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Chelsea have been drawn against Barcelona in the Champions League last-16 stage. Paying the price for finishing second behind Roma in the group phase, the Blues - who were victorious in the competition in the 2011/12 campaign - face a two-legged affair with the side they beat en route to the final that year. Despite losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, the Catalan giants sailed through the group stage and are the current La Liga leaders.

Barca's Coutinho alternative 09.15: Barcelona could turn to Miralem Pjanic as an alternative to Philippe Coutinho. Barca want Coutinho in January but have back up options if Liverpool reject their approaches. Liverpool rejected three offers for Coutinho in the summer and want to hold onto their star man. And Barca could now turn to Juventus ace Pjanic instead. Sturridge ready to leave 07.30: Daniel Sturrridge is ready to move abroad as he looks to get more game time. The Liverpool striker is out in the cold with Jurgen Klopp favouring his ‘Fab Four’ and Dominic Solanke, who started the Merseyside derby. And the Daily Mail claim Sturrridge could move abroad with Valencia and Real Betis monitoring his situation.  The striker, 28, has made just five starts and nine appearances in total in the Premier League, scoring two goals.

Chelsea were paired with Barcelona when the draw for the Round of 16 took place at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland today (Monday). The first leg will take place at home on Tuesday 20 February, kick-off 7.45pm (UK time), and the second leg away is on Wednesday 14 March, kick-off 7.45pm (UK time). We have a big history against Barcelona in the Champions League. Our first meeting in it came in the quarter-finals of the Blues’ maiden season in the competition. Our total of 12 Champions League games against Barca include a pair of two-legged semi-finals, the most recent of which was our famous encounter on the way to winning the trophy in 2012. This season's tie will take Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez back to their former club.  Tickets for the home game will be sold to members on a loyalty points basis, one ticket per member. Full selling information will be published in due course.   The full draw is: Juventus v Tottenham Hotspur Basel v Manchester City Por...

NEYMAR has suggested Kylian Mbappe can become Paris Saint-Germain’s very own Lionel Messi. PSG kept up their 100% record in the Champions League last night with a 4-0 win away at Anderlecht. And both Mbappe and Neymar got on the scoresheet with Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria grabbing the other two. Mbappe scored the opening goal of the night after just three minutes and created history by finding the net. He is now the highest scoring teenager in Champions League history with eight goals - a feat that has never been reached by anyone under the age of 20 in the competition. I hope for Mbappé to be what Messi was for me at Barcelona... he is my friend Neymar And Brazil international Neymar was full of praise for the teenager, claiming he wants to build a similar relationship with the former Monaco star to the bond he had with Messi at Barcelona. "I hope for Mbappé to be what Messi was for me at Barcelona... he is my friend,” Neymar said. Mbappe now has four ...

What was Pique thinking? Although it was a good win for Barcelona,  it was a really poor night for Gerard Pique, who picked up his first ever red card (in 92 appearances) in the Champions League. There was a warning early on when he was yellow carded after just 11 minutes for a cynical foul on Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe. Shortly before half-time he was given his marching orders, after handling the ball over the line from a Gerard Deulofeu cross. Pique went into the game with five yellows from nine matches this season, all of which have been picked up in the first half, and it’s not his first for handball. The defender protested to the officials, but it was absolutely the right call, and it went on to cost Deulofeu as he was substituted at half-time for Javier Macherano. Was Valverde’s half-time substitution the right call? Which brings us neatly on to our second point, was Valverde right to take off Deulofeu for Mascherano at half-time? Deulofeu was actually one of Barc...

Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho has reportedly been promised a winter move to join Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo. Coutinho failed to complete a high profile move to join Barcelona during the summer transfer window despite huge bids from the Catalan giants but nonetheless, the Brazilian international could still join the Spanish giants in January. Recent reports from Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo state that Liverpool had promised Coutinho a January move to join Barcelona in order to keep the playmaker happy and motivated for the season. However, this alleged promise makes little sense as it will not be in the best interest for both teams involved to complete the transfer as big as this in January due to various reasons. From Barcelona’s point of view, the Brazilian will be cup-tied in the Champions League, which means there will be little value in signing a player they cannot feature in their most important competition. In terms of Liverpool’s perspective, it...

Lionel Messi's 'signing bonus' for staying at Barcelona could be as high as a record-breaking £80million ($149m) and the club hope to have a naming-rights sponsor for the Nou Camp as early as next season to help them pay for it. It is normal for clubs to add a signing-on fee or a renewal bonus in contracts but Messi's - estimated to be between £79m and £85m - is believed to be the highest ever. In a special report in Catalan paper L'Ara this week it was claimed Barcelona's wage bill as a percentage of overall revenue is now at 84 per cent, up to £430m, although Messi's contract sweetener is not included in that figure because it's a bonus payment spread across the years of his new deal and not paid as part of his wage. Barca are hopeful of announcing a new Nike deal next year as they try to further boost revenue to meet the wages and bonuses bill and the Nou Camp could have a sponsor's name added to it for the new season. Work on the 'Ne...