Uefa Champions League 2015-16 quarter-final draw: Who could Manchester City face in the last eight?

Click here to follow live coverage of the Champions League quarter-final draw

Following the respective last-16 exits of domestic rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, Manchester City have been left to fly the flag for English football in the Champions League despite a horribly dreary second-leg stalemate against Dynamo Kiev at the Etihad Stadium. These are unfamiliar waters for Manuel Pellegrini's troops, who had previously failed to advance beyond the first knockout phase during their first three campaigns among Europe's elite.

How the draw works

The draw for the quarter-finals of the 2015-16 Champions League takes place from 11.00 GMT in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday 18 March. It is a simple procedure, with no country or seeding restrictions meaning that any two teams can be paired together. You can follow events live right here at IBTimes UK as well as the official Uefa website.

Who are the teams involved?

Real Madrid

Wolfsburg

Benfica

Paris Saint-Germain

Manchester City

Atletico Madrid

Barcelona

Bayern Munich

Best case scenario for City

On paper, most will be hoping for a last-eight tie against either Benfica or Wolfsburg. The Portuguese champions looked to be heading for extra time against Zenit St Petersburg before late goals from Nicolas Gaitan and Anderson Talisca secured a 2-1 win in Russia. Dieter Hecking's side, meanwhile, did not fire on all cylinders during their tame second-leg win over competition debutants Gent.

Worst case scenario

It does not exactly take a genius to work out that City would be best served to avoid Barcelona, whose frightening unbeaten streak was extended to 38 matches with their 3-1 defeat of plucky Arsenal on Wednesday. Real Madrid would also present a significant hurdle, while Bayern Munich remain a sinister threat despite their listless first-half display against Juventus.

It would be quite something if Pep Guardiola were to knock City out of the competition just months before succeeding Pellegrini. That could turn into a nightmare scenario if they then go on to lose their place in the Premier League's top four and miss out on qualification for the Champions League altogether ahead of the Catalan's maiden campaign at the helm. They currently lie 12 points adrift of leaders Leicester and only two ahead of fifth-place West Ham.

Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid would be no pushovers either, of course, although at this stage of the competition it stands to reason that you will struggle to avoid the real European heavyweights.

Key dates

The quarter-final first legs will take place between 5 and 6 April, with the return fixtures scheduled for the next week.

Any other business?

Juventus' thrilling 4-2 extra-time loss to Bayern Munich in Bavaria may have been heartbreaking for the Bianconeri, but for the Premier League it was excellent news as it guaranteed that Serie A can no longer hope to overtake their Uefa coefficient ranking. This means that England are now guaranteed to have four Champions League spots until at least the end of the 2017/18 season.