Newcastle United ran out 6-1 winners in the first leg of their Champions League knockout playoff tie with Qarabag.
The question heading into Tuesday’s return at St James’ Park was whether Eddie Howe’s side might trouble the all-time record win for a two-legged tie in the competition proper.
A 3-2 win on the night meant the record books were not troubled, but attention had long turned towards who Newcastle might face in the Round of 16.
Here, we look through the permutations for the Magpies.
Champions League Round of 16 bracket, explained
In the new Champions League format, which follows what is known as the Swiss Model, the knockout-stage bracket is largely predetermined by final league-phase positions.
In the Champions League Round of 16, the eight winners from the knockout playoffs are drawn against the top eight finishers from the league phase, again according to those final positions.
The matchups are as follows:
- 1st & 2nd in league phase vs. winner of 15/16 vs. 17/18
- 3rd & 4th in league phase vs. winner of 13/14 vs. 19/20
- 5th & 6th in league phase vs. winner of 11/12 vs. 21/22
- 7th & 8th in league phase vs. winner of 9/10 vs. 23/24
Who can Newcastle play in Champions League Round of 16?
Newcastle will play either Barcelona or Premier League rivals Chelsea in the Champions League Round of 16.
This is because they finished 12th in the league phase table and were drawn to face 22nd-place Qarabag. The winner of Newcastle’s playoff will then face Barcelona (fifth in the league phase) or Chelsea (sixth in the league phase) in the next round.
Whichever of those sides doesn’t draw Newcastle will take on the winner of the all-Ligue 1 playoff tie between Monaco and reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Newcastle shared a 2-2 draw when they faced Chelsea at St James’ Park this season, a match they led 2-0. They travel to face the Blues at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on March 14, a fixture that would fall directly in between any last-16 games between the clubs on March 10/11 and March 17/18.
Howe’s side hosted Barcelona in their opening league phase match this season and went down 2-1 to a Marcus Rashford brace.
Possible opponents for every team in Round of 16
| Team (league-phase pos.) | Possible opponents |
| Arsenal (1st) | Atalanta/Borussia Dortmund or Bayer Leverkusen/Olympiacos |
| Bayern Munich (2nd) | Atalanta/Borussia Dortmund or Bayer Leverkusen/Olympiacos |
| Liverpool (3rd) | Juventus/Galatasaray or Atletico Madrid/Club Brugge |
| Tottenham Hotspur (4th) | Juventus/Galatasaray or Atletico Madrid/Club Brugge |
| Barcelona (5th) | Monaco/Paris Saint-Germain or Newcastle United/Qarabag |
| Chelsea (6th) | Monaco/Paris Saint-Germain or Newcastle United/Qarabag |
| Sporting CP (7th) | Inter Milan/Bodo/Glimt or Real Madrid/Benfica |
| Manchester City (8th) | Inter Milan/Bodo/Glimt or Real Madrid/Benfica |
