Pellegrini record against Barcelona grim reading for Man City prospects

On every previous instance that the Premier League has seen four teams qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, at least one has gone on to reach the final.

However, there is more than a real possibility that the Premier League won’t be represented in the quarter finals of the competition this season, as all four clubs could have been given better last-16 draws.

It is 40/1 that all four English teams are eliminated from the Champions League at the last-16 stage, with Manchester City and Arsenal clearly having the hardest tasks to progress, which is unsurprising as they are the pair that failed to top their groups.

Man City have been drawn against Barcelona and in his last 12 meetings with the Catalan giants, the best Manuel Pellegrini has mustered from his spells at Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga in this period is two draws.

Barcelona are 1/2 to qualify from the tie, with Man City 13/8. As Man City play at home first, much will largely come down to how Barca get on at the Etihad.

Meanwhile, it will be hoped that Man City sporting director Txiki Beguiristain and co can be of assistance in plotting the downfall of Barcelona, given their ties with the club.

Jerome Boateng believes that Bayern Munich have been handed the worst draw available to them by being paired with Arsenal, but the Premier League leaders are still the heavy underdogs to progress.

Bayern knocked Arsenal out on away goals at this stage last season and are 2/7 to reach the quarter finals again, while the Gunners can be backed at 11/4 to qualify.

Many Manchester United fans will be fairly content with a last-16 encounter with Olympiakos, but it is worth mentioning that PSG are the only team to have beaten the Greek league leaders in any competition this season.

Olympiakos have won all of their last three home meetings with English opposition too and are 7/2 to qualify at the expense of Man Utd here, with the Red Devils 1/5 to go through.

The return of Didier Drogba to Stamford Bridge will be the big talking point as Chelsea were drawn alongside Galatasaray and on paper, Jose Mourinho looks to have the best chance of ensuring a Premier League team reach the quarter finals.