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The business end of the Champions League starts here. The draw for the round-of-16 has been made, and there's a bunch of intriguing clashes as teams plot their way to the Kiev final on May 26. Here, correspondents covering the remaining 16 teams give their verdict on the clash awaiting their team in the first knockout round, with Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain arguably the highlight. Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain REAL MADRID Real Madrid will not be happy to have got Paris Saint Germain -- especially with Roma and Besiktas the other two options at that point in the draw. PSG gained plenty of respect at the Bernabeu with their performances in group stage meetings two seasons ago, and of course last summer's world record signing of longtime Madrid target Neymar has now confirmed their status as a serious challenger. Madrid's Galacticos tend to rise to the occasion and play their best against the top teams, and they will probably need to now. -- Dermot Corrigan  PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN Of all of the potential Champions League draws PSG could have received, Real Madrid was arguably the one they wanted the least. The defending champions present a stiff challenge for PSG but they are not unbeatable and it is in the Ligue 1 leaders' favour they will meet at Bernabeu first before a Parc des Princes return -- unlike last season's second leg in Barcelona. Real are a tough test for PSG but one they can pass with their firepower. Plus, considering how complacency appeared to be an issue for the French capital outfit ahead of the trip to Germany to face Bayern in the group stages, a challenging round-of-16 tie was arguably needed. Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani and Neymar need to step up. -- Jonathan Johnson Chelsea vs. Barcelona CHELSEA It's fair to say that Chelsea and Barcelona have history. The two clubs have been drawn together six times in the Champions League era and five in the knockout stage, with Barcelona advancing three times and Chelsea triumphing twice. The Blues, though, revel in their status as something as a bogey team for the Catalan giants. Lionel Messi, remarkably, has never scored against Chelsea in his career, famously crashing a penalty off the crossbar in April 2012 before Fernando Torres streaked away to send Roberto Di Matteo's men into the Champions League final. Antonio Conte will hope to see the same Chelsea resilience -- and good fortune -- in a Camp Nou second leg this time around. -- Liam Twomey  BARCELONA Chelsea is not the draw Barcelona wanted, but it's one they were always going to get. There was a 43 percent chance of them being paired with Conte's side, and the draw didn't disappoint. Barca will be slightly disappointed, mind. They would have preferred Basel, Shakhtar Donetsk or Besiktas, but they will, at least, be happy to avoid Bayern Munich. Unbeaten in 23 games in all competitions, they will also back themselves to beat Chelsea. By the time of the first leg at Stamford Bridge in February, record-signing Ousmane Dembele should have settled back into the team, easing the burden on Messi. -- Sam Marsden Sevilla vs. Manchester United SEVILLA In good form in La Liga until last weekend's 5-0 hammering at the hands of Real Madrid, the Spanish side will not be pleased to face Jose Mourinho and Manchester United. Their defensive issues were shown twice against Liverpool, but so was their resolve to come back and fight -- with Wissam Ben Yedder and Ganso thrust into the spotlight for this clash. Nolito and Jesus Navas, formerly of United's rivals Manchester City, will relish this tie and may have the inside track on how to deal with Mourinho's tactics. -- ESPN staff  MAN UNITED Mourinho will be delighted to draw Sevilla. With Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus all possibilities, as well as a long trip to Shakhtar Donetsk, he will have had his eye on either Porto or Sevilla. He got what he wanted. With the Premier League title slipping away after defeat to Manchester City, the Champions League offers the chance of a big trophy in a competition he knows how to win. United will expect to get past Sevilla over two legs. And once you're in the quarterfinals, anything can happen. Mourinho said after securing qualification to the knockout rounds that Europe's top teams would not want to face United and that's true. But he will be thrilled to put off a meeting with the heavyweights. He could not have asked for more. -- Rob Dawson Juventus vs. Tottenham JUVENTUS Juve will rely on their greater experience in the knockout stages, particularly in recent years, to see them through. "I don't care much about who we face right now -- we'll be ready for anybody in February," Massimiliano Allegri said prior to the draw, confident his side, who have not yet hit top gear in Serie A or in Europe this season, will do just that after the winter break. He is struggling to get the best out of Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala together, with both alternating their best form, but he has two months to fine tune them and perhaps find another tactical innovation, as he did ahead of last year's knockout stage when he masterminded Mario Mandzukic's move out wide in a 4-2-3-1 formation. -- Mina Rzouki  TOTTENHAM Mauricio Pochettino said he wanted one of the "big teams," and he has his wish. The Old Lady have been the beaten finalists twice in the last three years and they are desperate to convert their domestic dominance to Europe after losing to Barcelona in 2015 and Real Madrid last season. Spurs should fear no-one after finishing the group stage with more points than anyone else and they are at home in the second leg, which is usually considered an advantage. They have excelled at Wembley in the biggest games, beating Real and Borussia Dortmund 3-1 there in the group stage, but it will be different over two legs, particularly if Juventus keep a clean sheet in Turin. -- Dan Kilpatrick Bayern Munich vs. Besiktas  BAYERN MUNICH Having had a 57 percent chance of drawing a Premier League club, Bayern Munich will be happy to avoid both Manchester clubs as well as Spurs and Liverpool. One of the last balls drawn by Xabi Alonso; it was either Barcelona or Besiktas, so the German champions will be positively ecstatic to avoid Messi & Co. Bayern will be strong favourites to progress against unfancied Besiktas -- the group winners every other side secretly wanted to face -- however Jupp Heynckes will warn against underestimating the Turkish champions who beat the second best side in Germany RB Leipzig home and away in the group stages. -- Mark Lovell  BESIKTAS Flying high in Europe and Turkey, the Istanbul club will have no fear about facing one of Europe's elite. With the experienced Pepe and Gary Medel patrolling at the back, Bayern will be up against a solid defence and confidence could make the difference in the end. Besiktas don't have the overall squad depth of their opposition, but if they can continue their fine form then Bayern have already shown themselves to be vulnerable so far this season. -- ESPN staff Porto vs. Liverpool PORTO After a lean four-year spell, Porto look rejuvenated this season under new coach Sergio Conceicao. The former Porto and Portugal ace was a brilliant but volatile winger and he has brought an equally fiery and attacking attitude to his managerial career. With the coffers empty and forced to sell in the summer, nobody expected Conceicao to make such a positive and immediate impact. The all-out attacking style has particularly benefited Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar (20 goals in 22 matches in all competitions this season) and the extravagantly talented winger Yacine Brahimi. Porto are lots of fun to watch at the moment and a match against Liverpool promises rich entertainment. -- Tom Kundert  LIVERPOOL Liverpool's high-scoring results in the group stages will have caught the attention of many teams and Jurgen Klopp's side should more than fancy themselves to come out on top against Porto over two matches. Should Liverpool be on the receiving end of a poor result in Portugal, the fact the second leg is at Anfield could be a significant factor. -- Glenn Price Basel vs. Manchester City BASEL Coached by stylish former Swiss international Raphael Wicky, Basel claimed second spot in Group A with four wins and two defeats. Among the highlights were a 5-0 thrashing of Benfica and a 1-0 win over group winners Manchester United, courtesy of right-back Michael Lang's late strike. Lang's defensive colleague Manuel Akanji has stood out with his composed performances at the back, while 20-year-old forward Dimitri Oberlin, on loan from Red Bull Salzburg, has claimed four goals in his first Champions League campaign. With Taulant Xhaka patrolling the midfield, a Basel side packed with young talent will hope to pose a threat to Manchester City and provide a thorough examination of their Champions League credentials when Pep Guardiola's side visit St. Jakob-Park. -- Matt Stanger  MAN CITY City will be delighted to have drawn Swiss champions Basel and avoid the European heavyweights. Basel were the lowest ranked side of the teams that City could have faced and have not reach the last eight since 1974. However, Basel beat Manchester United in the group stages as well as Benfica 5-0 and have a huge threat in striker Oberlin. But City will be overwhelming favourites to reach the quarterfinals for just the second time in their history. -- Jonathan Smith Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Roma SHAKHTAR DONETSK The Ukrainian champions are relatively happy with the draw. Roma would be considered favourites to progress, but they were one of the more comfortable seeded options available, and Shakhtar happen to have extremely good memories of their previous meetings. Led by Mircea Lucescu, they reached the Champions League quarterfinals in the 2010-11 season by beating the Giallorossi at this stage. The 3-1 victory in the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico, with first half goals by Jadson, Luiz Adriano and Douglas Costa, is remembered as one of the most famous Shakhtar wins in Europe, and the Italians were soundly beaten 3-0 in the second leg, with Willian scoring a brace. Brazilians were calling the shots then, and a different set will be desperate to emulate their predecessors, with Taison, Marlos, Bernardo, Ismaily and Fred starring for Paulo Fonseca's side. Darijo Srna, Andriy Pyatov and Yaroslav Rakitskiy remain in the squad from 2011. Roma are the only Italian opposition Shakhtar have ever managed to beat on aggregate. -- Michael Yokhin  ROMA With three matches left to draw, Roma had a 66 percent chance of being paired with either Barcelona or Bayern Munich, so Giallorossi fans will be more than happy with getting Shakhtar, who might be a fine side but are far from being one of Europe's elite. Roma will also benefit from the fact that the Ukrainian league shuts down from Dec. 10 until Feb. 17, meaning that Roma will be way ahead in match fitness and preparation. Napoli showed that you can't take Shakhtar lightly in losing their opening group game in Ukraine 2-1, but also that they are eminently beatable -- they were hammered 3-0 in Naples, where both Manchester City and Real Madrid both recently won. The feeling is definitely one of relief. -- Terry Daley
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