Nyon ready for Champions League quarter finals draw

Nyon is the venue on Friday at 12.00pm CET for the draw for the Champions League quarter finals, and Barça are one of the eight teams hanging on the outcome after reaching the last eight for the ninth time in a row. The Catalans have not been absent from the quarters since 2008, and are about to learn what the next hurdle will be on the path to the final in Milan.

It will be a straight draw, with no seeding or conditions based on nationality or previous meetings, and home advantage in the second leg will also be totally random. So Barça could meet any of the seven teams that made it out of the last sixteen.

Five different leagues are represented. The Spanish Liga leads the way with three teams, with Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid joining Barça in the draw. The German Bundesliga has Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, the Premier League features Manchester City, France’s Ligue 1 has Paris Saint-Germain and finally there is Benfica of the Portuguese Primeira Liga.

Two seasons ago, Barça faced Man City and Atlético Madrid in the first two knockout rounds, and last year they met Man City followed by PSG, and then Bayern in the semis, so there are plenty of familiar rivals.

“The only team I wouldn’t want to play is Barça” said Luis Enrique after getting past Arsenal on Wednesday. And he has every reason to feel confident, for he has yet to lose a two-legged tie in any competition since taking over as first team manager.

But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. Whichever side Barça are drawn against, they can expect a severe