Goal.com

As Europe's elite competition enters the knockout phase, we analyse every team's season so far and how their record compares to their last 16 opponents

The draw for the first knockout round of the Champions League on Friday threw up some fascinating ties, with Chelsea against Napoli and Arsenal versus AC Milan the pick of the bunch.

With each team unable at this stage to face anyone from the same domestic league, as well as their group stage opponents, it means a new challenge for everyone come the last 16 ties in February 2012.

Goal.com breaks down each team and how their record compares to their February foes...

APOEL NICOSIA GROUP G WINNERS

VS

LYON GROUP D RUNNERS-UP

P 6

W 2

L 1

F 6

A 6

1st place

P 13

W 9

L 2

F 22

A 5

1.5

0.6

GROUP RECORD

LEAGUE POS.

LEAGUE RECORD

GOALS PER GAME

CONCEDED AVG.

P 6

W 2

L 2

F 9

A 7

4th place

P 17

W 10

L 5

F 29

A 19

1.7

1.1

APOEL have been the fairytale of the season as Ivan Jovanovic's side are the first ever from Cyprus to reach the Champions League last 16. They progressed through three qualifying rounds to make the group stage, and then finished at the top of Group G ahead of Zenit St Petersburg, Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk. APOEL conceded just six goals in six matches, and centre-back Paulo Jorge was immense at the back. The Cypriot champions will find it tougher in the knockout stage, but this season's surprise package in Europe could well have more in their arsenal.

Read more about APOEL Nicosia

Lyon find themselves in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the ninth successive season, having made the last 16 in positively miraculous circumstances, defeating Dinamo Zagreb 7-1 away from home on the final group matchday to overturn a seemingly impossible goal difference deficit on Ajax. Remi Garde has taken over control of the Rhone Giants from Claude Puel, though the circumstances he finds himself in are tough, as OL are now increasingly reliant on their youth system as their operating budget is trimmed to fit in with the difficult financial climate. Presently lying fourth in Ligue 1, and are still a force to be reckoned with when their entire starting XI is fit.

Read more about Lyon

CHELSEA GROUP E WINNERS

VS

NAPOLI GROUP A RUNNERS-UP

P 6

W 3

L 1

F 13

A 4

3rd place

P 15

W 10

L 4

F 33

A 18

2.2

1.0

GROUP RECORD

LEAGUE POS.

LEAGUE RECORD

GOALS PER GAME

CONCEDED AVG.

P 6

W 3

L 1

F 10

A 6

5th place

P 14

W 5

L 3

F 22

A 14

1.6

1.0

It has been a turbulent start to Andre Villas-Boas’ Chelsea career and despite eventually qualifying comfortably from Group E with a 3-0 win over Valencia, it has not exactly been comfortable on the continent for the Portuguese and his side. That said, the Stamford Bridge outfit will still be seen as one of, if not the main challengers to the tournament favourites from Spain and possess players capable of winning any game. Roman Abramovich craves the Champions League more than any other of the game’s prizes – for his side to secure it this year is unlikely, but not impossible.

Read more about Chelsea

It has been a stunning Champions League debut from Napoli, who progressed to the last 16 at the expense of Manchester City. Walter Mazzarri’s well-drilled counter-attacking outfit wasted little time in announcing themselves as a force to be reckoned with, picking up a point at Eastlands in their Group A opener before then registering a comfortable home win over Villarreal. They were, undeniably, outplayed in their back-to-back clashes with Bayern Munich but they followed up a thoroughly deserved win over City with a straightforward success at the Madrigal to go through as runners-up. However, competing on two fronts has taken its toll on their paper-thin squad and reinforcements are a necessity during the January transfer window.

Read more about Napoli

ARSENAL GROUP F WINNERS

VS

AC MILAN GROUP H RUNNERS-UP

P 6

W 3

L 1

F 7

A 6

5th place

P 15

W 9

L 4

F 31

A 13

1.8

0.9

GROUP RECORD

LEAGUE POS.

LEAGUE RECORD

GOALS PER GAME

CONCEDED AVG.

P 6

W 2

L 1

F 11

A 8

3rd place

P 14

W 8

L 2

F 31

A 16

2.1

1.2

If Arsenal’s 2010-2011 season ended in comical fashion, then this year’s campaign began horrifically, with an 8-2 humiliation at the hands of Manchester United the nadir. Yet the early signs of revival began to show on the European front, with Arsene Wenger’s men overcoming a tricky qualification clash with Udinese. Whilst the Gunners slumped to a 3-1 defeat to Olympiakos on Matchday Six, they had already qualified for the competition’s last 16 as Group F winners, once again showing their Champions League credentials with a victory and draw apiece over Marseille and Borussia Dortmund.

Read more about Arsenal

AC Milan's Group H campaign went pretty much as expected. Massimiliano Allegri’s men came off a clear second best to Barcelona, finishing seven points behind the Catalans, but still managed to progress with two rounds to spare after taking four points off both Viktoria Plzen and BATE Borisov. They were quite fortunate to snatch a draw at Camp Nou but showed enough in losing 3-2 at San Siro in the return leg to suggest that while question marks remain over their defence and ageing midfield, Milan are as strong as they have been since they last lifted the trophy, in 2007.

Read more about AC Milan

BAYERN MUNICH GROUP A WINNERS

VS

BASEL GROUP C RUNNERS-UP

P 6

W 4

L 1

F 11

A 6

1st place

P 16

W 11

L 4

F 40

A 10

2.3

0.7

GROUP RECORD

LEAGUE POS.

LEAGUE RECORD

GOALS PER GAME

CONCEDED AVG.

P 6

W 3

L 1

F 11

A 10

1st place

P 18

W 11

L 2

F 38

A 17

2.0

1.1

Having won the so-called 'Group of Death' with a match to spare, Bayern can take plenty of confidence into the knock-out rounds. They humbled the likes of Manchester City, Napoli and Villarreal, and have accordingly been spoken of in the same breath as Barcelona and Real Madrid. Before Bastian Schweinsteiger's clavicular fracture in November, Bayern had Europe's best defensive record. With he and Arjen Robben - who played just 76 minutes in the group stage - returning, they have a couple aces up their sleeves.

Read more about Bayern Munich

Basel have been the surprise package of this edition of the Champions League as they reached the last-16 stage for only the second time in their history. And they did so under caretaker boss Heiko Vogel, who has since been handed a permanent deal. The Swiss club operate on a tight budget, with their squad mainly composed of local players, but under the stewardship of veteran striker Alexander Frei, who has five goals in the competition, they do pose a threat. Ask Manchester United.

Read more about Basel

BARCELONA GROUP H WINNERS

VS

BAYER LEVERKUSEN GROUP E RUNNERS-UP

P 6

W 5

L 0

F 20

A 4

1st place

P 16

W 11

L 1

F 50

A 8

3.2

0.5

GROUP RECORD

LEAGUE POS.

LEAGUE RECORD

GOALS PER GAME

CONCEDED AVG.

P 6

W 3

L 2

F 7

A 4

6th place

P 16

W 7

L 4

F 22

A 19

1.3

1.0

The reigning European champions head into the last 16 as competition favourites and it is difficult to see anybody stopping them this time around. They comfortably finished seven points clear of fellow giants AC Milan to top their group, scoring 20 goals along the way – more than any other team. Lionel Messi is joint top scorer in the competition with six goals and if the mercurial Argentine can keep up his goalscoring exploits, only a fool would bet against Pep Guardiola's men defending their title.

Read more about Barcelona

Leverkusen were not group favourites, but the Bundesliga runners-up did enough to qualify ahead of Valencia and make their long-awaited return to the Champions League knock-out rounds. Robin Dutt's side have been somewhat of an anomaly: they could have won their group ahead of Chelsea had they beaten Genk in their final group stage match, but did manage to edge the English side 2-1 in their penultimate fixture, a result that ensured their passage to the round of 16. They now head into uncharted waters, but with a good draw, may well advance. It would not be the first time a modest Bundesliga side turned heads in Europe's elite tournament.

Read more about Bayer Leverkusen

REAL MADRID GROUP D WINNERS

VS

CSKA MOSCOW GROUP B RUNNERS-UP

P 6

W 6

L 0

F 19

A 2

2nd place

P 15

W 12

L 2

F 50

A 13

3.3

0.7

GROUP RECORD

LEAGUE POS.

LEAGUE RECORD

GOALS PER GAME

CONCEDED AVG.

P 6

W 2

L 2

F 9

A 8

4th place

P 32

W 15

L 5

F 57

A 33

1.7

1.1

Jose Mourinho's men appear to have stepped up their game this campaign and look in great shape to wrestle the Champions League trophy off bitter rivals Barcelona. Madrid breezed through their group and are the only side left in the competition with a 100 per cent record. With Cristiano Ronaldo scoring for fun and with Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema looking sharp despite taking it in turns to play, there are mass amounts of goals in this team. Everyone knows the club are desperate to win their record 10th European cup. Could this be the year?

Read more about Real Madrid

The Russians triumphed versus 2010 winners Inter at San Siro to reach the last 16, but only Lyon qualified with such a low point total as the Moscovites. Injuries to key individuals such as Keisuke Honda, Igor Akinfeev and Tomas Necid have forced coach Leonid Slutskiy to use the full extent of his squad, but they have managed to keep pace with leaders Zenit St Petersburg in the RPL, with the campaign continuing until next spring. Striker Seydou Doumbia is second only to Mario Gomez and Lionel Messi in the Champions League scoring charts, netting five goals in as many appearances.

Read more about CSKA Moscow

BENFICA GROUP C WINNERS

VS

ZENIT GROUP G RUNNERS-UP

P 6

W 3

L 0

F 8

A 4

2nd place

P 12

W 9

L 0

F 25

A 10

1.8

0.8

GROUP RECORD

LEAGUE POS.

LEAGUE RECORD

GOALS PER GAME

CONCEDED AVG.

P 6

W 2

L 1

F 7

A 5

1st place

P 32

W 18

L 2

F 61

A 23

1.8

0.7

Benfica went one better than last season in Uefa’s most prestigious club competition and managed to progress beyond the group stage. Their group was not exactly the biggest challenge they could encounter, but Jorge Jesus’ men showed some composure against Manchester United and, more importantly, they showed they now have the experience in big competitions they lacked in 2010-11. Inspired by in-form Nicolas Gaitan, who is the top provider in the competition, and veteran playmaker Pablo Aimar, Benfica are expected to reach the quarter-finals in case of a favourable draw.

Read more about Benfica

A superb goalless draw in Porto allowed Luciano Spalletti's Zenit to progress from what was a difficult group on matchday six. Domestically, the extended Russian season hasn't deterred the Italian and his impressive squad from emerging as odds-on favourites to retain their RPL title, and are currently ahead of rivals CSKA Moscow in the standings. This will be their debut in the knockout stages, but with impressive talents such as Danny, club legend Vyacheslav Malafeev and top goalscorer Aleksandr Kerzhakov, they are a team capable of being this season's surprise package.

Read more about Zenit St Petersburg

INTER GROUP B WINNERS

VS

MARSEILLE GROUP F RUNNERS-UP

P 6

W 3

L 2

F 8

A 7

7th place

P 14

W 6

L 6

F 17

A 18

1.3

1.3

GROUP RECORD

LEAGUE POS.

LEAGUE RECORD

GOALS PER GAME

CONCEDED AVG.

P 6

W 3

L 2

F 7

A 4

8th place

P 17

W 6

L 4

F 22

A 16

1.3

0.9

Just like their domestic season, Inter’s European campaign started dreadfully, the Nerazzurri losing 1-0 at home to Trabzonspor in their Group B opener. However, then coach Gian Piero Gasperini was fired soon after and the arrival of Claudio Ranieri has resulted in a gradual improvement in the San Siro outfit’s fortunes. Indeed, they sealed top spot in their pool with a round to spare, which was just as well as Inter were beaten by CSKA Moscow at the Giuseppe Meazza on matchday 6, underlining that without serious investment in January – in every area - this Inter side has no chance of emulating the treble winners of 2010.

Read more about Inter

French champions in 2010, Didier Deschamps’ Marseille have found the going tough this season and find themselves in the heart of the Ligue 1 standings. Life in the Champions League has been just as complicated, as OM needed a stunning comeback in the last five minutes against Borussia Dortmund to see a 3-2 victory that carried the Provence side into the knockout stages. At Stade Velodrome, they’ve looked fragile, losing late winners against Arsenal and Olympiakos, with the fact that the stadium is under renovation seemingly dampening its notoriously fierce atmosphere. They need a change of fortunes over the winter period if they’re to make an impact in Europe.

Read more Marseille