Internet Desk: Arsenal will face Barcelona at the Emirates Stadium tonight in the Champions League Round of 16 clash.
Arsenal, who finished second in Group F behind Bayern Munich, is the only team alongside Real Madrid to have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League every season since the new format in 2003/04. They have however been knocked out in the last 16 in each of the last five seasons.
Barcelona, who finished top of Group E ahead of Roma, have made it to the knockout stages of the Champions League for the 12th consecutive campaign. They have reached the semi-finals in seven of the last eight campaigns. The only exception was in 2013/14 season, when they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona has won the Champions League in four of the last 10 seasons. No other team has won it more than once in the same period. They could become the first team since AC Milan to win back-to-back European Cup/Champions League titles. The Rossoneri did it in 1989 & 1990.
In the last 5 meetings in the Champions League from 2006-2011, Arsenal could only beat Barca once and once the match ended in a 2-2 draw in 2010.
On the other hand, Juventus will host Bayern at the Juventus Stadium, Torino. Both sides have a rich European pedigree, with two-time winners Juve making the final last season while Bayern beat the Italian giants en route to their fifth continental success in 2012-13.
Juventus, who finished second in Group D behind Manchester City, have made it to the knockout stages of the Champions League in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2005/06.
Bayern Munich, who finished top in Group F ahead of Arsenal, had reached the knockout stages of the Champions League for the 8th consecutive campaign. They’ve made it to the semi-finals in five of the last six seasons.
Juventus and Bayern Munich’s only previous encounter in the knockout stages of the Champions League saw the Bavarian side progress 4-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the 2012/13 edition.
In the last 5 meetings in the Champions League from 2005-13, Bayern have won the last 3 while the other two clashes were a win for Juventus and both the sides sharing points.