Barcelona's potential Champions League opponents for last 16 | OneFootball

Barcelona made light work of the inaugural Champions League league phase as they secured automatic progression to the last 16.

Finishing second in the 36-team table ensured that La Blaugrana would avoid the uncertainty of the newly-formed play-off round, giving them some valuable time off to rest and recuperate ahead of their opening knockout tie of the campaign.

Barcelona are yet to discover their adversaries for the last 16 but all will soon become clear as Hansi Flick looks to claim his second career European crown during his debut season in Catalonia.

Here are the sides Barcelona could face in the next round of the Champions League.

Barcelona's potential Champions League last 16 opponents

Barcelona won't fear anyone after their league phase success / David Ramos/GettyImages

Barcelona will return to the continent's grandest stage next month and will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica in the last 16.

Decided by final league phase standings, the Catalan giants will be drawn against the reigning Ligue 1 champions or Portuguese giants, with Liverpool - who were the only side to finish ahead of Barcelona in the league phase - facing the other of the two teams.

Barcelona will fancy their chances against either and have already beaten Benfica this season. A truly astonishing and bonkers affair controversially ended in a 5-4 victory for Flick's side as Raphinha scored their 96th-minute winner.

La Blaugrana were beaten by PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals last season and would be seeking revenge in the last 16 should they be drawn together.

Best and worst case scenario

Barcelona will be hoping to meet Benfica again / Carlos Rodrigues/GettyImages

Barcelona are promised a challenging last 16 tie no matter their opponents but they would much prefer to face Benfica in the next round. They have already beaten the Lisbon side this term and there can be no doubts that Bruno Lage's outfit are a worse team than PSG - even if they are capable of springing a surprise on their day.

Barcelona will want to avoid PSG given the form of the French side, who have won 16 of their last 17 matches in all competitions. Former Blaugrana boss and player Luis Enrique has moulded the capital side into a tremendous outfit with devastating attacking potential - exemplified by their 10-0 aggregate victory over Brest in the play-off round.

Benfica beat Monaco across two legs in the play-offs - the Ligue 1 outfit having inflicted Barcelona's only European defeat of the season thus far - but have inferior technicians to PSG at their disposal.

When is the Champions League last 16 draw?

Barcelona will discover their fate this week / FABRICE COFFRINI/GettyImages

Barcelona will learn their Champions League last 16 opponents at 11:00 GMT on Friday 21 January when the draw takes place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw will be streamed live on UEFA's official website.

The first leg of Barcelona's tie with either PSG or Benfica will take place on 4-5 March, with the second leg staged at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on 11-12 March.