TUESDAY POLL: Manchester City to draw on wins over Roma and Bayern as they face Barca

City scraped through their group behind Bayern Munich, and so were not seeded for the knockout stages, while Chelsea were paired against French champions Paris St Germain and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be reunited with his former club Monaco.

Manuel Pellegrini’s men were beaten by Barca at the same stage last season, losing at home and away with a man sent off in each tie.

However, after coming through against the odds from Group E after winning a decisive final game against Roma, which followed on from a memorable 3-2 victory over Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium, Begiristain sees no reason why City should not have confidence against a club he knows well having served at the Nou Camp as both a player and director.

“Every tie in that draw is the same, it is fantastic, so we are looking forward to it,” he said.

“We have plenty of confidence with the way we qualified beating Bayern Munich at home and Roma away, so the players will be working hard to get fit and arrive in confidence for those games.

“We have improved our squad from last season and we have some real quality up front.”

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique says the Spanish club expect nothing less than the sternest of tests from the Premier League champions.

“Playing in February against a team like Manchester City, it will be key to go into the game in top form,” he said.

“I always think positively and I am just thinking of winning the tie against Manchester City.

“We will look for a win by playing well, but there are games where you can’t play the way you want to.”

Wenger had joked he would “go to church” ahead of the draw in Nyon, Switzerland, hoping for a change in fortune having been paired with Bayern for the past two seasons.

The footballing gods appeared to be smiling on the Gunners, as Monaco were considered one of the weaker seeds, having come through Group C ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, but scoring 
just four goals – two of those coming in the final tie with Zenit St Petersburg.

Arsenal’s German playmaker Mesut Ozil could be fit from a knee problem in time to make the trip to the Principality, with the second leg set for March 17.

Chelsea’s opponents PSG lie second in Ligue 1 this season, and were runners-up to Barca in Group F with their only defeat coming at the Nou Camp.

Jose Mourinho’s side defeated PSG in last season’s quarter-finals, winning through on away goals.

Chelsea club secretary David Barnard said: “All the teams in the draw are there by merit and PSG are no exception. Obviously they are known to us because we played them in the quarter-finals last year.

“Each match that comes along is a totally different scenario with different parameters.

“There is the added ingredient of David Luiz playing for PSG, who is fondly remembered by us for the Champions League final (in 2012).

“Jose Mourinho said before the draw he would like to see PSG for our supporters because of the travel arrangements and the logistics.”

Holders Real Madrid face Schalke in the last 16, with city rivals and beaten finalists Atletico drawn against Leverkusen.