NYON (Switzerland), Dec 19: Holders Chelsea have crashed out while a Spanish quartet spearheaded by Barcelona and Real Madrid lead the way into the round of 16 draw for the UEFA Champions League at a glamour ceremony here on Thursday.

With UEFA rules prohibiting teams from the same country or federation to be drawn against each other, the big guns will be kept apart and also not play Valencia or debutants Malaga.

Real will also be more than happy to avoid another meeting with Borussia Dortmund as teams from the same group can also not meet again when group winners are drawn against second-placed teams. Dortmund beat Real in Germany in the group stage and were seconds away from a Bernabeu victory as well.

Real finished second behind Dortmund, and taking UEFA rules into account, could face either Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Paris St Germain, Schalke or Juventus in the last-16 while avoiding Dortmund, Valencia and Malaga from the pot of seeds.

The other runners-up are Porto, Arsenal, AC Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk, Valencia, Celtic and Galatasaray.

Real Madrid won the last of their nine European Cups in 2002 and their German midfielder Sami Khedira said ahead of the draw that, given a 13-point deficit on Barca in the league, a 10th European cup is the top priority.

“At Real we have set a very clear goal. That is to win the Champions League,” Khedira said.

Fuelled by their Qatari owners’ lavish transfer spending, PSG advancing from the Champions League groups for the first time since 2001 has given the competition a different look this season. And they are looking to avoid Jose Mourinho’s Real.

“If there is one side to avoid, it’s Real Madrid,” said midfielder Blaise Matuidi. “It’s a great team with great players. Should we be drawn against them, we’ll give everything and we’ll enjoy facing Real at Parc des Princes.”

Bayern Munich are off to a blistering start in the Bundesliga where they are runaway leaders and are back on track to win their first Champions League since beating Valencia in 2001.

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said that his side but also Dortmund and the 2011 semi-finalists Schalke were teams most rivals — including Real — would like to avoid.

“I do believe Real wouldn’t necessarily want to play Bayern,” Rummenigge said. “I don’t think anyone in Europe would be happy about facing a German team. We, and also Dortmund and Schalke, have earned great respect around Europe.

“But when I look at our potential opponents, there are a few big names in there. We’ll definitely continue to be highly motivated for the Champions League. Let’s see what we get in the draw.”

United return to the last 16 after their group-stage elimination by Basel last season, and Juventus last reached the knockout stage four years ago.

Another group winner to look out for is Malaga who are in the competition for the first time in club history thanks to some inspired leadership from Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini.

The cash rich Costa del Sol outfit finished well clear of AC Milan to set them up nicely for Thursday’s draw.—Agencies