Madrid-Man City, PSG-Chelsea rematches headline Champions League last 16

The Champions League spherical of 16 begins on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) with blockbuster rematches, groups ending lengthy absences from this stage and the feelgood story of newcomer Bodø/Glimt.

Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday (March 11, 2026) hosts a Chelsea crew which final July stopped the Champions League winner including the Membership World Cup title.

Actual Madrid hosts Manchester Metropolis for the second time this season and the fifth straight 12 months within the knockout rounds. In three of these years, the winner went on to raise the trophy.

Madrid-Man Metropolis is also one in every of three spherical of 16 pairings that already performed a couple of months in the past within the opening league section.

Again in September, Galatasaray beat Liverpool in Istanbul and Barcelona left Newcastle with all three factors.

Galatasaray and Newcastle are taking part in Champions League video games in March for the primary time in, respectively, 12 and 23 years. Atalanta hosts Bayern Munich 5 years since final reaching the spherical of 16.

Bodø/Glimt has ended Norway’s 29-year wait to be represented this deep within the competitors, when Rosenborg superior to the quarterfinals from a smaller 16-team group stage.

Bodø/Glimt now hosts Sporting Lisbon on its synthetic turf area contained in the Arctic Circle the place Man Metropolis and Inter Milan each had been overwhelmed 3-1 in current months.

The forecast temperature at kickoff is 3 Celsius (37 Fahrenheit) within the Norwegian Sea fishing city.

Mbappé vs. Haaland?

Pep Guardiola’s crew already gained on the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in December. Erling Haaland’s penalty earlier than half time settled a 2-1 win as Madrid’s famous person ahead Kylian Mbappé stayed on the bench.

Mbappé is a doubt once more for Wednesday due to a pressure damage in his left knee.

“It is beneath management, on daily basis he is higher,” Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa stated final week. “Proper now, it is all excellent news.” There are simply six days between the primary leg and the return sport in Manchester, although Mbappé and Haaland have one other probability to satisfy this season.

On the World Cup, France performs Norway within the last spherical of Group I video games June 26 on the New England Patriots’ stadium close to Boston.

Champions duel

PSG vs. Chelsea has the texture of a real Champions League rivalry although it’s 10 years since they met within the competitors.

That was additionally within the spherical of 16 when the coaches in 2016 had been Laurent Blanc and Guus Hiddink respectively. A PSG crew that includes Zlatan Ibrahimovic gained dwelling and away in what was the third straight 12 months the golf equipment met within the knockout section.

Their most up-to-date assembly eight months in the past was a shock 3-0 win for Chelsea — then coached by Enzo Maresca — at MetLife Stadium close to New York impressed by Cole Palmer.

Chelsea’s coach is now Liam Rosenior who began the season as a French league rival of PSG at Strasbourg.

European last historical past

Simply one of many eight pairings this week is a rematch of any UEFA last for the reason that European Cup began in 1955. Few will recollect it.

The 1963 European Cup-Winners’ Cup last was a 5-1 win for Tottenham over Atletico Madrid performed in Rotterdam. Additionally it is the one time they beforehand met.

There may be some familiarity for Tottenham as a result of Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium is the place the North London membership misplaced the 2019 Champions League last in opposition to Liverpool.

Atletico gained simply one in every of its final 10 UEFA competitors matches in opposition to English opponents, although on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) hosts the Sixteenth-place crew within the Premier League having a chaotic season.

Tottenham’s interim coach Igor Tudor is the membership’s twelfth completely different full- or part-time rent since Atletico received Diego Simeone greater than 14 years in the past.

Unfortunate prime spot?

Ending prime within the 36-team standings didn’t work out one 12 months in the past for Liverpool, which was eradicated within the spherical of 16 by PSG.

Arsenal led the way in which this time because the top-seeded crew paired within the bracket with Sixteenth-seeded Bayer Leverkusen, which hosts the primary leg Wednesday. The bottom-ranked crew left within the competitors is Bodø/Glimt, which squeezed into the knockout playoffs in twenty third place.