who were also booted from the Champions League, and Valencia takes on Stoke City.

The first legs of the Europa League round of 32 take place on February 16, and the second legs a week later on February 23.

Author: Matt Zuvela (dpa, AP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler